‘What Men Want’ Red Band Trailer: Pete Davidson Speaks His Red Band Mind

Don’t let the holidays keep you from enjoying a bawdy good Red Band not-safe-for-work trailer: Paramount today released a new one for What Men Want, director Adam Shankman’s gender-switched re-do, starring Taraji P. Henson, of Nancy Meyers’ 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want.

Henson, of course, takes the Mel Gibson role, and while a trailer released last summer efficiently set up the mind-reading premise, today’s Red Band clip adds a glimpse of the raunchy tone that any comedy peering into the mind of the male had better be prepared for.

Actually, Henson gets things off to a fine Red Band start with a shout of “Listen up assholes!”

But the trailer truly earns its Red Band with a quick scene featuring Saturday Night Live‘s Pete Davidson, a co-worker in the sports management company for which Henson’s Ali Davis works and struggles. And Ali doesn’t even need to use her newfound mind-reading power to know everything she never needed to know about Davidson’s sleazy dude.

“I’ll rip out your eyes and,” well, do something to the sockets, Davidson’s character screams into the phone, well within earshot of his colleagues. Then he announces what he’ll do to the caller’s mother.

“Ad agency exec?,” asks a co-worker.

“Oh, no, it’s my brother.”

The official logline: Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) is a successful sports agent who’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues. When Ali is passed up for a well-deserved promotion, she questions what else she needs to do to succeed in a man’s world… until she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts! With her newfound power, Ali looks to outsmart her colleagues as she races to sign the next basketball superstar, but the lengths she has to go to will put her relationship with her best friends and a potential new love interest (Aldis Hodge) to the test.

Shankman directs from a screenplay by Tina Gordon and Peter Huyck & Alex Gregory, story by Jas Waters and Gordon. Producers are Will Packer and James Lopez, with exec proucers Taraji P. Henson, Amy Sayres, Adam Shankman, Matt Williams, David McFadzean and Dete Meserve.

In addition to Henson and Davidson, the What Men Want cast includes Aldis Hodge, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Tracy Morgan.

Last summer, Paramount moved the release of the comedy from mid-January to Feb. 8 to tap into the Valentine’s Day biz.

Take a look at the new Red Band trailer and let us know what you think.