CINEMA: MEL OR FEMALE? Mr Gibson gets in touch with his feminine side; GO2.Byline: MICHAEL WOOD Michael Wood refers to:
IF MEN are from Mars and women from Venus, then it's rather useful to be able to speak Venutian - especially if you're a chauvinistic male advertising executive whose boss is suddenly keen to tap into the female market. The battle of the sexes has long proved fertile ground for Hollywood film-makers and the latest is the romantic comedy What Women Want (12), starring Mel Gibson Noun 1. Mel Gibson - Australian actor (born in the United States in 1956) Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Gibson U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. and Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning American actress, perhaps most widely known for her role in the television sitcom Mad About You. . It sees Mel Gibson play Nick, a womanising advertising hotshot who is passed over as creative director of an advertising agency in favour of Darcy, a "man-eating bitch Darth Vadar of the ad world" (Helen Hunt), who presents him and his fellow admen and women with a pink box full of potential clients' products - from pantyhose, to lipstick, to leg wax - with the instruction to come up with some advertising ideas by 8.15am the following day. While trying out the various products (as one does!) at home that evening, he stumbles into the bath with an electric hairdryer and wakes the following morning to find that he can hear women's most personal thoughts. After initially being driven half crazy by this cacophony of revelations, he slyly decides to exploit his "gift" to get into bed with the woman in the coffee shop (Marisa Tomei), relate to his estranged es·trange tr.v. es·tranged, es·trang·ing, es·trang·es 1. To make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; alienate. 2. To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations. teenage daughter and undermine his new boss. But the more he discovers "what women think", the more he finds himself starting to think like a woman. The subject is scarcely original, but here it has been given an interesting tweak To make minor adjustments in an electronic system or in a software program in order to improve performance. See calibrate. 1. tweak - To change slightly, usually in reference to a value. Also used synonymously with twiddle. . And while the idea of a man hearing women's thoughts might appear gimmicky, it has been treated with great wit and inventiveness by director Nancy Meyers and co. And, not unlike the repeating 24 hours in Groundhog Day Groundhog Day (February 2) In the U.S., the day that the groundhog predicts whether spring will be coming soon. If, on emerging from his hole, he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, spring is imminent. , the comic device is ruthlessly exploited to its utmost. Mel Gibson - not afraid to dress up in tights, lipstick and nail polish - shows a deft comic touch, while Hunt is smart, sassy sas·sy 1 adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. and appealing as his opposite number. However, at over two hours, it's too long for a light comedy and runs out of steam before its disappointingly predictable finale. FILM RATING: *** CAPTION(S): GIRL TALK: Nick (Mel Gibson) hears the thoughts of Darcy (Helen Hunt in the comedy What Women Want (12) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion