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There was one point in the film where I asked myself, why do I not absolutely hate this film? It seems to fall into the category of movies that I simply cannot stand, but for some weird reason, this film fails to make me hate it. It's not good, let's get that out of the way fast, but I did not hate this film. In fact, it has some positive things going for it. Who'da thunk it?
Alice, played by the delightful Dakota Johnson, dumps her college boyfriend in an attempt to 'find herself'. She never really got to experience the single life and takes this opportunity to live life to the fullest. Her recently dumped boyfriend doesn't take too kindly to this idea, but what can the guy do? So Alice moves to New York, gets a job and meets Robin, played by the one note Rebel Wilson. Robin is also single and loves the care free feeling of it all. She takes it upon herself to teach Alice how to milk the single life by getting free drinks, lots of sex and great parties. Alice's sister, Meg, played by Leslie Mann, let's Alice stay with her because she is too busy being a career driven doctor to have time to settle down for a family. So her apartment is usually empty, much like her love life. Which she likes to convince herself, is absolutely fine. Finally, another character that seems to have next to no connection to ANYONE ELSE, Lucy, played by the adorable Alison Brie, is determined to find a husband by using her algorithm online to find that perfect man. The big problem is that she keep running into weirdos. Will she finally see that the good looking and funny bartender that she keeps flirting with is a great match for her? Oh...the suspense.
Yeah, so this film has a lot going on...and nothing going on at the same time. We mainly follow Alice, as she fumbles her way through the single life. Going from one guy to another, trying to find someone to replace that empty feeling inside her heart after she realized she made a mistake dumbing her boyfriend. In a situation like that, it's obvious that the guy is going move on and leave YOU behind, when YOU thought it was going to end the opposite way. Oh, the irony. Her sister has the most interesting story out of anyone. She has been so focused on her career, that she neglected any form of a relationship outside of her own sister. Yet that changes when she is asked to watch a kid for a few moments while the mother goes to the washroom. For some reason, this baby wins her over and she decides she wants to have a kid. Determined to raise a child on her own, yet those plans are thrown into the fire once a good-looking young man introduces himself to her at a party and they start dating. Does he want the same things as her? A child? Or simply a 'good-time', something all young good-looking males want, according to Mann.
Alison Brie is a one note character here trying to find the right guy. Her story seems completely out of place in relation to the other ones. The only connected piece if the bartender who helps her out, because he slept with Alice and gave her some inside details about how guys think. Finally Rebel Wilson, with ZERO character development or attributes. She is literally the comic relief and nothing more. She comes in with her crazy antics and one liners about sex and then goes away. Nothing new for her.
The men in the film are resorted to background dressing. We're suppose to believe that they overcome their own hurdles in life, either by realizing they are man whores and finally deciding to move on from their depressing past. The men are plot pieces to move the other characters forward for whatever reason the story dictates. They have no real motives or desires of their own. It's all thinly painted window dressing on the surface to make you think there is.
How To Be Single avoids some cliches (the Brie storyline) and falls for others (the Mann storyline). The core message of being perfectly confident in yourself and with who you are is an obvious one when dealing with "life issues". The film offers nothing new, nor thought provoking for those living the single life. It offers a few laughs here and there, but that depends on how funny you find Wilson. Also...everyone lives in swanky places in New York...where are the toilet bowl apartments? Do they exist in this world? No way!!!
How To Be Single
(Christian Ditter)
"I was expecting worse..."
(Christian Ditter)
"I was expecting worse..."
There was one point in the film where I asked myself, why do I not absolutely hate this film? It seems to fall into the category of movies that I simply cannot stand, but for some weird reason, this film fails to make me hate it. It's not good, let's get that out of the way fast, but I did not hate this film. In fact, it has some positive things going for it. Who'da thunk it?
Alice, played by the delightful Dakota Johnson, dumps her college boyfriend in an attempt to 'find herself'. She never really got to experience the single life and takes this opportunity to live life to the fullest. Her recently dumped boyfriend doesn't take too kindly to this idea, but what can the guy do? So Alice moves to New York, gets a job and meets Robin, played by the one note Rebel Wilson. Robin is also single and loves the care free feeling of it all. She takes it upon herself to teach Alice how to milk the single life by getting free drinks, lots of sex and great parties. Alice's sister, Meg, played by Leslie Mann, let's Alice stay with her because she is too busy being a career driven doctor to have time to settle down for a family. So her apartment is usually empty, much like her love life. Which she likes to convince herself, is absolutely fine. Finally, another character that seems to have next to no connection to ANYONE ELSE, Lucy, played by the adorable Alison Brie, is determined to find a husband by using her algorithm online to find that perfect man. The big problem is that she keep running into weirdos. Will she finally see that the good looking and funny bartender that she keeps flirting with is a great match for her? Oh...the suspense.
Yeah, so this film has a lot going on...and nothing going on at the same time. We mainly follow Alice, as she fumbles her way through the single life. Going from one guy to another, trying to find someone to replace that empty feeling inside her heart after she realized she made a mistake dumbing her boyfriend. In a situation like that, it's obvious that the guy is going move on and leave YOU behind, when YOU thought it was going to end the opposite way. Oh, the irony. Her sister has the most interesting story out of anyone. She has been so focused on her career, that she neglected any form of a relationship outside of her own sister. Yet that changes when she is asked to watch a kid for a few moments while the mother goes to the washroom. For some reason, this baby wins her over and she decides she wants to have a kid. Determined to raise a child on her own, yet those plans are thrown into the fire once a good-looking young man introduces himself to her at a party and they start dating. Does he want the same things as her? A child? Or simply a 'good-time', something all young good-looking males want, according to Mann.
Alison Brie is a one note character here trying to find the right guy. Her story seems completely out of place in relation to the other ones. The only connected piece if the bartender who helps her out, because he slept with Alice and gave her some inside details about how guys think. Finally Rebel Wilson, with ZERO character development or attributes. She is literally the comic relief and nothing more. She comes in with her crazy antics and one liners about sex and then goes away. Nothing new for her.
The men in the film are resorted to background dressing. We're suppose to believe that they overcome their own hurdles in life, either by realizing they are man whores and finally deciding to move on from their depressing past. The men are plot pieces to move the other characters forward for whatever reason the story dictates. They have no real motives or desires of their own. It's all thinly painted window dressing on the surface to make you think there is.
How To Be Single avoids some cliches (the Brie storyline) and falls for others (the Mann storyline). The core message of being perfectly confident in yourself and with who you are is an obvious one when dealing with "life issues". The film offers nothing new, nor thought provoking for those living the single life. It offers a few laughs here and there, but that depends on how funny you find Wilson. Also...everyone lives in swanky places in New York...where are the toilet bowl apartments? Do they exist in this world? No way!!!