Based on What Women Want, What Men Want is the gender-bent version of the 2000 original. Taraji P. Henson brings a refreshing new lens of what it takes to best the opposite sex. She stars as Ali Davis, a successful sports agent based in Atlanta, competing for the new partner opening at the company she works, SWM. Unfortunately, her colleague got the spot, and she packs it all down to her not understanding men.
One bachelorette party-Haitian tea-concussion later, Ali can now hear men's thoughts, just like Mel Gibson could hear women's thoughts, and she goes on a whirlwind adventure of beating men at their game - literally, it's sports we're talking about! This romantic comedy has tons of laughs to be had, but some jokes may go far beyond the movie. Here are the top ten jokes everyone completely missed in What Men Want.
“Okurr!”
Who can resist a Cardi B moment? Cardi B turned “okay” into “okurr” with the infamous rolling of her tongue.
So when both Ali and her assistant, Brandon, started going back and forth with it in the first scene of the movie, it provided a hilarious exchange. This one could be easily missed since "okurr" can just be a quirk the writers wrote in for Ali.
“I Go High When They Go Low”
Some may miss this one, but when Ali says “I go high when they go low” after telling her father about her non-promotion, it sounds a bit too familiar. It could be just another saying but First Lady Michelle Obama said the very same saying!
Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we go high” is the equivalent of Ali’s “I go high when they go low.” It may not be a direct reference, but it’s a nice comparison considering two powerful women said the very same thing.
“Welcome To Wakanda”
Much to Ali’s surprise (and possible dismay), she had the pleasure of meeting Will’s son, Ben. What’s great is he greets Ali with one infamous Marvel reference: "Welcome to Wakanda."
This reference was created for one of the best-selling Marvel movies, Black Panther. Those that live in Wakanda greet each other with "Wakanda Forever," which includes a crossing of the arms, sort of like a version of waving hello. Ben does the same arm motion while greeting Ali to his very own Wakanda. It's cute and funny and hard to miss if Black Panther isn't on the watch list.
The Skip Card
No, that isn’t a fortune-telling card - it’s a skip card from Uno! Shortly after showing up to her best friend’s bachelorette party, one of their mutual friends brings over a fortune-teller called Sister.
This leads to a hilarious two-minute scene of Sister laying down card after card to tell Ali’s fortune. The best part is she’s laying them down like she’s playing Uno and there’s one cut where there actually was an Uno card in the pile - a skip card! It’s a cut that can be easily missed, but so worth catching.
Shaq Referencing Shaq In The Third Person
There’s always a good time to be self-aware and that was no exception when Shaq appeared on screen and questioned why he speaks to himself in the third person - something everyone has questioned themselves!
This happened while Ali and her colleagues were all playing secret poker. While this joke isn't mentioned in the movie itself, it is mentioned in the trailer. Hopefully it's a deleted scene somewhere, too!
Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing
Near the end of the movie, Joe “Dolla” Barry, played by Tracy Morgan, and Ali are talking backstage while Jamal Barry is being drafted to the NBA. One of the jokes Joe says to Ali in passing is about two pandas and Richard Nixon. Odd, right?
What audiences may miss is that he’s actually referencing a real-life event involving former United States President Richard Nixon. The government of China gifted two pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, to President Nixon after his visit to China in 1972.
What Men Want Meets Twilight
The best part of comedy movies are the side characters as jokes and one of the side characters is being played by Twilight’s very own Kellan Lutz! Instead of being vampire heartthrob Emmett Cullen, he plays Ali’s hot neighbor, Captain F***tastic (yes, that’s the character’s name).
Although the two end on bad terms when a hookup goes wrong, it’s nice to see a familiar face on the big screen.
Ali Drinking Tea
One of the reasons Ali starts hearing men's thoughts is because of the Haitian tea the fortune teller gives her. As she tells Brandon this fact, he says, “I thought black people stopped drinking tea after Get Out. You forgot to stay woke.”
This joke is in direct reference to the successful horror film directed by Jordan Peele, Get Out. In this racially-driven movie, Chris Washington, played by Daniel Kaluuya, is given tea by the mother, Missy Armitage, in order to keep him hostage and taken as a slave. Let’s just say tea may not be a good idea to drink.
“Oh, Calm Down. Have A Fiji.”
This one comes as a satisfying full circle. At the beginning of the film, Ali heads to her boss, Nick, and asks why she didn’t get the promotion. Because she’s visibly upset, Nick says, “Oh, calm down. Have a Fiji.”
Ninety minutes later, Ali has kicked some agent booty and has finally gotten her deserved promotion. Instead, she declines Nick’s offer of being promoted. He begins throwing a fit and Ali’s response in return is the very same thing Nick told her: “Oh, calm down Nick. Have a Fiji.” While it’s not the funniest of jokes, it’s a satisfying symbolism of growth for Ali.
Ali Calling Eddie Bamm-Bamm
The last joke that audiences may have missed is a subtle one. When Ali comes into the office for the promotion announcement at the beginning of the film, she sits down next to Kevin and Eddie.
They start talking about poker night and Eddie goes, "No poker night. None, nada, zip!" Flustered at his denial of poker night, Ali quips back with, "I'm gonna need you to calm down baby man-child. Looking like Bamm-Bamm." This is in direct reference of Bamm-Bamm, the baby from The Flintstones!