How to Be Single is a romcom movie directed by Christian Ditter. It stars Alison Brie, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann and Dakota Johnson. Alice (Johnson) breaks up with her perfect college boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) because she feels being single is an experience that she is missing out on. Party girl Robin (Wilson) is Alice’s co-worker who takes her under her wing to demonstrate how to be single. Meg (Mann) is an obstetrician who’s into her single life, but starts contemplating about having a baby. Lucy (Brie) has high standards and is adamant in finding the perfect man using analytics. These four women are trying to navigate the waters of New York City and sort their shit out.
Even though the posters and trailers imply they are group of friends partying together, they are in fact on their own personal journeys. How to Be Single just feels done already. With a strong resemblance to He’s Just Not That into You. Part of the problem is the lack of a central story or main character. Instead of following the group the movie jumps back and forth through each woman though they rarely cross paths. The casting was a bit disappointing. Ever since Bridesmaids, Rebel Wilson has been sprinkled throughout movies to play the same character. Wilson is a funny actress, but in these movies, it’s tiring. I’ve yet to see a reason to watch Dakota Johnson. She just has a weak screen presence, even more so in this cast. Brie and Mann both were good in the movie, but have done better work in the past. The reasoning behind why the women are struggling with relationships seems cliché and boring to follow. How to Be Single delivers a few laughs here and there, but overall the jokes fall flat.
Today’s romantic comedies are usually mediocre story wise, so it’s up to comedy to carry it along. How to Be Single doesn’t have much of either. If you are fan of the genre you will probably like it. If you don’t like romcoms don’t bother.
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 1 hr 50 min
Director: Christian Ditter
Screenplay: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann, Alison Brie, Damon Wayans, Jr., Anders Holm, Nicholas Braun and Jason Mantzoukas
Producers: John Rickard and Dana Fox
Music: Fil Eisler
Cinematography: Christian Rein