Tit Punches & Foot Fetishes: "How to Be Single" Movie Review
- Jayne Balke
- Feb 14, 2016
- 3 min read
It’s Valentine’s Day, and what better way to spend an evening than with your delightfully dorky mum, a whole bunch of other ladies and a few sorry-looking lads watching “How to Be Single.” Based on the novel by Liz Tuccillo, the film follows Alice (Dakota Johnson) after she breaks up with her boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) and relocates to the Big Apple so she can discover who she is as a single woman. At her new job, she meets Robin (Rebel Wilson), a quirky, fun-loving, thrill-seeking party-goer, who in turn introduces her to Tom (Anders Holm), a bartender who knows the ins and outs of singledom. The story also charts the life of Alice’s sister Meg (Leslie Mann), a doctor who is perfectly capable on her own, and Lucy (Alison Brie), whose take on dating sites leaves nothing to the imagination. Here’s what I thought of “How to Be Single”…
Always Add Sprinkles to Vanilla Ice-Cream
The last time I watched Dakota Johnson on screen, she was pitifully trying to convince viewers that Christian Grey was every woman’s fantasy (to be fair, it takes two to tango and Jamie Dornan did nothing for the ovaries in that film). In “How to Be Single,” she wasn’t the vanilla ice cream; rather, she was the vanilla ice cream with sprinkles and a small cherry on top. Her acting wasn’t horrific, but without Rebel Wilson as her stellar supporting role I very much doubt I’d have wanted to keep watching. In saying that, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline surrounding her character Alice and the struggle she faced in finding herself (and really, it couldn’t have been that terrible, trying to discover one’s identity in New York City). Truly, Wilson was the chocolate to Johnson’s vanilla, and the two balanced each other nicely - in the way colour can showcase the blacks and whites of your wardrobe.
A Tall Glass of ‘Nope’
While I wasn’t fussed on Alison Brie and Anders Holm’s storylines (not to mention Jason Mantzoukas, who could have been wonderful had he not been scripted some god-awful dialogue), I do appreciate what their narrative was trying to fulfil… even if it coasted from interesting to pathetic in a matter of minutes. There’s only so many times you can act the desperate, needy, lame-but-hot single lady before it gets old. Likewise, you can’t expect an audience to fall in love with a self-professed player, even though he boasts a big dick and “Sex Me” hair (that hair though… *oomph*).
Leslie Mann is Everything
Honestly, I would see this film purely for Leslie Mann. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had supernatural powers – the sheer magnetism of her personality demands to be heard, felt and acknowledged every time she graces the screen. Her wit outshone the other cast members; her sadness dug into your soul. She took you on a journey with every aspect of Meg’s persona. And I never thought Jake Lacy would be the perfect counterpart as Meg’s love interest Ken. His cheeky grin and amiable disposition had viewers entranced from the moment he walked onto the screen. The casting crew were smack on point when it came to these two actors in particular. I have absolutely no qualms with Mann or Lacy or the features of their characters. Bring on more of that goodness.
Final Verdict
If you’re a fan of girly rom-coms, then ignore the Rotten Tomatoes ratings and go see this movie. It was great. While some aspects were a touch corny or over the top, the sincerity was real and the laughs came in the dozen. All credit to writers Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein for their comedic timing in this film: it was refreshing to ride the Splash Mountain of emotions that crested Alice, Robin, Meg and Ken’s individual tales. Director Christian Ditter is to be commended for his work on this film: this is the first of his work I’ve seen and it certainly made me eager to experience his next project. There were some particularly beautiful takes in this film which served to enhance the emotion of those scenes; not to mention some tastefully crafted dialogue (most notably between Meg and Ken). On the whole, I’d give this movie 7 ½ out of 10 for comedy, 8 out of 10 for casting (once again, largely because of Mann and Wilson), 6 out of 10 for storyline and 9 out of 10 for general enjoyment. If nothing else, see this film because we all need more Leslie Mann in our lives. That should be reason enough in itself.
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