January 26th, 2011
2011 Preview: WHAT WOMEN WANT
Andy Lau and Gong Li team up for a Mandarin-language remake of Nancy Meyers’ box office mega-hit, What Women Want (2000). The original U.S.-made romantic comedy starred Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt and grossed $374 million. Of course, this was before we truly knew how terrible the former Mad Max could be. Man, if you thought the racist jokes in Lethal Weapon 4 were bad enough before, try watching it now. But I digress.
“I don’t care what Mel Gibson says, Andy. Don’t you ever call me sugar-t!^$ again.”
Written, directed, and produced by Chen Daming, this Chinese version centers on Sun Zi-Gang (Andy Lau), a male chauvinist ad exec who is granted the power to hear the innermost thoughts of every woman he meets. This special talent becomes especially handy when he butts heads with Li Yilong (Gong Li), a beautiful advertising executive who transfers from a rival firm to accept a coveted creative director position at Zi-Gang’s company, causing friction between the two. Although he initially attempts to thwart her every effort, Zi-Gang eventually falls for his once-hated rival. The film — alternatively referred to as I Know A Woman’s Heart and I Know What A Woman Wants — also stars Russell Wong, Kelly Hu, Yuan Li, Julian Chen, and Tao Jia.
What Women Want is scheduled for release on February 3rd — the first day of the Lunar New Year — in China as well as select AMC theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Boston, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and at Cineplex theaters in Vancouver.