“Think Like a Man” is about relationship angst, the constant discussion of what a man and woman thinks and for those trying to get into a relationship, hope that one day you will find true love! A hilarious romantic comedy that is just a lot of fun! So, if you looking for a comedy to make you laugh but also a story that pokes fun at the dating scene, then definitely give “Think Like a Man” a chance!
TITLE: Think Like a Man
YEAR OF RELEASE: 2012
DURATION: 96 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 2:39:1 Widescreen Presentation, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English – Audio Descriptive Track, French, Spanish, Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish, Chinese, Indonesia, Korean, Thai
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: PG-13 (For Sexual Content, Some Crude Humor and Brief Drug Use)
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2012
Directed by Tim Story
Based on the Book “Act Like a LAdy, Think Like a Man” by Steve Harvey
Screenplay by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman
Produced by William Packer
Executive Producer: Glenn S. Gainor, Rob Hardy, Steve Harvey, Rushion McDonald
Music by Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography by Larry Blanford
Edited by Peter S. Elliot
Casting by Kim Hardin
Production Design by Chris Cornwell
Art Direction by Charlie Campbell
Set Decoration by Beth Wooke
Costume Design by Salvador Perez, Jr.
Starring:
Michael Ealy as Dominic
Jerry Ferrara as Jeremy
Meagan Good as Mya
Regina Hall as Candace
Kevin Hart as Candace
Kevin Hart as Cedric
Taraji P. Henson as Lauren
Terrence Jenkins as Michael
Jenifer Lewis as Loretta
Romany Malco as Zeke
Gary Owen as Bennett
Gabrielle Union as Kristen
La La Anthony as Sonia
Chris Brown as Alex
Wendy Williams as Gail
Sherri Shepherd as Vicki
Caleel Harris as Duke
Arielle Kebbel as Gina
Sharon Brathwaite-Sanders as Nija
Tony Rock as Xavier
The balance of power in four couples’ relationships is upset when the women (Gabrielle Union, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Taraji P. Henson) start using the advice in Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, to get more of what they want from their men. When the men (Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Terrence J, Romany Malco) realize that the women have gotten a hold of their relationship “playbook,†they decide that the best defense is a good offense and come up with a plan to use this information to their advantage. Let the battle of the sexes begin! INTL optional synopsis: The balance of power in four couples’ relationships is upset when the women start using the advice of a popular book to get more of what they want from their men. When the men realize that the women have gotten a hold of their relationship “playbook,†they decide that the best defense is a good offense and come up with a plan to use this information to their advantage. Let The Battle of the Sexes begin!
In 2009, comedian and game show host Steve Harvey wrote a book titled “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”. A number one New York Times bestseller, Harvey’s book gave millions of women insight on how a man really thinks about love, intimacy and commitment.
And for many men, the fact that their “game” was exposed to women, how would a man react and deal with it?
Suffice to say, the “what if?” would eventually inspire writers Keith Marryman and David A. Newman (both wrote the Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis 2011 film “Friends with Benefits”) to write the 2012 romantic comedy, “Think Like a Man”, directed by Tim Story (“Fantastic Four” films and “Barbershop”).
The film which was budgeted at $12 million, would go on to earn $95 million in the box office (ending “The Hunger Games” four-week run at #1). And now, “Think Like a Man” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in August 2012.
“Think Like a Game” revolves around a group of single men and one who is getting out of a divorce.
Narrated by Cedric (portrayed by Kevin Hart, “Soul Plane”, “Along Came Polly”), Cedric is the jokester of the group but also a man who is in the process of divorcing his wife Gail (portrayed by Wendy Williams).
He hangs out with his buddies which include Dominic (portrayed by Michael Ealy, “2 Fast, 2 Furious”, “Underworld: Awakening”, “Seven Pounds”), a man who quit his job and wants to pursue his dream to own his own restaurant. Dominic likes Lauren (portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, “The Karate Kid”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), but being an upperclass woman who dates rich men, he tries to pretend to be of a man of status.
Jeremy (portrayed by Jerry Ferrara, “Battleship”, “Entourage”) is a non-comitter. He has been dating his girlfriend Kristen (portrayed by Gabrielle Union, “Bring it On”, “Bad Boys II”, “10 Things I Hate About You”) for nine years and she has been waiting for him to pop the question. And still waiting.
Zeke (portrayed by Romany Malco, “Weeds”, “Blades of Glory”, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) is a player and is usually seen having one night stands with women. But he becomes interested in Mya (portrayed by Meagan Good, “Stomp the Yard”, “Eve’s Bayou”), a young woman who doesn’t have sex with a guy until 90 days. But most guys breakup with her once they do have sex. And for Zeke, he sees Mya as a challenge.
