inkblot11 Review of How to Be Single

How to Be Single (2016)

Not your typical romcom but if this is the best Hollywood can do, I'll take it

[7/10 · 4 March 2016]

Alice (Dakota Johnson) met true love in college when Josh (Nicolas Braun) came to her rescue during a wardrobe malfunction. Now, four years later, Alice is restless. She loves J but feels that they should each "take a break" and experience singlehood for awhile. Josh is not happy. But, they part company and Alice expects it to be brief, relatively speaking. Therefore, Alice takes a new job as a paralegal to a large Manhattan law firm and moves in with her baby doctor sister, Meg (Leslie Mann). Her first day on the job, Alice is shown around by receptionist Robin (Rebel Wilson), who is unconventional to say the least. After briefing A on the hidden places for trysts at the company building, she then tries to educate A on "how to be single". Right away, Alice hooks up with a sexy barkeep, Tom (Anders Holm). Alas, Tom, who has no interest in a long term relationship, unknowingly likes a wedding-hungry gal, Lucy (Alison Brie) who meets up with Internet matches at the drinking establishment, as she lives upstairs. Its complicated. Making a date to see Josh again, Alice is startled to learn he has moved on with someone else. Also, Meg, makes her leave her apartment, since Robin dove naked down the laundry shoot. Nevertheless, Alice rebounds with a snug new apartment all her own and a possible new love interest, David (Damon Wayans, Jr). Meg, too, who has devoted herself to her career, wants to have a baby by a sperm donor, just as she meets a cute younger man, Ken (Jake Lacy). Who will be lucky enough to walk down the aisle and who will learn how to stay content whatever the situation? This, dear romance fans, is not your mama's romcom but its not in the same mode of an Apatow love story, either. There is a definite vibe of reality in the modern search for a mate so impossible happy ending is not in the works, either. Yet, there is sweetness and kisses between the heartache, making it pleasing to those who adore the genre. The cast is quite fine, with Johnson strong as the female lead and supported nicely by Mann, Wilson, Braun, Brie, and the rest. Wayans Jr. made the biggest impression, as his role as a single father has weight. Then, too, the Manhattan setting is terrific, from small apartments to huge buildings and parks. Costumes, too, are trendy and fun while the educated script and smooth direction add to the movie's enjoyment. Beware, folks, that there are many sexual situations and conversations, which some viewers won't appreciate. In summary, though, if you want to embrace any romance bone Hollywood throws out very rarely these days, you show go catch How to Be Single.