Poster © Paramount Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Fantasy & Romance
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 7 mins
ReleasedDecember 15, 2000
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorNancy Meyers
StarringMel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei
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What Women Want (2000)
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| What Women Want's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Fantasy & Romance |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 12/15/2000 |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 7 mins |
| Budget | $70M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| What Women Want's Interests | |
| General | Ad pitches, hairdryers, bathtubs, Chicago coffee shops, focus groups, mind reading. |
| Music | Alan Silvestri |
| Movies | What Men Want (2019), the flipped remake. Something's Gotta Give (2003), more Meyers. |
| Television | Mad Men. Another ad man who could stand to listen a lot more. |
| Heroes | Darcy Maguire. Got the promotion, earned it. |
| What Women Want's Crew | |
| Director | Nancy Meyers |
| Writers | Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, Josh Goldsmith (story), Cathy Yuspa (story), Diane Drake (story) |
| Producers | Susan Cartsonis, Bruce Davey, Gina Matthews, Nancy Meyers, Matt Williams |
| Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
| Music | Alan Silvestri |
| Edited By | Thomas J. Nordberg, Stephen A. Rotter, Carol Littleton |
| Production | Icon Productions, Wind Dancer Films |
| Distributed By | Paramount Pictures (United States and Canada), Icon Entertainment International (International) |
Would you root for a guy who wins the girl by stealing her ideas? What Women Want really hopes so. Mel Gibson plays Nick, a Chicago ad man who gets a freak shock in the bathtub and wakes up hearing what every woman around him thinks. Gibson is genuinely good at the physical stuff. An early scene of him testing beauty products at home is a riot. Then the movie turns the power into a workplace heist: Nick listens in on Helen Hunt’s Darcy, swipes her pitches, and the script still rewards him with a romance. Hunt is warm and sharp and deserves a smarter partner. Marisa Tomei steals her few scenes and gets treated badly by the story. At 127 minutes, it lingers way too long. It made $374.1 million worldwide on a reported $70M. A 4.5 because the premise is gold and the hero never really earns his happy ending. $13.24 says you try to read a friend’s mind at lunch tomorrow and guess wrong on the very first try.
What works: Gibson commits fully to the physical comedy, and the early scenes of Nick discovering his power are genuinely funny.
What doesn’t: Nick uses his power to take credit for Darcy’s work and still gets the romance, and at 127 minutes the story drags badly.
Who it’s for: Fans of glossy early-2000s rom-coms who mostly want to watch Mel Gibson dance around his apartment.
Spoilers
Nick’s stolen pitch gets Darcy fired, and he finally confesses to Wanamaker and gets her rehired. He loses the power in a storm, makes things right with his daughter Alex on her prom night, and tells Darcy the whole truth. She fires him, then forgives him.
Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) is a Chicago ad executive who has built a career selling to men and assumes he's a gift to women. He's counting on a big promotion, but his boss Dan Wanamaker (Alan Alda) hands the job to rival hotshot Darcy Maguire (Helen Hunt) instead, hoping she can win over female customers. Then a freak accident with a hairdryer and a bathtub leaves Nick able to hear what every woman around him is thinking, and most of it is not flattering. His teenage daughter Alex (Ashley Johnson), staying with him, wants nothing to do with him. Nancy Meyers directs. One hundred twenty-six minutes, zero privacy.
Anyone who has ever thought something they really did not want said out loud.
Morgan Farwell is Nick's best friendphoto: Lan Bui, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Mel Gibson | Nick Marshall |
| Helen Hunt | Darcy Maguire |
| Marisa Tomei | Lola |
| Mark Feuerstein | Morgan Farwell is Nick's best friend |
| Lauren Holly | Gigi |
| Ashley Johnson | Alex Marshall |
| Judy Greer | Erin |
| Alan Alda | Dan Wanamaker |
| Delta Burke | Eve |
| Valerie Perrine | Margo |
| Lisa Edelstein | Dina |
| Sarah Paulson | Annie |
| Ana Gasteyer | Sue Cranston |
| Loretta Devine | Flo Glover |
| Diana-Maria Riva | Stella |
| Eric Balfour | Cameron |
| Robert Briscoe Evans | Ted |
| Alex McKenna | Alexandra's friend |
| Bette Midler | Dr. J. M. Perkins |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 6.5 / 10 (241,545 votes) → 6.5 / 10 (241,570 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $374.1M; Domestic box office $182.8M; Opening weekend $33.6M; Profit / loss (est.) +$82.1M; Rotten Tomatoes 53%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 53% (122 reviews); Metacritic 47 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 6.5 / 10 (241,545 votes); movie.guru score 4.4.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.