A Likable Comedy

Freud famously posed the question "What do women want?" and filmmakers have been trying to answer it ever since (well, almost). Much of the time, it turns out that directors are quite sure that women want nothing more than to be rescued by a really handsome man.

What Women Want is a lot more enlightened than that, but there's certainly no doubting the fact that it stars Mel Gibson not because he's the ideal actor for a romantic comedy (Bird on a Wire, anyone?) but because he's, well, a really handsome man.

Still, that does make him perfect to play Nick Marshall, chauvinist and egomaniac extraordinaire. When the film opens, he's expecting an imminent promotion at his ad agency. Turns out, his boss (Alan Alda) isn't quite as impressed with Nick's testosterone-fueled campaigns as Nick himself is. Rather than giving Nick the promotion, he hands it off to Darcy Maguire (Helen Hunt), instead.

Nick's still reeling from the shock when Darcy drops a box filled with girly goods in front of him. As he looks in horror at the makeup, deodorant, and bath salts inside, she challenges him to expand his thinking by getting to know his inner woman.

Once in the safety of his own bathroom, Nick decides to take her up on her dare. But while he's hopping into his pantyhose, he trips over the hairdryer wire, throwing both himself and the appliance into his freshly prepared bubble bath.

When he recovers from the massive shock, he's appalled to discover that somehow, he can suddenly hear every woman's innermost thoughts. But slowly, it dawns on him: this is not a bad thing. Every time Darcy has a great idea, he gets it to the boss before she can. And soon, he's got the promotion, and she's got a pink slip. The only problem is, while he's stolen her work, she stole his heart.

Okay, the movie's not that corny. But it does have a shamelessly high sap meter, especially when it comes to Nick's miraculous transformation. The truth is that Gibson does dryly flirtatious comedy better than the sentimental stuff. Many of his scenes are a little too frenetic, while Hunt manages the inevitable slide into romance with a snappier aplomb. But they do have the sort of simpatico connection two big stars often share onscreen, and both seem to be having a pretty great time. Best of all, though, is that the movie never gets cold feet. Both characters remain equally strong, and equally vulnerable, making this film feel far more real than most cineplex fare.

This is not a great comedy, but it has some honest laughs, a few touching moments, and a welcome balance between the girls and the boys. Director Nancy Meyers means to be cheeky by featuring Mel Gibson in a film called What Women Want, but all we're really looking for is a genuinely enjoyable movie or two. On that, she delivers.