What Women Want

An arrogant, sexist ad executive (Mel Gibson) miraculously finds himself able to hear women’s thoughts. Not only does that one lame joke get hammered into the ground—six feet deep, in fact—but it rings false in the first place. What our “hero” hears sounds more like What Men Think Women Think, and it’s pretty insulting: a show of hands now, ladies—how many of you ever had to close your eyes to avoid ogling a man’s penis? And what does Mr. Wonderful do with his knowledge? He uses it to make his new boss (Helen Hunt) fall in love with him while he’s stealing her ideas and working to get her fired, yet we’re supposed to go all weepy at the I-know-I’m-scum-but-love-me-anyway fade-out. Incredibly, this twaddle was directed and co-written by women (Nancy Meyers and Cathy Yuspa, respectively).