Michael (portrayed by Terrence Jenkins, “Burlesque”, “Sparkle”) is a mama’s boy. Everything he does is with his mother and a major reason why women tend to end their relationship with him. But now Michael becomes interested in single mother Candace (portrayed by Regina Hall, “Scary Movie” films, “Law Abiding Citizen”), who happens to be good friends with Mya. But will Mya want to stay with a man who is a mama’s boy?
And Bennet (portrayed by Gary Owen, “Little Man”, “Daddy Day Care”, “Rebound”) is a man who does everything for his wife and his positive outlook tends to get to his friends.
But as most of these men try to get close to their women, the women have had bad relationships with men. So, the women purchase a copy of Steve Harvey’s book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”, they start to use the advice in the book to deal with their men.
But when the men catch on to this, they try to use the book to their advantage? But will it work?
VIDEO:
“Think Like a Man” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:39:1). Picture quality is well-lit and the clarity is very good. Skintones are natural, black levels are nice and deep and the lighting was well done. I didn’t notice any banding issues or see any use of excessive DNR while watching the film. Closeups to overall detail was very good and the HD presentation of “Think Like a Man” was excellent!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Think Like a Man” is presented with an English 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack. Also, an English-Audio Descriptive Track, French, Spanish, Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital. For a romantic comedy, the film is primarily a dialogue, front and center-channel driven soundtrack. Dialogue is crystal clear and the music for the film is also well utilized for the surround channels. I heard no issues with the soundtrack during my viewing of the film.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Chinese, Indonesian/Bahasa, Korean and Thai.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Think Like a Man” comes with the following special features:
- Deleted Scenes – (6:32) Featuring six deleted scenes total.
- Gag Reel – (5:58) Outtakes from “Think Like a Man”.
- The Guy Code – (6:41) Producer Will Packer, director Tim Story and the cast talk about the film and its premise.
- Men vs. Women – (11:28) Director Tim Story talks about the casting of the men and women for the film.
- He Said, She Said – (5:20) The cast talk about the different interpretations between a man and a woman when it comes to dating and relationships.
- Comedy Behind the Scenes – (6:49) Director Tim Story talk about the cast and those who make people laugh in the film and on the set of “Think Like a Man”.
I have a lot of single friends and I don’t know many times we sit and discuss the mindset of women. And in some cases, I know a good number of guys who rely on the teachings of books on how to get the women they want or how they can have an active social life with women.
“Think Like a Man” is quite interesting because the women are the ones who have dated or have had relationships with bad men, and they just want to find a good man to love and a man who can return that love right back. So, they turn to Steve Harvey’s popular book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” to understand how a man thinks.
And the men who have their game all set, are shocked to see how the women they are with, become more of a challenge to them, because they are not getting the easy sex that they want.
Featuring an ensemble cast, each of the male characters are guys that many men can relate to. From one who is a non-commiter but just wants to be in a longtime relationship, the player, the mama’s boy and the one who is literally searching for himself by pursing a different career path.
The storyline of “Think Like a Man” will surely be interesting to men who have been in the position of these guys who are looking to have fun with women. But what happens when the women use Steve Harvey’s book to the point of making sure these men don’t get off that easy and have to prove their love to get anywhere.
And what happens when the women see things turning for them for a positive but the men catch on that they are reading Steve Harvey’s book and try to turn things around?
It’s a romantic comedy featuring an ensemble cast that showcases a “Battle of the Sexes” type of storyline, as men vs. women is the primary premise of this film. But who will be making the changes necessary to find love? The men or the women?
The film is quite entertaining and comedian Kevin Hart is crazy as ever! It made me wonder how much of the film was actually improvised because a lot of the dialogue was off-the-cuff and that is where Kevin Hart is in his element, when he gets to go all out and be crazy.
But the casting for this film was well-done and each talent were able to portray the characters magnificently. The chemistry in this film worked and for the most part, “Think Like a Man” is a popcorn romantic comedy that is just hilarious and fun because of the predicaments that the characters find themselves in.
While a little long in duration, there were a good number of additional scenes that could have been cut but personally, I’m glad that Tim Story kept them in. From the guys playing basketball against LA Lakers Metta World Peace and former LA Sparks player Lisa Leslie was hilarious! You also get cameos by La La Anthony, Wendy Williams, Sherri Shepherd and also music star Chris Brown. And of course, you have to showcase the man who’s book inspired the film, Steve Harvey!
As for the Blu-ray release, picture quality was fantastic and for lossless audio, for a romantic comedy, it’s primarily dialogue and music-driven but it fits the film just right and both music and dialogue are crystal clear! There are also a good number of special features included but would have loved to have heard an audio commentary with the cast. That would have been crazy but fun at the same time!
Overall, “Think Like a Man” is about relationship angst, the constant discussion of what a man and woman thinks and for those trying to get into a relationship, hope that one day you will find true love! A hilarious romantic comedy that is just a lot of fun! So, if you looking for a comedy to make you laugh but also a story that pokes fun at the dating scene, then definitely give “Think Like a Man” a chance!
