Think Like a Man is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. The film stars an ensemble cast, featuring Kevin Hart, Meagan Good, Jerry Ferrara, Regina Hall, Michael Ealy, Terrence J, Taraji P. Henson, Romany Malco, and Gabrielle Union.
| Think Like a Man | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tim Story |
| Written by |
|
| Based on | Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey |
| Produced by | Will Packer |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Larry Blanford |
| Edited by | Peter S. Elliot |
| Music by | Christopher Lennertz |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million[1] |
| Box office | $96.1 million[1] |
The film was released on April 20, 2012, by Screen Gems.[2] It received mixed reviews from critics, who complimented the film's humor, its soundtrack and the performances of the cast (particularly those of Good, Malco and Hart) but received criticism for being a "standard romcom".[3] The film was a commercial success, grossing $96.1 million against a $12 million budget. A direct sequel, Think Like a Man Too, was released on June 20, 2014, with the original cast returning, to negative reviews from critics but was a moderate commercial success.
Plot
editThe film follows four storylines, which each focus on one particular couple. They are titled:
- "The Mama's Boy" vs. "The Single Mom"
- "The Non-Committer" vs. "The Girl Who Wants the Ring"
- "The Dreamer" vs. "The Woman Who Is Her Own Man"
- "The Player" vs. "The 90 Day Rule Girl"
Each of the women are readers of Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. When the men learn that the women are reliant on Harvey's advice, they try to turn the tables on their mates, which later seems to backfire.
Cast
edit- Kevin Hart as Cedric, "The Happier Divorced Guy"
- Meagan Good as Mya, The 90 Day Rule Girl
- Taraji P. Henson as Lauren Harris, "The Woman Who Is Her Own Man"
- Terrence J as Michael Hanover, "The Mama's Boy"
- Regina Hall as Candace Hall, "The Single Mom"
- Jerry Ferrara as Jeremy Kern, "The Non-Committer"
- Gabrielle Union as Kristen, "The Girl Who Wants the Ring"
- Romany Malco as Zeke Freeman, "The Player"
- Michael Ealy as Dominic, "The Dreamer"
- Steve Harvey as himself
- Gary Owen as Bennett, "The Happily Married Man"
- Wendy Williams as Gail, Cedric's ex-wife
- Chris Brown as Alex, Mya's ex
- Keri Hilson as Heather
- Jenifer Lewis as Loretta Hanover, Michael's mom
- La La Anthony as Sonia, Mya's friend
- Caleel Harris as Duke, Candace's son
- Morris Chestnut as James Merrill, Lauren's ex
- Arielle Kebbel as Gina, Kristen's friend
- J.B. Smoove as Bartender
- Kelly Rowland as Brenda
- Sherri Shepherd as Vicki
- Tika Sumpter as Dominic's girlfriend
- Tony Rock as Xavier, Zeke's friend
- Luenell as Aunt Winnie Hall
- Jessica Camacho as Melissa
- Zach Firtel as Ryan, "The Lingerer"
- Matt Colton as Uncle Jesse, "The Ripper"
- Hayden Fein as Ash, "The Trainer"
- Andrew Ward as Runner, "The Cat"
- J. Anthony Brown as Deacon Johnson
Six professional basketball players made cameo appearances as themselves:
Production
editPrincipal photography began on July 1, 2011, in Los Angeles and Culver City, California, and ended on September 5.
Reception
editCritical response
editThe review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of 101 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "In Think Like a Man, an otherwise standard rom-com is partially elevated by a committed -- and attractive -- cast, resulting in a funny take on modern romance."[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[6]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that a major problem with the film is that it takes seriously the advice given in the book it is based upon, commenting that such an approach "might have worked as a screwball comedy or a satire, but can you believe for a moment in characters naive enough to actually live their lives following Steve Harvey's advice? The result is a tiresome exercise that circles at great length through various prefabricated stories defined by the advice each couple needs (or doesn't need)."[7] Ebert called the cast "superb" noting in particular the performances of Meagan Good and Kevin Hart.[7] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also complimented Good and Hart's performance, as well as Romany Malco's performance.[8] He ultimately gave the film a "B-" grade, writing that it is "so busy tracking courtship as if it were a science project that the bite-size love stories lack spontaneity."[8] In a positive review, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune commended the film for "stick[ing] to a formula without falling prey to it" and commented that "its hangout factor is considerable, because the actors' charms are considerable."[9]
Box office
editThink Like a Man grossed $91.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $4.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $96.1 million, on a production budget of $12.5 million.[10]
Think Like a Man grossed $33.7 million during its opening weekend, ending The Hunger Games' four-week run at the #1 spot at the U.S. box office.[1] The film remained on atop the competition during its second week, bringing in $17.6 million.[11]
Soundtrack
editThe film's soundtrack includes songs performed by numerous artists, including Kelly Rowland, Jennifer Hudson, Keri Hilson, John Legend and Future.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Think Like a Man (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ "Think Like a Man Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on 2014-11-09. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
- ^ Think Like a Man, archived from the original on 2020-10-27, retrieved 2020-10-03
- ^ "Think Like a Man (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "Think Like a Man". CBS Interactive, Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Ebert, Roger. "Think Like a Man". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ^ a b Gleiberman, Owen (April 25, 2012). "Think Like a Man". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ^ Phillips, Michael (April 19, 2012). "Think Like a Man movie review". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune: Tribune Company. Archived from the original on 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
- ^ Goldberg, Stephanie. "'Think Like A Man' and the legacy of 'Love Jones'". CNN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ Downey, Ryan J. "'Think Like A Man' Takes Box Office For Second Week". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
- ^ "Keri Hilson, Kelly Rowland Join 'Think Like a Man' Soundtrack". Rap-Up. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.