What Men Want Blu-ray Review

What Men Want Blu-ray Review

STORY

     Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful sports agent who’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. After a wild night out with her girls, she mysteriously gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best friends and new love interest to the test.  The film also stars Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Erykah Badu, Max Greenfield, and Tracy Morgan

REVIEW

I'm a fan of both Taraji P. Henson and Tracy Morgan so I was actually looking forward to watching What Men Want. We've all seen this story before, an underestimated individual gains a supernatural power and uses it to their advantage. I know it is hard to formulate an original story nowadays so I'm not against reusing old formulas as long as they are done properly. What Men Want does deliver some genuinely funny scenes that had me laughing for quite a bit. However, with that being said the film does feel a little long running close to two hours. There were a few scenes that just felt unnecessary and I feel would have been better included in the deleted scenes. Plenty of films do this regularly so it is not something that really bothered me and put me off from enjoying it.

Taraji P. Henson does a good job of playing a woman who might be more vulnerable than she shows in her exterior. As soon as she gains her powers she is put into many odd situations where she has to express herself mostly through facial expressions because she is the only one aware of her abilities. She is not tasked with any super emotional scenes that required a lot of her but there are a couple of scenes where she has to assess where she is as a person emotionally and if she is too consumed with her job.

Tracy Morgan to me has always been underrated, I quite enjoy his comedic style and delivery. In What Men Want you can tell that he is partially based off of Lavar Ball, the overshadowing father of current NBA player Lonzo Ball. He is a bit too involved in his son's life and tends to sometimes overshadow him in the media. He is also very outspoken and is not afraid to air out whatever comes to mind. I found the scenes with Tracy Morgan to be my favorite, unfortunately to me he was underused and should have been a bigger part of the movie, considering he is on the cover.

VIDEO

What Men Want is presented in 1080p in 2.39:1 aspect ratio and is easy on the eyes. The colors are vibrant and everything looks sharp. It is about as best as what you can expect from a modern blu-ray release. Of course given the type of movie it is there are not a lot of scenes that require top tier video quality so there is hardly anything here to criticize. If you're an avid Blu-ray collector then you already know what to expect.

AUDIO

The video is accompanied by a 7.1 Dolby TrueHD track that does a fine job. I was able to clearly hear all the dialogue between characters and exterior scenes did have some real world audio that did not feel out of place. This track won't explode through your speakers but is adequate.

Extras

Plenty of extras for you to enjoy!

o   Commentary with director Adam Shankman

o   Deleted & Extended Scenes with introduction by director Adam Shankman

o   Gag Reel with introduction by director Adam Shankman

o   The Dream Team — Meet the wildly funny cast and crew as they take you behind-the-scenes of their comedic hijinks.

o   Flipping the Narrative — Discover how What Men Want flips the script on what women must do to succeed in a man's world.

o   What DO Men Want? — Laugh along with the cast and crew as they get one step closer to understanding what's on men's minds.

o   Poker Night — Pull up a chair for one of the most epic poker nights imaginable. 

o   Ali + Athletes — Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) pulls out all the stops for her clients. Check out some hilarious cameos from superstar athletes. 

o   Sister Spills the Tea infomercial — You have questions, Sister has the answers! Watch music icon Erykah Badu play the hysterically eccentric psychic as she spills the tea on her mystical powers.

Languages

• English, French and Spanish.

Subtitles

• English, English SDH, French, and Spanish.

Final Thoughts

Overall What Men Want is a solid re-imagining of What Women Want but just a little bit raunchier. This is the perfect movie to enjoy if you're looking for something that doesn't require too much thinking or to be enjoyed on a date night.

What Men Want is available on Digital now and on Blu-ray Combo Pack May 7th from Paramount Home Entertainment.