The reviews for Think Like A Man are in and as expected the critics had a lot to say. To summarize the sentiments of many of the critics, the star studded cast was brilliant, but you won’t find any twist or turns in this romantic comedy.
Based on the book written by Steve Harvey, Think like a Man follows a group of men who find that their relationships have been sabotaged by Harvey’s self-help book. While the women are bookmarking every tactic to maintain dominance in their love lives, the men dig into the book to look for a counter.
The storyline behind Think Like A Man may not be something entirely new to moviegoers, however, with a cast containing Michael Ealy, Meagan Good, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union, and Jerry Ferrara, maybe it will be able to usurp The Hunger Games at this weekend’s box-office. At least the critics below give it a fighting chance.
Here is what they had to say:
The Story:
” ‘Think Like a Man’ is a romantic ensemble comedy — an excessively populated and chatty two-hour one — spun from comedian and syndicated radio host Steve Harvey’s 2009 self-help relationship bestseller ‘Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man’…The fact that the movie adaptation uses just the latter half of Harvey’s book title is your first clue to its slant. It centers around a fraternity of six friends — each designated in the intro as a particular ‘type’ (as per Harvey’s book) — who regularly meet to play basketball, drink and talk about women. Four of them discover that the women they are involved with (who are also ‘types’) are applying Harvey’s wisdom to the relationship dynamic, so the men study up and turn the game to the home-team advantage for what amounts to a temporary fix.” — Jennie Punter, The Globe and Mail
The Cast:
“While the result deserves some credit for finding a creative way to bring the book to life, the overlapping storylines simply aren’t compelling enough, despite the best efforts of a game and attractive cast.” — Brian Lowry, Variety
“Every primary cast member is appealing, elevating the disposable plot — men and women are in constant battle, yawn — into a funny, sexy take on contemporary dating. Middling lines are delivered with sharp sass; tired stereotypes are … well, still tired, actually (women manipulate and nag, men lie and evade). But at least the actors offer gentle twists that take away some of the sting.” — Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
“Forget hackneyed clichés about Players and Dreamers and the scheming women who seek to domesticate them. Focus on the pleasures of watching a group of gifted actors spar and seduce each other with genuine warmth, and ‘Think Like a Man’ just might go straight to your head.” — Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
Is It Funny?
” ‘Think Like a Man’ is occasionally funny, though its dirty riffs — most provided by Kevin Hart as the Happily Divorced Guy — are as formulaic as its earnest parts. The movie isn’t liable to surprise you. Nor will it bore or offend you, even if you find Mr. Harvey’s shtick more old-school sexist than old-school courtly.” — Rachel Saltz, The New York Times
“There’s not a single conversation that isn’t about the mechanics of dating, or some other issue of conflict between the genders, but this cast is so uniformly engaging and charismatic that they make the whole thing work.” — Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
The Conclusion:
“These 30-something folks, comfortable in their circumstances and their skins, are allowed to be smart of heart if baffled by the 21st-century courtship game. There’s nothing profound going on here; the truisms don’t blossom into life-enriching truths. It’s more like the person you meet at a bar who, on second glance, is surprisingly attractive. Call ‘Think Like a Man’ a perfectly satisfactory one-night stand at the movies.” — Richard Corliss, TIME
“Anyone who reads advice books about romance has one problem to begin with: bad taste in literature.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
