Movies - What Women Want

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	Movies - What Women Want

What Women Want is a 2000 romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers. It stars Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. Ashley Johnson, formerly one of the actresses on Growing Pains, guest stars in this film as well.

Plot

Mel Gibson is Nick Marshall, an ad executive who grew up with his Las Vegas showgirl mother - and so has an alpha male view of women, which works well for him when it comes to getting men to buy beer or cars or getting most women (such as a coffee attendant Marisa Tomei at a local shop) to fawn over him. However, just as he thinks he's heading for a promotion, his manager Dan (Alan Alda) informs him that he needs to hire the talents of Darcy McGuire (Helen Hunt) to keep the ad company 'fresh' and get new customers.

Compounding his problems is that his 15 year-old daughter Alex is spending two weeks with him while his ex-wife Gigi goes on her honeymoon with her new husband. Alex, though, sees Nick as someone she's embarressed to have as a father, and is not interested in his being 'protective' when she brings a boyfriend home.

Needing to prove that he's still 'the best' to Darcy and Dan, Nick attempts to find ad angles for a series of feminine products that Darcy gave to people to try and get some new ideas. While in the bathroom, he accidentally slips on some bath beads and falls into a bathtub, while holding to an electric hairdryer. He tries to get out, but slips and the dryer falls into the tub while he still has one foot in, electrocuting him.

The next day, Nick wakes up to 'hear' his maid as she cleans up his apartment. However, it soon dawns on Nick that he can hear women's thoughts, without seeing their lips move. He proves this to himself as he walks through a park and encounters numerous women, each time 'hearing' their innermost thoughts. When he goes to a previous therapist (Bette Midler) for help, she gives him the notion that this is the best thing that could have happened to him. "If Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, and you can speak Venutian, the world is your oyster."

Now with a sense of purpose, Nick uses his new 'talent' to get into women's minds and use their ideas as his own. This works for awhile, but as he spends more time with Darcy, he finds that he develops feelings for her. When he manages to trump Darcy out of her idea for a new Nike ad campaign designed for women, he finds that he regrets his actions, especially as it leads to her being fired and himself being put in her place.

The movie ends with Nick losing his gift via a freak power line shortage in the area where he was standing (Nick having gone to look for an assistant at his company whom he suspects of being suicidal), and confessing everything to Darcy. Despite the fact that he was the cause of her getting fired, Darcy finds that she has romantic feelings for Nick as well, and is willing to forgive him.

Cast include

Mel Gibson
.... Nick Marshall
Helen Hunt
.... Darcy McGuire
Marisa Tomei
.... Lola
Alan Alda
.... Dan Wanamaker
Ashley Johnson
.... Alexandra 'Alex' Marshall
Mark Feuerstein
.... Morgan Farwell
Lauren Holly
.... Gigi
Delta Burke
.... Eve
Valerie Perrine
.... Margo
Judy Greer
.... Erin
Sarah Paulson
.... Annie
Ana Gasteyer
.... Sue Cranston

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for What Women Want ]

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