What Men Want 2019 * * Stars

Director: Adam Shankman
Year: 2019
Rated R
Rating: * * Stars
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Tracey Morgan, Aldis Hodge

Directed by the guy who once was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance and produced by another guy who brought you Think Like a Man, 2019's What Men Want seems like a title that goes both ways. I'm a man and what I "want" to see is the beautiful and sexy Taraji P. Henson on screen. What I don't "want" is for her to show up in a lousy movie. Oops, too late. What Men Want is a remake and a gender-reversed version of What Woman Want from nineteen years ago. Too bad "Men" is less insightful, more mean-spirited, more stereotyped, and more potty-mouthed than the film it's trying to update.

Harboring a running time of just under two hours and co-starring the likes of an unrecognizable Brian Bosworth and Richard Roundtree (I couldn't make this up), What Men Want is about sports agents yet its raunchy script doesn't give us any real acuity as to what the heck these agents do. Along with that, "Men" is sadly just another R-rated comedy that offends, irks, and tries too hard for a laugh. Yeah I chuckled and snorted a couple of times but there's no way I could recommend this thing. Nay I say!

Helmed by Adam Shankman of Glee and Hairspray fame, and shot in predictable rom-com fashion with the addition of some extra racy sludge, "Men's" story involves Atlanta sports rep Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson). After being passed over for a promotion in her mostly male field, Davis drinks a potion from a psychic, hits her head at a night club, and ends up having the ability to read men's off-center thoughts. Of note: In 2000's What Woman Want, the thoughts of the ladies being voiced over sounded mostly heartfelt, complicated, and genuine. In What Men Want, the bad voice-overs of the men seem rather stupefied and awkward for awkward's sake. Hey, we dudes aren't as horrible, idiosyncratic, or loathsome as you think Tina Gordon ("Men's" unjustified and misinformed screenwriter).

Bottom line: "Men's" lead in Taraji P. Henson, is a talented actress who either needs new representation or needs to be a little pickier about her projects. She better watch out because after stuff like What Men Want, Proud Mary, and No Good Deed, Henson might wind up becoming the next Gerard Butler. That's box office poison. My rating for What Men Want: 2 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson