Tag Archives: wendi mclendon-covey

WHAT MEN WANT (2019) – My rating: 8.5/10

“What Men Want” is a fantasy comedy directed by Adam Shankman and is loosely based on the 2000 film, “What Women Want” in reverse gender. The plot follows a woman who, after drinking a potent concoction given by a shaman, gains the ability to hear men’s inner thoughts. While this is not a new concept, the movie is surprisingly funny.

Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is an executive sports agent working for Summit Worldwide Management, which is mostly male-dominated. She’s been over-looked for partner several times but believes today is the day. She and her gay assistant Brandon (Josh Brener), who wants to be a sports rep, are gearing up toward a celebration, believing she is going to make partner. Ali is passed over once again, which makes her fighting mad. Ali’s boss, Nick (Brian Bosworth), acknowledges that Ali is a hard worker but he says she just doesn’t connect well with the other men. Ali announces to everyone in the building that she WILL sign rising basketball superstar Jamal Barry (Shane Paul McGhie) and prove to others why she deserves to be partner. Ali goes to meet her co-workers as they try to work out a deal with Jamal and his father, Joe Dolla (Tracy Morgan) but fails.

Ali spends time with her father Skip (Richard Roundtree) at the boxing gym he manages before they go to grab dinner. Skip points out a new bartender named Will (Aldis Hodge), whom Ali finds attractive. She stays there to introduce herself, and Will makes her a special cocktail. They go back to his house where they end up engaging in a wild night of sex. In the morning, Ali is in for a surprise when Will’s six year old son Ben (Auston Moore), appears in the bedroom wearing her panties on his head siting, “Wakonda forever” from the movie, Black Panther. She realizes she is late for work and runs out, showing up to a photo shoot wearing evidence of her wild night.

Ali is scheduled to attend a bachelorette party that evening for Mari, (Tamala Jones) one of her three best girlfriends, which also includes Ciarra, (Phoebe Robinson) and Olivia (Wendi McLendon-Covey),  who employed the services of a psychic named Sister (Erikah Badu).  Ali is first to get a reading by Sister and is given tea made of weed, Peyote and Cocaine. While dancing, Ali is hit by a questionable object that causes her to fall, hit her head and pass out. She wakes up in a hospital where she discovers she is able to hear her male doctor’s thoughts. Ali is so freaked out by her new found power, she runs all the way to her company building able to hear the thoughts of all males around her. Upset, she tracks down the psychic for help. Sister advices her to use this gift to get what she wants at work. Agreeing, Ali goes back to her job and starts listening to the mind of her colleagues.

I was truly surprised at how funny “What Men Want” is.  The original with Mel Gibson was nowhere near as funny.  The story is full of scenes that are both hilarious and entertaining.  Keep in mind, “What Men Want” is a fantasy comedy and consider my above lead-in to be short and sweet because there is so much more to come in the actual film.  The acting is absolutely brilliant as is the plot.  Viewers rated “What Men Want” five out of five stars, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen before.  Rotten Tomatoes was just that, a rotten rating of only 43%.  I have no clue why they rated the movie so low but I really enjoyed it.  Check It Out, you won’t be sorry.

THE SINGLE MOMS CLUB (2014) – My rating: 8/10

TheSingleMomsClubTyler Perry is the king of happy endings and endings with a good and spiritual message. The Single Mom’s Club is no exception.  It’s the story of 5 women living the single mom life.  We all know it’s not easy raising children with a husband so we know it has to be much harder without one.   These 5 women are raising their children alone either because they are going through a divorce, by choice or the father is absent due to extenuating circumstances.  Because their children are attending the same private school, the moms become friends and decide to form a support group and call it “The Single Mom’s Club”.  The story is descent and the circumstances are somewhat relateable.  Tyler Perry actually stars in this movie as a love interest for Mia Long, who plays May.  Each mom eventually has a love interest and is invested in their child having a promising future.  The story unfolds as each mom tries to put their live and their relationships with their children together.   Wendi McLendon-Covey plays Jan who’s love interest is  Eddie Cibrian who plays Santos.  Amy Smart plays Hilary who’s love interest is Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist) who plays Peter.  Cocoa Brown plays Lytia who’s love interest is Terry Crews who plays Branson.   Zulay Henao Plays Esperanza who’s love interest is William Levy who plays Manny.  The movie is a little corny but sends a good message.  I enjoyed it on DVD.

THINK LIKE A MAN TOO (2014) – My rating: 7/10

ThinkLikeAManTooI was disappointed in Think Like A Man Too!  It was too slap stick for me.  Kevin Hart’s rantings really got on my nerves.  If he had toned his character down some, it would have been a different ballgame.  It seems like the director tried to steal a page from” Hang Over 3″ and “Last Vegas” with an over the top chain of funny events in “Sin City”.  Both movies were better than Think Like a Man Too.  There were some funny parts, but not funny enough to spend the price of a movie ticket to see it.  The plot was okay but the craziness that followed was just plain stupid.  What a waste of talent.  You would think with this star studded cast, you’d get a pretty good movie, NOT!  I even resented some of the insinuations because Think Like a Man Too crossed the line in ethic jokes.  I don’t like any race of people to be the brunt of  bad jokes or bad dialogue.

One of the couples from Think Like a Man Too is getting married.  Kevin Hart is (erroneously) the best man.  While he thinks he’s the best man for the job, he ends up being the worse.  5 couples make up the wedding party accompanied by an over bearing, control freak mom who doesn’t think the bride is good enough for her son.  The problems begin with each gender’s expectations of the bachelor and bachelorette parties, respectively.  Other problems include a reservation misunderstanding, the grooms mother and one couple’s dedication to their jobs.  If you can get through Kevin Hart’s rantings, you might enjoy the rest of the cast that includes: Michael Ealy (Dominic), Jerry Ferrara (Jeremy), Meagan Good (Mya), Regina Hall (Candace), Dennis Haysbert (Uncle Eddie), Taraji P. Henson (Lauren), Terrence Jenkins (Michael), Jenifer Lewis (Loretta), Romany Malco (Zeke), Gabrielle Union (Kristen), Kevin Hart (Cedric), Gary Owen (Bennett) and Caleel Harris (Duke).  My recommendation is wait for the DVD which releases on 9/16/14.