The AwardsWatch Podcast

Director Watch Podcast Ep. 76 - 'What Women Want' (Nancy Meyers, 2000)

Listen on

Episode notes

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 76 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Dan Bayer to discuss the first film in their Nancy Meyers series, What Women Want (2000).

Following up her success of The Parent Trap, Nancy Meyers’ second feature film follows an chauvinistic advertising executive who gains the ability to hear the inner thoughts of women, truly finding out what women want. A simple, amusing premise formed into the biggest box office hit of the director’s career, with stars Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt lighting up the screen together. But over two decades later, the film, while successful, has become the most divisive film of her filmography, given her lack of involvement in the film’s script, leading to some of the strangest storytelling decisions you’d see in a romantic comedy. What Women Want feels like a movie stuck between eras of time where most of the jokes don’t work, characters and plot devices haven’t aged well, and yet the premise is still interesting enough to keep things moving; it’s a fascinating film to talk about. Ryan, Jay, and Dan break down their thoughts on the film, what still works within the film and what doesn’t, the message Meyer’s might be saying about her own personal life, the careers of Gibson, Hunt, and Marisa Tomei, if Nick Marshall is a redeemable character, and if hearing the thoughts of a female dog makes sense.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h06m. The guys will be back next week to begin continue their series on the films of Nancy Meyers with a review of her film, Something’s Gotta Give. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).