Think Like a Man (Movie Review)

When I first heard about the film Think Like a Man, my immediate thought was, “It’s another self-help rom com!” The genre is a dime a dozen these days, from Drew Barrymore’s He’s Just Not That Into You to Tina Fey’s Mean Girls and Woody Allen’s loose, funny take on David Reuben’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask. But this one is a bit more serious, even if it’s not quite as funny or charming as some of the others.

It may be a little too infomercial-y, but Think Like a Man is a decent enough romantic comedy that covers the very familiar ground of men and women’s differences and strategies for finding love. Despite its skewed romantic trajectories, the movie sometimes finds ways to breathe life into its characters and occasionally acknowledges their messiness.

The film centers around a group of friends who get together regularly for basketball games. There’s a token white guy (Gary Owen), an Italian guy (Jerry Ferrara, Entourage) and four black guys including Dominic (Michael Ealy) and Zeke (Romany Malco).

Their relationships vary from the traditional to the flimsy to the downright ridiculous. Lauren (Taraji P. Henson) is a Fortune 500 COO with a status obsession; Candace (Meagan Good) is a hard-working single mom who wants to find the right man for her; Kristen (Taylor Schilling) is living with a boyfriend she doesn’t feel very connected to and Mya (Rosario Dawson) is dating a frat boy who can’t seem to stop being a teenager.

They all rely on Steve Harvey’s best-selling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man to help them navigate their relationships and get them the men they desire. But once the men realize that their mates rely on the book to be in control of their relationships, they try to turn things on their mates by using Harvey’s advice as a weapon against their ladies.

But will they succeed?

The ladies are determined to get the men they desire, but are they willing to change their perceptions and behavior to meet their husbands’ expectations? And will they ever learn to truly be there for each other if they face hardships, such as bad investments or sickness?

When the ladies do start to change, they’re surprised by what they discover. For instance, they learn that saying no to additional responsibilities isn’t laziness, it’s strength and a sign of respect.

In the end, they also realize that they must take responsibility for their own actions if they’re going to be successful. They’ll have to start putting their own lives ahead of their careers or relationships in order to achieve the happiness they seek.

It’s not easy to do, but it’s a necessary part of getting the men you want. The book is a great resource for women who need help with their dating lives, and the film is a fun way to see what a man’s mind is really like.