By Sonu Tyagi
Founder, Approach Entertainment & Go Spiritual
For Approach Bollywood
Some films make you laugh, some make you fall in love with their characters, and some leave you thinking about relationships and human behaviour long after the credits roll. What Women Want is one of those wonderful films that achieves all three with remarkable ease. Released in 2000 and directed by Nancy Meyers, this delightful romantic comedy starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt remains, in my opinion, a true classic of its genre. With its imaginative storyline, brilliant performances, witty dialogues, entertaining situations, emotional depth and wonderful chemistry between its lead actors, the film offers the kind of wholesome cinematic entertainment that never grows old.
The beauty of What Women Want lies in its wonderfully original premise. Nick Marshall, played by Mel Gibson, is a successful, charming and rather self-absorbed advertising executive who believes he understands women better than anyone else. However, his confidence is challenged when Darcy Maguire, played by Helen Hunt, is appointed to the creative director position he had hoped to secure. Following a bizarre electrical accident, Nick suddenly develops the extraordinary ability to hear women’s thoughts. What initially appears to be an amusing supernatural gift soon turns his personal and professional life upside down.
This is where the film’s real magic begins. Imagine being able to hear what people are actually thinking, especially when their thoughts are completely different from what they are saying. The possibilities for comedy are endless, and What Women Want explores them with tremendous imagination, intelligence and humour.
Mel Gibson is simply outstanding as Nick Marshall. His performance is energetic, charismatic, hilarious and surprisingly sensitive. He captures Nick’s arrogance, confusion, embarrassment, excitement and gradual transformation with exceptional comic timing. Whether he is struggling to understand the sudden voices in his head, experimenting with women’s beauty products, navigating uncomfortable office encounters or trying to impress Darcy, Gibson makes even the most absurd situations thoroughly entertaining.
What makes his performance particularly memorable is that he never allows Nick to become merely a comic character. Beneath the humour, we gradually discover a man who has spent much of his life misunderstanding women and avoiding emotional vulnerability. As Nick begins hearing their private thoughts, he also starts recognising their insecurities, disappointments, professional struggles and emotional needs. Gibson handles this transformation beautifully, making the character’s journey both amusing and genuinely touching.
Helen Hunt is equally brilliant as Darcy Maguire. She brings intelligence, confidence, warmth and dignity to a character who could easily have been reduced to a conventional romantic-comedy heroine. Darcy is a talented advertising professional who has earned her position through creativity and hard work, and Hunt portrays her with wonderful conviction. Her expressions, dialogue delivery and natural screen presence make her an ideal counterpart to Gibson’s flamboyant Nick.
The chemistry between Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt is one of the film’s greatest strengths. Their relationship develops through professional rivalry, misunderstandings, humour, attraction and emotional discovery. Their conversations are lively, their disagreements entertaining, and their romantic moments feel increasingly meaningful as the story progresses. The film allows their relationship to grow naturally rather than relying entirely on predictable romantic conventions.
The screenplay, written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa and Diane Drake, deserves enormous appreciation. It takes an extraordinary fantasy concept and places it within recognisable everyday situations involving offices, relationships, dating, family and friendships. The writing continually finds new ways to create comedy while also revealing important truths about human behaviour.
The advertising-agency setting is especially enjoyable. As someone associated with advertising, entertainment and communications, I particularly appreciate the film’s portrayal of creative pitches, client presentations, professional competition, marketing strategies and the constant pressure to understand consumers. Nick’s unusual ability to hear women’s thoughts gives him an extraordinary advantage in understanding the female consumer market, leading to some of the film’s funniest and most inventive sequences.
The situations involving Nick’s attempts to understand women’s products, his interactions with colleagues and his changing relationship with Darcy are brilliantly conceived. The humour is rarely dependent on elaborate physical comedy alone. Much of it comes from the contrast between what characters say aloud and what they actually think. This simple storytelling device creates a seemingly endless stream of amusing misunderstandings, awkward encounters and unexpected revelations.
The dialogues are another major highlight. They are sharp, witty, spontaneous and frequently hilarious. More importantly, the conversations reveal character. Nick’s confidence often collapses when he discovers what women really think about him, while Darcy’s professional strength and emotional sensitivity become increasingly apparent through their interactions.
The supporting cast adds tremendous value to the film. Marisa Tomei is delightful as Lola, bringing charm and humour to her scenes with Nick. Alan Alda is excellent as advertising-agency executive Dan Wanamaker, while Ashley Johnson gives a sensitive performance as Nick’s daughter Alex. Judy Greer, Sarah Paulson and the other supporting performers help create a lively and believable world around the central characters.
One of the film’s most touching elements is Nick’s evolving relationship with his daughter. His newfound ability gradually forces him to recognise how little he understands her feelings and experiences. These moments bring emotional substance to the comedy and remind us that genuine communication requires more than simply hearing someone’s words.
The subplot involving Erin, a quiet and emotionally distressed colleague, is another example of how the film moves beyond lighthearted entertainment. Nick’s growing awareness of her struggles becomes an important step in his transformation from a self-centred man into someone capable of empathy and compassion.
Nancy Meyers deserves special praise for her direction. She maintains a delightful balance between romance, comedy, fantasy and emotion without allowing the film to become unnecessarily complicated. Her storytelling is polished, the pacing is engaging, and the characters remain at the centre of every situation. The film also benefits from its attractive visual presentation, stylish settings, elegant costumes and a wonderful soundtrack that complements its romantic and playful atmosphere.
What I admire most about What Women Want is the meaningful message beneath its entertainment. The film may revolve around a man who can literally hear women’s thoughts, but its larger lesson is that understanding another person requires sensitivity, respect, attention and empathy. Nick’s greatest achievement is not gaining the ability to read minds. It is learning to care about what other people feel.
There is also something wonderfully timeless about the film’s exploration of relationships. Men and women may misunderstand one another, professional egos may create conflicts, and personal insecurities may complicate love, but genuine affection begins when people make an effort to understand each other. The film communicates this message without becoming preachy or sacrificing its humour.
For me, What Women Want represents the finest tradition of Hollywood romantic comedies, where a clever concept, strong screenplay, outstanding actors, memorable dialogues and heartfelt emotions come together to create complete entertainment. It is the kind of film that can be watched repeatedly because its humour remains enjoyable and its characters continue to feel relatable.
More than two decades after its release, What Women Want still feels fresh, charming and wonderfully entertaining. Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt deliver unforgettable performances, Nancy Meyers directs with warmth and confidence, and the screenplay transforms an imaginative premise into a delightful celebration of love, laughter, communication and human understanding.
For me, What Women Want is not merely a romantic comedy about a man who can hear women’s thoughts. It is a classic about a man who finally learns how to listen, understand and love.
And that is precisely why it deserves to be remembered as one of Hollywood’s most entertaining and heartwarming romantic comedies.
— Sonu Tyagi
Founder, Approach Entertainment & Go Spiritual
For Approach Bollywood
