How To Be Single is surprisingly good. On the surface it seems like a standard unimpressive rom-com, but it ends up not at all adhering to any of the tropes of the genre. Despite the name of the film, I had thought that the main character Alice would end up with some guy and be happy, but it completely goes against expectations. Something that was promised last year with Amy Schumer's Trainwreck, that that movie ultimately failed to deliver on.
Alice (Dakota Johnson) decides to split briefly from her college boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) so she can learn how to be her own person. She moves to New York where she befriends Robin (Rebel Wilson) who teaches her how to enjoy single life. Meanwhile, Alice's sister Meg (Leslie Mann) is a career oriented doctor who decides that she wants to have a baby and embarks on the IVF process. Alice gets caught up with bar owner Tom (Anders Holm) who shows her his honest tactics when it comes to sleeping with girls and not getting attached with anyone. He does however have a crush on Lucy (Allison Brie), a girl who lives above his bar and is focused on getting married to someone soon. Alice also gets involved with David (Damon Wayans Jr.), a father who is still reeling from the death of his wife two years earlier.
The overall message of the movie is a positive one. Most romantic comedies make it seem like it's the end of the world if your story doesn't end with you meeting that person who is perfect for you. How To Be Single teaches you to just be comfortable with whatever situation you end up in, whether it's being single or in a relationship. I like the realistic way in which this film comes together. All the character interactions are completely organic and the character arcs happen the way they would in real life as opposed to a Hollywood movie. Alice doesn't get back together with her old boyfriend and even though Tom gets his chance at giving his big emotional speech, it doesn't end up working at all. Despite these positives, there are some flaws with the script. Meg comes to the realisation that she wants to have a baby after spending a few minutes with one. It's as if all her ambitions of having a career give way to maternal instincts just because she holds a baby one time. Also there's a bit of a black hole in the third act when we just flash forward to three months later without referencing anything that happened during them.
Watching this movie, I realised that Dakota Johnson can't really act, showing that acting talent isn't exactly hereditary (her dad Don was one half of Miami Vice), but in this movie it's okay because the audience is able to put themselves in the shoes of her character, despite the lack of personality. Also Rebel Wilson plays the same Australian character as in the other films she's in, making me wonder how bad her American accent is (Dakota Johnson on the other hand does quite a passable Aussie accent). Thankfully we don't see Johnson and Wilson for all the movie and the supporting cast actually has a lot of screen time. Leslie Mann has always been a remarkable actress and is great at playing serious against funny which comes in handy here. Allison Brie is fun as Lucy, but can do better. The male cast members take a back seat but are still pretty funny, especially Jason Mantzoukas and Jake Lacy, who I thought was a lot funnier here than his last role in Love The Coopers. Damon Wayans Jr. has the potential to be a hilarious actor, but sadly his role wasn't calling for it. Both Nicholas Braun and Anders Holm play serious guys as well.
How To Be Single offers a refreshing take on modern relationships that is more in keeping with reality. But if you're not into that and just want to watch an easy rom-com, this movie isn't going to hurt you at all either. Poor lead performances aren't enough to make it horrible either.
The overall message of the movie is a positive one. Most romantic comedies make it seem like it's the end of the world if your story doesn't end with you meeting that person who is perfect for you. How To Be Single teaches you to just be comfortable with whatever situation you end up in, whether it's being single or in a relationship. I like the realistic way in which this film comes together. All the character interactions are completely organic and the character arcs happen the way they would in real life as opposed to a Hollywood movie. Alice doesn't get back together with her old boyfriend and even though Tom gets his chance at giving his big emotional speech, it doesn't end up working at all. Despite these positives, there are some flaws with the script. Meg comes to the realisation that she wants to have a baby after spending a few minutes with one. It's as if all her ambitions of having a career give way to maternal instincts just because she holds a baby one time. Also there's a bit of a black hole in the third act when we just flash forward to three months later without referencing anything that happened during them.
Watching this movie, I realised that Dakota Johnson can't really act, showing that acting talent isn't exactly hereditary (her dad Don was one half of Miami Vice), but in this movie it's okay because the audience is able to put themselves in the shoes of her character, despite the lack of personality. Also Rebel Wilson plays the same Australian character as in the other films she's in, making me wonder how bad her American accent is (Dakota Johnson on the other hand does quite a passable Aussie accent). Thankfully we don't see Johnson and Wilson for all the movie and the supporting cast actually has a lot of screen time. Leslie Mann has always been a remarkable actress and is great at playing serious against funny which comes in handy here. Allison Brie is fun as Lucy, but can do better. The male cast members take a back seat but are still pretty funny, especially Jason Mantzoukas and Jake Lacy, who I thought was a lot funnier here than his last role in Love The Coopers. Damon Wayans Jr. has the potential to be a hilarious actor, but sadly his role wasn't calling for it. Both Nicholas Braun and Anders Holm play serious guys as well.
How To Be Single offers a refreshing take on modern relationships that is more in keeping with reality. But if you're not into that and just want to watch an easy rom-com, this movie isn't going to hurt you at all either. Poor lead performances aren't enough to make it horrible either.
