Better Off Single

While it *almost* has the same plot progression as literally every other rom-com from the guy's point of view, this is quite different. Interesting filming style and cinematography. I do like the overall message of the movie very much to the point where seeing the 4 star average rating annoyed me and I just had to write my first review. If you're reading this right now, just watch it already.

So here's a movie that I was expecting like many in it's genre to have some kind of a story with some basic variations on, boy meets girl, girl breaks boys heart, boy does a bunch of stupid and ridiculous things ultimately leading to another girl(as these genre movies tend to be). The problem is mostly none of that happen in this movie, I mean OK yes there was a girl, and she technically broke his heart. However that's where it gets a little strange. There's a lot of daydreaming, a lot of random memories and a bunch of events that occurred, but none of them are in any specific order that's suppose to dictate a story line. So what you end up with... is a guy who basically just went through stuff, but you're not really sure what order it happen in, and why and how. It's very literally pointless because by the end of the movie you're not sure exactly what they were going for. I mean, was he suppose to like being single? Was he suppose to find a better girl? Was he suppose to figure out that he was the problem? Or that he wasn't? None of this is actually answered at all. 3/10 good acting, jumbled confusing story line if you can call it that.

I read one review that said this is nothing new for the genre which might be the case but its the film's unique story telling and quirkiness that made it enjoyable for me. It's relatable being that I live in NYC and the dating scene here is awful. We see our main character reflect on his failed relationship, date with some successes and failures, and then finally in the end find some inner peace. I feel that the kind of advice his friends try to give him is very similar to some of the crappy advice I was given from friends and family when I became single again. I think sometimes people are just better at making things sound better than they really are. It's that message and the experiences Aaron Tveit's character has that makes this movie worth watching.

I like movies with this premise... I loved "Singles" "She's outta his league" or whatever it was called...I'm a sucker for the lovable loser loses girl and tries to get her back sort of thing...but this movie failed on every front. It wasn't funny...it wasn't engaging... it wasn't dramatic. Half the time I couldn't even tell what was happening in flashback vs real time. This was a jumbled mess of a movie without any semblance of likable characters...I literally couldn't even finish it the first time I started it... I only went back to finish it so I could write this review with a clear conscience that I actually finished the movie. It's just not engaging and doesn't have any of the elements that normally make a story like this enjoyable. Huge letdown...I was expecting far more.

Because people do not understand great art, unless they themselves are great artists, they will not appreciate it. And that is what has happened here. This film is way too artistic for most people. It is more than just an indie film. It is the most artistic romantic comedy I have ever seen. The way that it is filmed and edited and produced to look, as they describe it, hallucinogenic, is just masterful. This really is a masterpiece done on a budget, which is so incredibly impressive. The writing and directing and editing/production are all extremely impressive. It truly is a work of art. I was amazed. Partly because it didn't get good ratings, and it deserves a much higher rating. This movie is a perfect ten.

Another thing that people may not like about it but again is just part of the fact that it is incredibly artistic, is the fact that this movie jumps around a lot between past and present, blurring the lines between them. That is to show how this man is haunted by his past with his ex girlfriend and he is constantly reminded of her and having memories of her come up and play out in his present day life, to the point where she seems to appear in scenes in his everyday life. He is constantly caught up in his head letting his thoughts and emotions and insecurities about what others are thinking/saying about him or what his past girlfriends have done to him get carried away and run amok, and this movie uses the art of film to show you what it is like to be inside the mind of someone whose brain is doing that to them. It is something we can all relate to if we have been in love and heart broken before, our exes haunt us like ghosts. So while the continuity (or lack thereof) is confusing at times, that doesn't make it less good of a movie, rather the opposite. It makes it more artistic.

Another thing that many people may not get is the writing and dialogue, which is not realistic sounding most of the time, at least the times that he is recounting events and telling stories of how things happened from his past, which are made to sound satirical. Most people do not understand satire, just like how a lot of people don't understand sarcasm, but satire is like sarcasm on steroids. This satire in the film is meant to make things sound ridiculously hilarious and also make points about how silly some of the concepts in dating truly are. For instance, the way that happy couples are depicted in the beginning this movie as being like something out of a fairy tale. The satire in this movie is extremely clever and laugh out loud hilarious. I literally was laughing out loud almost every single scene! And that is rare for any comedy.

And of course this movie is extremely meaningful. It has a great story with a great ending. One that is realistic and not one of those cliche romantic cinematic finishes you see from the big production romance movies. This was a story that was meant to relate to real life (even though it was also using a lot of ridiculous satire along the way, it dropped that for the ending). It was meant to be relatable to everyone watching and teach us a life lesson that we could use in our real lives. The story has a great moral to it and I am not going to tell you what it is because you really should watch it for yourself. Just remember that you are not watching some cliche hollywood romance film. This is art. Try to appreciate it. Because a lot of creativity and craft went into making this great film, and it was done on a budget too, which makes it much more difficult and requires much more creativity and craft to make up for not having the money for the big production costs.