How to Please a Woman

When Gina Henderson (Sally Phillips) is fired from her office job, she takes over the operations of a moving company to try and turn their fortunes around. With help and some encouragement from her friends at the swimming club, Gina asks the (all-male) crew to provide cleaning services and more to the women in their town. As the business succeeds, Gina re-evaluates her own love and sex life.

• Sally Phillips as Gina Henderson
• Erik Thomson as Steve
• Hayley McElhinney as Hayley
• Caroline Brazier as Sandra
• Tasma Walton as Monique
• Cameron Daddo as Adrian
• Alexander England as Tom
• Josh Thomson as Ben
• Ryan Johnson as Anthony
• Dan Paris as Mike
• Takia Morrison as Mandy

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 31 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "How to Please a Woman is disappointingly timid in some respects, but Sally Phillips' sparkling performance offsets many of this sex-positive comedy's nagging flaws."{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_please_a_woman|title= How to Please a Woman |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media|access-date= 22 August 2021}} Sandra Hall of The Sydney Morning Herald rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5, writing that while she felt that Webster’s comic timing was "less assured" and "her script isn’t exactly crackling with witticisms", she believed that "its candour is engaging and so, too, is the camaraderie between Gina and her pals, male and female."{{cite web |url= https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/it-has-the-spirit-of-full-monty-but-these-women-want-to-talk-about-sex-20220516-p5alq8.html|title= It has the spirit of Full Monty, but these women want to talk about sex|last= Hall|first= Sandra |author-link=Sandra Hall (writer)| date= 17 May 2022|website= The Sydney Morning Herald|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}} Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com rated the film 3 stars out of 4, writing that "Once the story settles in and the company is up and running, comedy and profundity ensue."{{cite web |url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-to-please-a-woman-film-review-2022|title= How to Please a Woman|last= O'Malley|first= Sheila|date= 22 July 2020|website= RogerEbert.com|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}}

Leslie Felperin of The Guardian rated the film 3 stars out of 5, writing that "The end result is nowhere near as persuasive or grounded in solid screenwriting as Leo Grande is, but Phillips has always been a charmer onscreen and, like Grande’s Emma Thompson, she’s more than willing to use her talent here to make a case for women learning to manage and take charge of their own pleasure."{{cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/06/how-to-please-a-woman-review-sally-phillips-dishes-out-sex-positive-domestic-gods|title= How to Please a Woman review – Sally Phillips dishes out sex-positive domestic gods|last= Felperin|first= Leslie|date= 6 July 2022|website= The Guardian|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}} Wenlei Ma of News.com.au gave the film a rating of 3/5, writing that "It doesn’t feel as if it has to rely on shock value because the core of the story isn’t about the sex, it’s about learning to accept that sex can be great, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting it to be great."{{cite web |url= https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/movie-reviews/how-to-please-a-woman-is-a-cheeky-and-cheerful-story/news-story/7db04d416e93714d75b83d2f23b41f4f|title= How to Please a Woman is a cheeky and cheerful story|last= Ma|first= Wenlei|date= 20 May 2022|website= News.com.au|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}} Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "while its premise is at times iffy, the movie as a whole has a refreshing randiness about it."{{cite web |url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-07-29/review-not-okay-zoey-deutch-hulu-we-met-in-virtual-reality-hbo-max|title= Review: 'Not Okay' tackles the seductiveness of internet celebrity, plus more weekend movies|last= Murray|first= Noel|date= 29 July 2022|website= Los Angeles Times|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}}

Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph rated the film 2 stars out of 5, writing that "With so many scenes of liberating banter shot inside a ladies’ shower facility, they might have chosen one that didn’t look as though this lot were mischievously entertaining one other in a PoW camp."{{cite web |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/how-please-woman-review-doggedly-mediocre-sex-comedy-doesnt/|title= How to Please a Woman, review: a doggedly mediocre sex comedy that doesn't move the earth|last= Robey|first= Tim|date= 7 July 2022|website= The Daily Telegraph|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}} Fran Hoepfner of TheWrap wrote a negative review of the film, writing that "Without a commitment to its tone, “How To Please A Woman” might help its titular woman, but it leaves its audience quite dissatisfied."{{cite web |url= https://www.thewrap.com/how-to-please-a-woman-film-review-aussie-sex-comedy-doesnt-know-what-it-wants/|title= 'How to Please a Woman' Film Review: Aussie Sex Comedy Doesn't Know What It Wants|last= Hoepfner|first= Fran|date= 20 July 2022|website= TheWrap|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}} Natalia Winkelman of The New York Times wrote that while the hook "piques curiosity — at least enough for a coy eyebrow raise", "Light intrigue is often not enough", and that "in this case, the movie strains to sustain charm."{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/movies/how-to-please-a-woman-review.html|title= 'How to Please a Woman' Review: The Service Industry|last= Winkelman|first= Natalia|date= 28 July 2022|website= The New York Times|publisher= |access-date= 22 August 2022|quote=}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|10530838|How to Please a Woman}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|how_to_please_a_woman|How to Please a Woman}}

Category:Australian comedy-drama films

Category:2022 comedy-drama films

Category:2022 films

Category:2022 directorial debut films

Category:Films scored by Guy Gross

Category:2020s Australian films