Episode 54 - What Women Want

Back in the year 2000, Nancy Meyers made "What Women Want," another installment in her series of battle of the sexes films that purport to be pro-women but are anything but. She seems to believe that the only thing women want is to find a bad boy and make him want to change his ways just for her. Mel Gibson plays Nick Marshall, a Don Draperesque old-school chauvinist advertising executive who exploits women until he is electrocuted and granted the magical power to read women's minds. Helen Hunt plays Darcy Maguire, a newly appointed creative director at a historically misogynistic advertising agency who falls victim to Mel Gibson's powers. Like all Nancy Meyers female lead characters, her only flaws are that she cares about everything too much and has too much love to give. Marisa Tomei plays Lola, a sexy young coffee shop barista and aspiring actress whose whole purpose in the movie is to be manipulated, used for sex and discarded in favor of the Nancy Meyers stand-in character. Sarah Paulson plays Annie, an Ivy League educated assistant to Mel Gibson who bitterly goes about her work and misuses company resources to talk to her boyfriend in Israel. And, Judy Greer plays Erin the File Girl, a sad employee of the ad firm who constantly thinks suicidal thoughts at work. Eventually, Gibson gets wind that she's going to off herself and he convinces her not to go through with it by offering her a promotion. Join us as we talk about wanting to join the Nancy Meyers Fan Club just to infiltrate it from the inside, how this movie ripped off "Ernest Goes to Jail," why simply giving a promotion to a suicidal employee doesn't help anything, and we also sing the theme song to "Family Matters" for no reason. Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by shooting us an email over at [email protected]. This episode is sponsored by Dingle Berries. Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.