Review: 'What Men Want' is to avoid this blunder of a film

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Review: 'What Men Want' is to avoid this blunder of a film

2019-02-08 02:05 Last Updated At：02:10

Not to kick off this review with a spoiler alert, but after seeing "What Men Want" the answer to what men want is probably the same as what women want: Not to be ripped off by yet another dubious rom-com like this.

Taraji P. Henson tries a little too hard in a predictable, gender-switching remake of the Nancy Meyers-led 2000 romantic comedy "What Women Want." This time, a woman unlocks the power to read men's minds. The premise has potential but "What Men Want " is not funny enough, it's poorly edited and blunt when it could have been sharp.

Henson plays Ali, a hard-elbowing, high-powered sports agent who is bitter and brash — "OK, Bridezilla, take a Xanax," she tells one of her three best friends. To a co-worker, she says: "I'm going to need you to calm down, baby man-child." There's a weird '90s feel to the look and dialogue of this film, accentuated by a dusty soundtrack that features hits by TLC, Bell Biv DeVoe, 2 Live Crew, En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa.

Ali is repeatedly passed up for promotion at her smarmy, all-male firm, which seems to leak testosterone in buckets. "You don't connect well with men," she is told by the boss. To make partner, Ali vows to land the biggest sports target of the season: The No. 1 NBA draft pick. Along the way, she somehow bangs her head and then can hear the inner thoughts of any man nearby. That happens about 30 minutes in, which is an eternity of set-up, including a flabby and pointless scene at a club.

And what are men secretly thinking about? According to this film, it is fears of being fat, feeling lame, worry about bodily functions, trying not to completely geek out about little things, a near-universal adoration of arena skyboxes, mundane stuff like lost keys, and the occasional horrific X-rated bluntness.

If you expected director Adam Shankman and writers Tina Gordon, Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory to find rich material to discuss male privilege in these #MeToo days, think again. Men actually come off not so bad here. The women, though, end up worse: There's a scene with all of Ali's best friends wrestling during a horrific, weave-yanking cat fight at a church that's the nadir of filmmaking in 2019.

Ali learns to use nuggets of insight into co-workers' minds to gain an advantage and falls for a boyfriend whose inner thoughts seem to be pure. But Ali also learns that it's not what's in men's minds that really counts. It's what's in their HEARTS. And winning, if you're a nasty person, DOESN'T matter. Cue the montage of her fixing all the things she just did wrong. (Just not this film.)

Henson does as best she can with this material, attempting Lucille Ball-level physical comedy. But she's laboring and often overshadowed by the one unpredictable spark in the film — provided by Erykah Badu. The singer-songwriter is in rare form here as an off-kilter fortune teller, shooting electricity in every scene, while small roles by Tracy Morgan and Pete Davidson are oddly flat. (If you're still bored, there's always playing Cameo Bingo: Look for appearances by sports figures Mark Cuban, Shaquille O'Neal, Lisa Leslie, Grant Hill and Karl-Anthony Towns.)

The script is uneven and heavy, with some of the only jokes coming from Badu and a few movie references to "Black Panther" and "Get Out." Mostly, this is a film that still thinks people having a hard time navigating a beaded curtain is funny and that surprise S&M sex is hysterical.

Another thing that seems forced in "What Men Want" is the tremendous amount of alcohol sucked down. There's day-drinking, blackout nights and cocktails at work. The cast drink margaritas, whiskey neat, wine, beer and vodka and cranberry. Toward the end, it seems like every scene had some booze, a lazy way to create mischief. But, come to think of it, if alcohol was offered to the audience, this whiff of a film would be better received.

"What Men Want," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated R for "for language and sexual content throughout, and some drug material." Running time: 117 minutes. One star out of four.

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Online: https://www.paramount.com/movies/what-men-want

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

The secret to this Ukrainian soup? It's all in the sauerkraut

Adding fermented vegetables to the first course of a meal is common in Ukrainian cuisine, and one of the most popular pickled-vegetable dishes is sauerkraut soup.

It might sound a little odd, but trust me — it’s breathtaking. This recipe is from my cookbook “The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen,” and is so easy to make that you can prepare it every week throughout the cold season.

Combining the sauerkraut with the pork is the key. The sourness balances out the fat, enhancing the taste of the dish. Many Ukrainian cooks make a version of kapusnyak with fresh cabbage. To try that, just replace half the sauerkraut with shredded fresh cabbage.

Servings: 4 to 6

1 pound (450 grams) boneless pork shoulder

1 bay leaf

2 allspice berries

1 large carrot

1 large onion

2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) sunflower oil

2½ cups (300 grams) sauerkraut

4 to 5 medium starchy potatoes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Cut the pork shoulder into bite-size pieces and put them in a medium stockpot. Add enough cold water to completely cover the meat and bring to a rapid boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and cook at a simmer for about 1 hour, occasionally skimming off and discarding the foam. After an hour, add the bay leaf and the allspice and continue cooking over low heat.

2. While the broth is simmering, shred the carrot using a box grater. Peel and dice the onion. Add a little oil to a sauté pan placed over medium heat and sauté the shredded carrot and the diced onion until fragrant. Add the sauerkraut. Ladle some of the broth into the pan so the vegetables don’t dry out. Once the vegetables are tender, take the pan off the heat.

3. Peel and dice the potatoes and add them to the broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes and then add the sautéed vegetables to the pot. Bring everything to a rapid boil, reduce the heat, simmer the soup for about 5 minutes, and remove from the heat. Season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper and let rest a little before serving.

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Yevhen Klopotenko is a Ukrainian chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and social activist. He is known for his cooking website klopotenko.com, promoting authentic Ukrainian cuisine around the world.

Excerpted from “The Authentic Ukrainian Kitchen” by Yevhen Klopotenko. Copyright (copyright) 2024 by Yevhen Klopotenko. Photograph by Dima Bahta. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.