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What Women Want(2000)
Paramount Pictures Dec 15, 2000 | Wide
A cocky, chauvinistic advertising executive magically acquires the ability to hear what women are thinking.
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: DTS,Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English
Showtimes
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(U.S. Only)
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) is a Chicago advertising executive and alpha male. The mother of Nick Marshall was a Las Vegas showgirl. Raised by beautiful women who spoiled the boy as an adored mascot, and with tough casino men as role models (who treated women as nothing more than objects), the adult Nick is a chauvinist skilled at selling products to men and seducing women. Nick is famous for not lifting a finger at work and is surrounded by beautiful women who do all the heavy lifting for him, while he takes the credit. Annie (Sarah Paulson) is Nick's secretary, Stella (Diana-Maria Riva) is his maid, the doorman to his apartment building Flo (Loretta Devine).Coworkers Eve (Delta Burke), Dina (Lisa Edelstein), and Sue (Ana Gasteyer) work with him at his office. Nick's only male coworker is Morgan (Mark Feuerstein), who participates in Nick's skirt chasing contests.His conquests including local coffee attendant Lola (Marisa Tomei). Nick expects a promotion at the advertising firm Sloane Curtis. However, just as he thinks he's headed to a meeting for a promotion, his manager, Dan (Alan Alda), informs him that he is hiring the talents of Darcy McGuire (Helen Hunt) instead, to broaden the firm's appeal to women. He says that women in the age group of 18 to 24 are the fastest growing consumer group, and they control the spending and hence the advertising dollars. Dan says that 10 years ago they were the best agency in town and now they are 3rd. Dan says that getting into woman's psyche is not really Nick's strength.Also, his estranged 15-year-old daughter Alex (Ashley Johnson) is spending two weeks with him while his ex-wife Gigi (Lauren Holly) goes on her honeymoon with her new husband Ted (Robert Briscoe Evans). Alex is embarrassed by Nick, and resents his being protective when he meets her much older boyfriend Cameron (Eric Balfour).Darcy tells her team that female driven advertising market is worth $40 Billion and Sloan Curtis' share of that pie is zero. Needing to prove himself to Darcy and Dan, Nick attempts to think of copy for a series of feminine products that Darcy distributed at the day's staff meeting. However, he slips and falls into his bathtub while holding an electric hairdryer, electrocuting himself.The next day, Nick wakes up able to understand his maid's thoughts as she cleans his apartment. Nick finds that Flo has lustful feelings towards him. As he walks through a park and encounters numerous women, he realizes that he can hear their thoughts, even those of a female poodle. This proves to be an epiphany for him when he hears the thoughts of his female co-workers (some of whom have slept with him and regretted it). Dina doesn't like Nick's disgusting jokes, Eve doesn't like when Nick comments on her eating habits, women think he wears too much aftershave, Annie feels that she got an Ivy League education and Nick has got her picking up his dry-cleaning and realizes that he cannot hear men's thoughts. Nick tells Morgan that he can hear women's thoughts. Morgan warns Nick that he sounds insane and cannot say this to anyone.When he goes to a previous therapist, Dr. Perkins (Bette Midler) (who also disliked him), she realizes his gift: "If Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, and you can speak Venutian, the world can be yours."Nick eavesdrops on women's thoughts and uses their ideas as his own, but also begin to develop real friendships with his co-workers. He corrects his off-hand comments and starts to appreciate women for who they are. He has sex with Lola, and using he thoughts as a guide, he satisfies her in bed, and she ends up declaring that Nick is a sex God.As Nick spends more time with Darcy, he is attracted to her. Darcy is going after the Nike, women's division account and this account will make her career at the agency. However, when he tries to get closer to his daughter, she resents him for trying after so many years of neglect. Nick learns that Alex wants to go to prom with Cameron, even though Nick knows that all Cameron wants to do is to have sex with her. Darcy tells Nick that going to the prom is all about the dress and asks Nick to take Alex shopping.Nick and Alex start to bond while he takes her shopping for a prom dress. Nick shrewdly suspects that Alex's boyfriend, who is considerably older than Alex, plans to sleep with her and then dump her. He tells her Cameron is not interested in her for who she is, just for what he can do with her in bed. Alex, thinking Nick is being over-protective and trying to sabotage her prom, rejects his advice.Nick steals most of Darcy's ideas and presents them to Dan as his own. Soon, Nick is the darling of the office women. Nick and Darcy begin to spend more time together, and ultimately, they kiss. When he manages to trump Darcy out of her idea for a new Nike ad campaign aimed at women (he had heard Darcy's pitch in her mind, and delivers it verbatim to the client in the meeting before Darcy could say anything), he later regrets his selfishness, especially as it leads to her being fired.Over time, Nick succeeds in repairing his relationships with female acquaintances, especially those at work. Nick loses his gift during a storm while trying to find a company secretary, Erin (Judy Greer), who (as his telepathic ability has shown him) is contemplating suicide. He offers her a position for which he had previously turned her down; she accepts. He is also reconciled with his daughter when her boyfriend rejects her.Nick finally visits Darcy and explains everything. She regains her job and Nick gets fired. But she forgives him, and agrees to save him from himself, to which he responds, "My hero".
Storyline
- Advertising executive Nick Marshall is as cocky as they come, but what happens to a chauvinistic guy when he can suddenly hear what women are thinking? Nick gets passed over for a promotion, but after an accident enables him to hear women's thoughts, he puts his newfound talent to work against his new boss Darcy, who seems to be infatuated with him. — yusufpiskin Nick, a chauvinistic advertising exec hot-shot, sees his life go haywire when a fluke accident enables him to hear what women think. At first all he wants to do is rid himself of this curse, until a wacky psychologist shows him that this could be used to his advantage. His first target is Darcy McGuire, the very woman that got the promotion he wanted. But just as his plan is beginning to work, love gets in the way. — Filmtwob