Several friends and I recently discussed the differences between men’s and women’s tastes in movies. I’m talking, of course, about action adventures compared to life dramas that deal with more realistic subjects, such as finding a soul mate via time travel.

Guys want the movies they watch to be packed with astonishing pyrotechnics that deliver excessive jolts of adrenaline.

“If something doesn’t blow up in the first 15 minutes,” my friend’s spouse confessed, “I’m out of there.”

The other men seated at our restaurant table nodded in agreement.

We ladies shared a knowing laugh.

Right then, one of the kitchen’s wait staff dropped what sounded like a four-piece serving for 50. The gentleman seated next to me expressed his concerns by applauding.

Why are men so enamored with things that go “BANG?” I wondered.

Perhaps the male of our species welcomes anything that interrupts otherwise constant thoughts of sex.

Nah, that can’t be it. Nothing could be that jarring.

When it comes to movies, men are attracted to explosions and fires and guns because viewing these images of power helps satisfy their urges to destroy opposition.

Think you won that last argument with your man? Nope. He obliterated your score while watching Transformers. You just didn’t know it.

Gals, here’s the deal: Men are wired to want something to erupt—loudly. This clearly works to their advantage. As long as there’s plenty of noise, they can avoid listening to us talk.

Furthermore, car explosions and artillery bombs and asteroid collisions boost men’s confidence because they’re always looking for an equalizer to prove size really doesn’t matter. Uh-huh. They’ve never been fully convinced.

The metaphorical links between explosions and heated desires have been well established. Items that can be detonated are dangerous, and danger, as everyone knows, is an aphrodisiac. This explains why many men say they’re “looking for fireworks in the bedroom.”

Explosives are naturally arousing. Good grief, the word “combustible” even includes the word “bust”.

To a guy, there’s nothing more thrilling than giant fireballs spewing debris and carnage. Don’t ask them to watch a movie that has a dramatic plot, one with actual dialogue and fully clothed stars. That would require too much cerebral effort for anything that lacks a powerful climax.

However, when I’m watching a movie, if something blows up during the first 15 minutes, then I expect whatever follows to be a two-hour waste. Unless, of course, that is the inciting incident that sends the heroine on a journey of self-discovery that takes her to some exotic locale, wherein she meets some gorgeous hunk of hormones who is suffering from some tragic loss, and they fall in love, drift apart, and then, through some chance event, reunite and eventually marry and live harmoniously ever after, despite having four children, three dogs, two cats, one iguana and a mother-in-law sharing their quarters.

See, women are just more realistic when it comes to what they expect from movies.