Think Like a Man

Think Like a Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Story
Produced by	Will Packer
Screenplay by	Keith Marryman David A. Newman
Based on	Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey
Starring	Michael Ealy Jerry Ferrara Meagan Good Regina Hall Kevin Hart Terrence J Taraji P. Henson Romany Malco Gabrielle Union
Music by	Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography	Larry Blanford
Edited by	Peter S. Elliot
Production company	Rainforest Films
Distributed by	Screen Gems
Release dates	February 20, 2012 (2012-02-20) (PAFF) April 20, 2012 (2012-04-20) (United States)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12 million[1]
Box office	$96.1 million[1]

Think Like a Man is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Keith Marryman and David A. Newman, based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. The film stars an ensemble cast, featuring Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Terrence J, Taraji P. Henson, Romany Malco and Gabrielle Union.

The film was released on April 20, 2012 by Screen Gems.^[2]

Plot

The film follows four storylines about each of the couples, 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 hooked on Harvey's advice, they try to turn the tables on their mates, which later seems to backfire.

Cast

Six professional basketball players made cameo appearances as themselves:

• Matt Barnes
• Shannon Brown
• Rasual Butler
• Darren Collison
• Lisa Leslie
• Metta World Peace

Reception

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 53%, based on 96 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10, and the site's critical consensus states, "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".^[3] The film also holds a score of 51 out of 100 on the website Metacritic, based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[4]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times viewed 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)."^[5] Ebert called the cast "superb" noting in particular the performances of Meagan Good and Kevin Hart.^[5] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also complimented Good and Hart's performance, as well as Romany Malco's performance.^[6] 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."^[6] 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."^[7]

Box office

Think Like a Man grossed over $33.7 million during its opening weekend, an accomplishment which ended The Hunger Games' four-week run at the #1 spot at the U.S. box office.^[1] The romantic comedy film remained on top of the competition during its second week as well, bringing in $17.6 million.^[8]

As of June 24, 2012, Think Like a Man has earned $91,547,205 in both the United States and Canada, along with $4,523,302 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $96,070,507. The movie's production budget was $12.5 million.^[9]

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack includes songs by Kelly Rowland, Jennifer Hudson, Keri Hilson, John Legend and Future.^[10]

Sequel

On June 28, 2012 Screen Gems announced plans for a sequel Think Like a Man Too, with Keith Merryman and David A. Newman again writing the script.^[12] The film was released June 20, 2014.

References

External links

• Official website
• Think Like a Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Think Like a Man at AllMovie
• Think Like a Man at Box Office Mojo
• Think Like a Man at Rotten Tomatoes
• Think Like a Man at Metacritic