For the better part of How to Be single, you are left to ponder, if the movie is trying to feed you how not to be single. That was a titular bummer right there. Then the journey of this weird girl Alice played by Dakota Johnson starts. Oh, the choices she makes! You can’t help but shake your head. Boy is she riding on a downhill or what? If it doesn’t make you want to step into the movie and slap some sense into her, then you are not really paying attention.
PLOT OF HOW TO BE SINGLE
How to be single is more like watching Alice make mistakes, thousands of them, and then feel sorry for herself in the end when things don’t work out. If you really try to figure things out from her perspective, you let it pass, because love’s a topic that messes with people. Alice is constantly looking for it, even when she unequivocally claims that she wishes to spend some time alone, and not sediment. But what is surprising is the fact that she is actually constantly scavenging for someone to baby her down.
I need to know who I am alone.
Alice makes all the wrong moves and ends up in a muck of her own doing. It is hard to feel sorry for her, because she clings on to any flickering hope like a moth. This contrasting image in Liz Tuccillo’s story is something that is capable of miffing you up. On the bright side, to assuage things down, you have other characters in the movie that try to make the story less punishing.
CHARACTERS IN HOW TO BE SINGLE (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
There is the sister Meg, played by Leslie Mann who is trying hard to have a baby. The coolest and the kinkiest Robin who is, hands down, one of the most interesting characters in How to be Single. Played by a psychotic Rebel Wilson, she remains the only one who tries to bide by the theme of the movie. Sadly she ends up becoming a cameo that shows up only when Alice is trying to bounce back to normalcy like a tilting doll. Oh by the way, Robin has an insane sense of humour. It is hard not to want her as your BFF.
Then there is Tom, the bartender, played by Anders Holm who likes to eavesdrop more than serving people. It is almost like he is never working. Always trying to push his zest before he would place a drink on the table. His story is like, well, another perplexing abyss that you don’t want to head towards.
There are childish things that are made into ‘things’ that get stretched too much. Like that ‘drink number’ thing that was totally uncalled for. Then at times the humour becomes clichéd, and suddenly you realize that the whole thing actually reeks of stark banality.
WHAT WORKS NEVERTHELESS
I think the humour quotient helps How to Be Single to stand a chance. Because there is always something witty in the corner waiting to lighten you up. In the vanguard is none other than Rebel Wilson who drops hilarious lines with her more than perfect comic timing. Alice comes around too at odd hours, showing us that she is not all cuddly and wobbly, that there is a unique cool side to her too. Other characters like Lucy played by Alison Brie and Tom often crack you up with their conversations, but you don’t really see a chemistry developing there.
David story taken up by Damon Wayans Jr. seems like an exercise in futility as well. The way he changes color is so inhuman like that you see through his act.
The best jests are hidden in the starting moments of How to Be Single, when Alice is creating an uncanny relationship with Rebel, and of course whenever Rebel shows up. In its eventuality however when things kind of settle, you do get happy feels.
THE FINAL VERDICT
It goes without saying that Alice’s irrepressible urge to find love is simply disappointing. Be prepared to hear you say this out more often, “Is she for real?” Also, watch her more than often try to struggle with her dress, which might force you to think why is she always getting into those clothes she is having trouble with. Then when you really think of it, it is more akin those choices she makes. It’s kind of an obvious way to say that Alice is always looking for someone to take care of her. When she scours naught, she cries in her misery.
As we reach the culminating crises, we finally come to realize that Alice gets to justify the movie moniker. For the first time in her life, she is not looking for someone and trying to finish unfulfilled tasks and learning to live with herself.
The thing about being single is, you should cherish it. Because in a week, or a lifetime, of being alone, you may only get one moment. One moment, when you are not tied up in a relationship with anyone. A parent, a pet, a sibling, a friend. One moment, when you stand on your own. Really, truly single. And then, it’s gone.
When the above lines are dropped you see Alice fulfilling her dream to witness the sunrise at Grand Canyon. But just when she turns you almost know that she has found someone yet again. Can’t this girl stay single like ever?
Anyways, you can watch this one as something light on your watch-list.
Check out the trailer of How to Be Single here:
How to be Single
Pros
- Humour is great
- A light entertainer
- Rebel Wilson is simply awesome
Cons
- Alice is a very disappointing character
- Impoverished by its contrasting theme
