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"
The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 54%, based on 101 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10, 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". 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." 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 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.
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.