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I am here for anything Taraji P. Henson-related, but I have to admit when I first heard that she was set to star in What Men Want, a Paramount remake of the Nancy Meyers rom-com What Women Want starring sexist notorious scumbag racist Mel Gibson, my first instinct was to get hugely annoyed.
After all, CAN’T HOLLYWOOD JUST TELL FEMALE STORIES WITHOUT NEEDING TO RE-DO PREVIOUSLY MALE-LED SOURCE MATERIAL? WE HAVE STORIES THAT ARE OURS TO BEGIN WITH! MAKE THOSE! But then I remembered my own opinions about reboots and remakes in general, that in them lies a huge opportunity to course correct, and make up for previous mistakes for modern-day audiences.
If you don’t remember, the original 2000 What Women Want starred Mel Gibson as a confident chauvinistic male who suddenly acquires the ability to hear what the women around him are really thinking … which made him better at landing the ladies. According to Deadline Hollywood, “the new version follows a female sports agent (Henson) who has been constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When she gains the power to hear men’s thoughts, she is able to shift the paradigm to her advantage as she races to sign the NBA’s next superstar.”
Reasons this makes me happy:
- There’s something especially gleeful about replacing the racist Mel Gibson with a black woman. I just take a special joy in that.
- While I’m sure there will be some kind of romantic angle for Henson’s character, she’s using her new ability to advance in her career, and correct the sexist imbalance she’s had to deal with.
In its day, What Women Want was “progressive,” because it depicted a man who learns that he actually needs to care about women’s needs and desires if he wants to succeed in life. An updated version in which a woman of color uses her man mind-reading skills to get ahead in her career? I can totally be down for that.
The title is a bit unfortunate. While I know that it’s important to have it be close to the original title to reference that it’s a remake, calling something What Men Want just makes me want to respond with, “Haven’t we cared about that long enough?” However, knowing the premise of the actual story lessens my fears, and gives me hope that we’re going to see something awesomely feminist with one of my favorite actresses in the lead.
Henson will also be executive producing along with producers Will Packer and James Lopez. There’s no word yet as to who will be on writing and directing duties. My hopes skew female, of course.
What Men Want is scheduled for a January 11, 2019 release.
(image: screencap)
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
I am here for anything Taraji P. Henson-related, but I have to admit when I first heard that she was set to star in What Men Want, a Paramount remake of the Nancy Meyers rom-com What Women Want starring sexist notorious scumbag racist Mel Gibson, my first instinct was to get hugely annoyed.
After all, CAN’T HOLLYWOOD JUST TELL FEMALE STORIES WITHOUT NEEDING TO RE-DO PREVIOUSLY MALE-LED SOURCE MATERIAL? WE HAVE STORIES THAT ARE OURS TO BEGIN WITH! MAKE THOSE! But then I remembered my own opinions about reboots and remakes in general, that in them lies a huge opportunity to course correct, and make up for previous mistakes for modern-day audiences.
If you don’t remember, the original 2000 What Women Want starred Mel Gibson as a confident chauvinistic male who suddenly acquires the ability to hear what the women around him are really thinking … which made him better at landing the ladies. According to Deadline Hollywood, “the new version follows a female sports agent (Henson) who has been constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When she gains the power to hear men’s thoughts, she is able to shift the paradigm to her advantage as she races to sign the NBA’s next superstar.”
Reasons this makes me happy:
- There’s something especially gleeful about replacing the racist Mel Gibson with a black woman. I just take a special joy in that.
- While I’m sure there will be some kind of romantic angle for Henson’s character, she’s using her new ability to advance in her career, and correct the sexist imbalance she’s had to deal with.
In its day, What Women Want was “progressive,” because it depicted a man who learns that he actually needs to care about women’s needs and desires if he wants to succeed in life. An updated version in which a woman of color uses her man mind-reading skills to get ahead in her career? I can totally be down for that.
The title is a bit unfortunate. While I know that it’s important to have it be close to the original title to reference that it’s a remake, calling something What Men Want just makes me want to respond with, “Haven’t we cared about that long enough?” However, knowing the premise of the actual story lessens my fears, and gives me hope that we’re going to see something awesomely feminist with one of my favorite actresses in the lead.
Henson will also be executive producing along with producers Will Packer and James Lopez. There’s no word yet as to who will be on writing and directing duties. My hopes skew female, of course.
What Men Want is scheduled for a January 11, 2019 release.
(image: screencap)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
This week, the Justice League movie will finally hit theaters and give fans the ultimate team up of DC’s greatest heroes. To say that there’s a lot riding on this film would be an understatement. After some early stumbles (except for Wonder Woman) with the DC Extended Universe, Warner Bros. badly needs Justice League to knock one out of the park. Today’s Nerdist News is using our Mother Box to reveal how Justice League‘s reception may affect the previously announced DCEU films.
Join guest host and third alternate Space Ghost, Hector Navarro, as he runs down the early word on Justice League‘s critical reception. The review embargo is still currently in place, and the reactions have been fairly positive, but not glowing. It’s probably not a great sign that Rotten Tomatoes is actually withholding Justice League‘s score until opening day.
However, the consensus among those who have seen Justice League is that all of the heroes come off well, and the direction of the franchise is in good shape. There may be signs of the reshoots and troubled production within the film itself, but it’s arguably as good as it could be under the circumstances. No one is seriously questioning whether Justice League will have a big opening weekend. Whether it will have staying power at the theaters remains to be seen.
So far, only Wonder Woman 2 seems secure no matter what happens here. In fact, that release was just moved to November 2019, to get it away from Star Wars Episode IX. Aquaman‘s solo flick is already done filming, but everything else is still up in the air. Man of Steel 2 is years away at the earliest, and Ben Affleck is once again hinting that he’s looking to leave the DCEU. What that means for The Batman is anyone’s guess.
The fate of the Flashpoint movie is also in the hands of this film, as WB reportedly won’t go forward with it unless the film is a success. The good news is that Ezra Miller‘s Flash is said to be one of the best parts of Justice League, which may give the scarlet speedster some better odds when it comes to holding down his own movie. And in the very unlikely scenario that Justice League can’t hold its target audience, then it just means that DC and Warner Bros. will focus on solo hero films for the next few years.
What do you think about the potential future of the DCEU? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures
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