2000 / 126 Minutes / PG-13
Reviewed by Jason Jones

I should have known better. I really should have. On the day I was to see this movie I began to doubt it. That’s right. For whatever reason I chose to lose faith. Maybe it was the multitude of marginal endorsements I had received from acquaintances who had already seen the film. Maybe it was the lack of a need for a romantic comedy in my viewing agenda.

Maybe. Maybe? Maybe! Those maybes were then compounded by a disgruntled viewer who was the first to stumble out of the showing prior to the one I was to attend. For reasons unbeknownst to me he chose to pull me aside and tell me that I should most definitely see something else. He pointed to the theater showing “Vertical Limit” and told me, in all of his worldly wisdom, that he figured that would probably be a better use of my entertainment dollar. Being that I was in line with no outlet for escape coupled with the realization that the only reason I felt like seeing “Vertical Limit” was because Scott Glenn looks like death on a cracker crossbred with Daniel Day Lewis, I chose to stay in line and accept my fate.

Throughout all of this I forgot one simple little point.

Mel never fails to deliver.

Did you get that? Here. Let me get a little closer.

MEL FUCKING RULES!!!

By any chance did you get that?

That’s right. Once again Mel Gibson delivers a good time. This time he does so in a film that has his character being blessed (or damned depending how you want to look at it) with the ability to hear what women think. Now I always thought what women really wanted was Mel Gibson. Now I know that they want a whole Hell of a lot more. To all of us mortal men out there I have one message……We’re screwed.

Before Mel gets this rather odd talent he is an advertising executive at a company that has been making it’s money at the expense of women and catering only to men. These are the sort of ads that you see from companies like Budweiser involving their bikini team. Now I have no problem with these adds, but I can see where women wouldn’t exactly feel compelled to run right out and buy a product with ads such as these. Things are going well for Mel until he comes into work one day expecting a promotion only to find that the job he lusted after has been given to, of all things, a WOMAN! Helen Hunt is that woman and Mel, who does not have a problem with admiring her finer features, is not amused by the present state of affairs at work. He is told that the company wants to turn their focus more towards women now and that they felt Mel was not exactly in touch with that demographic, besides sharing a bed with a different one every night that is.

During their first meeting with Helen, Mel and his coworkers are given an assignment. They are to take home some feminine products and devise an ad campaign for at least one of the products, if not all of them. Upon arriving at home that night Mel decides to get in touch with his feminine side. He does so by using many of the products including the hair removal treatment. There are some big laughs to be found during this scene. It is during this time that he manages to spill some bath beads, which he slips on to inevitably send him flailing into the bath tub with a hair dryer in tow. The shock doesn’t kill him, but, when he wakes up, he finds that he can now hear what women are thinking. This leads Mel on a number of fun adventures throughout the remainder of the film.

I don’t think this movie could have been done with anyone other than Mel in the lead role. He has exactly the right combination of charm and machismo to pull it off. Clooney’s a little too smug and Crowe’s a little too somber. Mel is just right and he proves it at every opportunity. He actually makes you believe that he is hearing the thoughts of the women around him, which is no small feat by any means. Mel can convey so much with mere facial expressions that, oftentimes, he has no need for words of any kind. Definitely one of the finest actors in the business who, for what reason I do not know, rarely receives any sort of respect for his work.

One of my favorite moments from the film involves Mel and Bette Midler. It is just after Mel has realized what is happening to him and he has decided to confide in his former marriage counselor played by Bette Midler. She opens the door not recognizing him at first, then he says a couple of things that remind her of him. She then thinks to herself: “Oh Christ. Not HIM!” To this Mel replies: “Ah! So you do remember me.” This is just a small sampling of the laughs one can expect to find in this gem of a romantic comedy.

My only fault with the film is that there are a few moments where it gets overly sappy. Now I know what you’re thinking: “What the Hell is this guy’s problem? He just said it’s a romantic comedy?!?” I agree on that, but there are a few times, late in the film, where it seems to wander to the point of nearly losing itself in prolonged scenes of unmitigated eye-gazing and what not. It was during these scenes, and only these scenes, that I felt my mind wander during the course of the film. A small problem in the film, but a problem nonetheless.

If you haven’t seen this movie, you owe it to yourself and those around to check it out as soon as you can. It’s the most fun you can have at the theater as of this time. It’s a romantic comedy with a nicely done dramatic edge thrown in to give the film a little more weight than it might otherwise have had. If you still have reservations about the film. Cast them aside! Don’t fall into the same trap that I nearly found myself in. When in doubt. Just remember……

Mel always delivers……ALWAYS!

This entry was posted on Friday, December 15th, 2000 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Jason's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.