Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 2-8-19

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
LILY
Welcome to this week’s Spotlight feature, the lovely Lily. Lily is a young woman who believes that she is blossoming and evolving every day. This young lady is a go-getter, and will never allow the grass to grow under her feet while opportunities pass her by. Lily is patient as well, and willing to put in all the work necessary to be successful. Con- gratulations to Lily as this week’s Spotlight feature.
Will Packer And Taraji P. Henson ‘What Men Want’ Is Hysterical Comedy Remake; Opens Today (Friday)
Nancy Meyer’s 2000 rom-com fantasy “What Women Want” succeeded be- cause it imbued an inane premise with purpose: The idea that alpha male Mel Gibson could suddenly hear the thoughts of the opposite sex yielded a savvy critique of workplace sexism. Nearly 20 years later, the loose remake “What Men Want” offers something more and less at the same time.
On the one hand, the movie fits the zeitgeist, fore- grounding a strong-willed woman. The gender-flipped revision gives Taraji P.
WILL PACKER
Henson the welcome op- portunity to play a fast-talk- ing hotshot who intimidates male colleagues at every turn,
and her energetic perform- ance provides a hysterical, often sobering window into the challenges facing a black woman in a white man’s world.
Still, “What Men Want” establishes its core target in credible terms. “You don’t connect well with men,” This being another raunchy, female-centric com- edy from “Girls Trip” and St. Pete's super-producer Will Packer, the nighttime antics get wild, and that’s when the supernatural twist comes into play.
While Meyers’ premise involved cross-dressing and accidental electrocution, Ali simply drinks some spiked tea from an eccentric fortune teller (Erykah Badu), clearly having a blast). A few drunken antics later, Ali wakes up in a hospital, where suddenly every man’s inner monologue echoes in her head.
“What Men Want”
wastes little time establishing Ali’s new power or her real- ization that it will further her professional goals by exploit- ing the men around her. "What Men Want" opens (today) Friday in all theaters.
PAGE 12-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019