From start to finish, Christian Ditter‘s How To Be Single struggles to be both a forward-thinking comedy about women dating in the modern world and a reliably generic romantic comedy that will satisfy those looking for cinematic comfort food. Consider one of the film’s central characters, Meg (Leslie Mann), an OB-GYN who has no desire to have children of her own. It’s a refreshing take on an often socially-derided decision women make. Unfortunately, moments later, Meg falls in love with one of her patient’s newborn babies and decides the one thing in life she needs is a child. What follows is perhaps the film’s most enjoyable story line, in which a pregnant Meg is romanced by young receptionist Ken (a charming Jake Lacy), highlighting the irony of replacing one intriguing element with another – a flip on the older man-younger woman troupe – by surrendering to a common plotting device in many studio rom-coms.
Our main character, Alice (Dakota Johnson), has moved in with her sister, the aforementioned Meg, in New York City, having decided to take a break from her college boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) and “figure herself out.” Taking a job as a paralegal, Alice meets Robin (Rebel Wilson), a party animal quickly determined to teach young Alice… how to be single. Robin introduces her to Tom (Anders Holm), a bartender and studly tomcat, determined to never fall in love.
The third and least-appealing plot line involves Lucy (Alison Brie), a pragmatic online dating fanatic in need of a Wi-Fi signal, who has parked herself in Tom’s bar determined to mathematically find the right man for her. Brie’s a likable performer, but there’s not much here for her to do. Johnson and Wilson share a palpable chemistry, and the MVP of the men in Alice’s life is unquestionably David, played by Damon Wayans Jr., who could have used a few more scenes.
Throughout, sappy voiceover and a pop-riddled soundtrack are subverted by clever in-jokes and self-aware commentary. Ditter seems determined to find the edges to this familiar tale while being restricted to a specific kind of formula. Too often Johnson is restricted to twitches and stutters and self-important monologues. In the moments she’s allowed to break free and make a silly face or crack a joke (one particularly funny scene with Wayans Jr. comes to mind), Johnson becomes the star Hollywood wants her to be.
One pleasant surprise comes from the look of the film, courtesy of cinematographer Christian Rein. Scenes feel more exciting than they have any right to, thanks to some extreme close-ups, strange framing devices and a vibrant color palette. The New York City presented feels fun and fresh. Just don’t ask these people how much they pay in rent.
How to Be Single opens in wide release on Friday, February 12.