Film Review – How To Be Single
3 min read
How to be Single, directed by Christian Ditter (Love, Rosie), is a film about falling in love and finding yourself. Set in New York, How to be Single has a wonderful cast and is incredibly funny.
Alice (Dakota Johnson) has never been on her own, and when she finishes college, she temporarily breaks up with her boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) so she can ‘find herself’. With a long list of things she wants to do for herself, Alice sets off for New York City to start a new job and tick a few things off her list. On her first day, Alice meets Robin (Rebel Wilson), an out-of-this-world party girl who is loving life and sleeps with as many men as possible. Robyn introduces Alice to Tom (Anders Holm); a man who has disconnected his water so women cannot get a drink in his apartment and are forced to leave straight after sex. After Alice has a one-night stand with Tom, she tries to go back to Josh, but he has already fallen for someone else. Tom on the other hand, begins to fall for Lucy (Alison Brie), a woman who lives above the bar he works at, and is obsessed with finding the right man – to the point where she created an algorithm to enhance her online dating experience. Alice’s sister Meg (Leslie Mann), who is a work-obsessed doctor having an IVF baby on her own, meets the younger Ken (Jake Lacy), who wants nothing more than to be with her.
For a film so focused on finding the best way to be on your own, it has some brilliant characters who know exactly who they are already. Robyn is completely content within herself, she loves to drink, party and sleep around, because that’s what she wants. Ken is a little unsure of what he wants to do with his life, but the prospect of being a stay at home dad makes him ecstatic. How To Be Single is centred around Alice, a nice and intelligent woman who has relied on others her entire life. However Alice is just a little boring in comparison to other characters.
Rebel Wilson is the shining star of How To Be Single. While she’s not playing anyone we haven’t met in a film starring her before, you are more interested in her involvement in the film than any of the other characters. Her ability to make outrageous humour palatable is second to none. Alison Brie’s character Lucy has a brilliant meltdown in front of a lot of small children that is just hilarious. Leslie Mann’s comedic flair comes out in her character Meg’s inability to cope with falling for a younger man. In comparison to the rest of the cast, Dakota Johnson’s performance as Alice is a little lacklustre. However, that could have something to do with her playing a boring character rather than her abilities as an actress.
How To Be Single is a pretty good romantic comedy, with a number of memorable characters that push the film forward. The film has a good message; to learn to love yourself before you lose yourself in others, which comes through loud and clear. How To Be Single is entertaining and funny – despite a few flaws here and there.
