Think Like a Man

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.

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

 * Kevin Hart as Cedric, "The Happier Divorced Guy"
 * Michael Ealy as Dominic, "The Dreamer"
 * 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"
 * Meagan Good as Mya, "The 90 Day Rule Girl"
 * 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
 * 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"

Six professional basketball players made cameo appearances as themselves:
 * Matt Barnes
 * Shannon Brown
 * Rasual Butler
 * Darren Collison
 * Lisa Leslie
 * Metta World Peace

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&mdash;and attractive&mdash;cast, resulting in a funny take on modern romance". The film also holds a score of 51 out of 100 on the website Metacritic, based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

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)." Ebert called the cast "superb" noting in particular the performances of Meagan Good and Kevin Hart. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also complimented Good and Hart's performance, as well as Romany Malco's performance. 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." 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."

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. The romantic comedy film remained on top of the competition during its second week as well, bringing in $17.6 million.

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.

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

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. The film was released June 20, 2014.