How to Be Single

This film tells the story of four women who are single, but have different ways to approach being single. Some of them want a relationship, while some of them want to remain single.

"How to Be Single" is not a step by step guide on how to remain single, as I thought it might be. It is actually quite a realistic take on the modern dating and relationship world. It shows some people are afraid of relationships, some people are desperate, while some people are inept at getting relationship.

The plot is sweet, bitter and bittersweet, reflecting what urban people go through in the dating world. I enjoyed watching it.

Dakota Johnson plays Alice, a young woman we meet as she "takes a break" (in Friends language) from her college sweetheart in order to discover herself – i.e. sleep with someone else to convince herself she's in love. It backfires and she finds herself alone in New York. That's when she meets Robin (Rebel Wilson), who takes her on an odyssey of booze, clubs, and sofa-surfing. Meanwhile, Alice's sister (Leslie Mann) is trying to conceive via IVF, while resisting the charms of a hunky admirer (Jake Lacy).

There are myriad subplots, each involving variously unattached women and men. Some are affecting (a man grieving for his late wife) and some are misguided (a manic woman breaking down before a group of children at a book reading), but it all amounts to a brisk and enjoyable constellation of familiar rom-com elements – with just a few mild surprises thrown in for good measure.

The film's very title tells us this won't be a serious feminist essay, but as a soft-focused glance at the pariah world of singledom it does the job. At times it's even vaguely complex in its exploration of paradoxical human needs. It's also admirably restrained in its condemnation of sexually-active men. Yes, it's a chocolate box New York and the final message lands like a candy floss hammer, but fair play for populating the narrative with no clear villains.

Dakota Johnson is fine, even if she has the air of a dramatic actor shoehorning herself into comedy. That's no easy thing – De Niro's been trying and failing for decades. Alice is an everywoman, and the humour comes from the situations she finds herself in (e.g. tone-deaf attempts at casual flirtation; awkward parties where her three exes meet). Many of these situations are triggered by BFF Robin. Wilson is used to spectacularly indecent effect, although it's a pity it takes so long for the story to give her any depth beyond hedonism.

Mann's tussle with independence versus commitment would normally be the stuff of entire rom-coms; perhaps its relegation (along with threads) to smaller sub-slices is a tacit acknowledgement that How To Be Single is a greatest hits package rather than something bold or new.

Apparently this movie cost nearly $40m, although it's hard to see where the money went. It's aesthetically limited and stagey and it's no star vehicle. Still, it'll make its money back because it's the safest bet on the post-Valentine's schedule. A determinedly straightforward watch, from top to bottom How To Be Single aims to be a three-star movie and succeeds.

How to Be Single should be named How Not to Be Single. Not that it's material is bad, because it's very good indeed. However, it may give off the wrong impression to its younger audience. Dakota Johnson makes some very rash decisions, not knowing who she wants to be with, and where she wants to be. Her newest, closest chum Rebel Wilson hits life hard. Her opinion of a good night is ending up in a strangers house, having many sexual encounters and not remembering much of them. Leslie Mann is the older sister to Johnson, an independent woman with a younger love- interest rattling her cage. And then there's the weird Alison Brie, the egotistic Anders Holm, and the family man Marlon Wayans Jr. These are characters picked out fresh from the stereotype's pool. Gags are thrown in, coming mainly from the outrageous Wilson (no surprises there). Apart from its misleading title, manages to make us chuckle, if not smile. Most women (and men) out there will fall for the adorable baby that Mann has to briefly look after in a very early, very memorable scene. It will be hard to contain yourselves.

Watching "How to Be Single," yet another comedy released this year hoping that its mediocrity will be forgotten by the time the halfway point of the year comes around, I began to feel a certain pessimistic sadness wash over me. This is presumably a film to showcase the daily events of many single people in heavily metropolitan areas with few cares and big plans every single weekend. Of course, one must reserve some incredulous circumstances that occur in the film as being part of the theatrical spice, but fundamentally, we can hopefully agree that this film looks to profile the kind of debauchery young, single people hope for on their Friday and Saturday nights while they're not confined to one person.

In "How to Be Single," nobody talks to one another, nobody genuinely cares about the emotional well-being of one another, and nobody seems to hold kind of pride or self-respect for one another, male or female. This is an observation on my part and not a testament that the characters of the film should live according to my personal standards. I've never been one for telling people how to live their lives, for I'd be damned if they told me how to live mine. Having said that, however, there is not a shred of honesty or decency on part of these characters; there's just an engagement in mindless actions, empty sex, and a desire for a lifestyle of free drinks and early headaches. If there were ever a film to show just why young people's relationships suffer and why commitment is so difficult to find, it's "How to Be Single."

After that lofty opening, you're probably expecting an intensely negative review on my part. You'd be wrong, for I didn't hate "How to Be Single; in fact, I found myself laughing quite frequently and holding great admiration for its talented cast of performers, all of whom have high energy and fearless comedic presences. But even before the lights came back on, I felt uneasy after most laughs and each scene that involved characters practically throwing themselves at one another for sex, one male character explaining his methods to have the perfect one-night stand, and the umpteenth sex story Rebel Wilson's character explains in elaborate detail, I began to wince and quietly keep to myself. It's almost to the point where you can place the death of commitment and honesty between people when sex or a potential relationship is involved alongside the death of chivalry.

The film revolves around Alice ("Fifty Shades of Grey"'s Dakota Johnson), a young woman who is dumped by her boyfriend before moving to New York City to work in a law firm. She moves in with Meg (Leslie Mann), her single, workaholic sister who is considering having a kid as a single mother via a sperm donor, in addition to befriending her bawdy co-worker Robin (Rebel Wilson), who holds her countless one-night stands as a badge of honor. During her time in New York City, Alice meets Tom (Anders Holm), an attractive bartender who has rigged his apartment to basically beg a woman to leave after sleeping with him, despite his crush on Lucy (Alison Brie), a bar-regular who spends her time wasting away on dating sites.

As stated, "How to Be Single" features a slew of commendable, high-energy performances by actors who will go on to be tomorrow's regular comedy headliners. Dakota Johnson shows her talents in a lead role that allows for more freedom outside of confining dialog and flat emotions, Leslie Mann continues to prove herself as one of the funniest and most likable actresses in comedy, Alison Brie, despite having fairly brief scenes, manages to make the most out of them with her sarcasm and dry wit, and Wilson creates a fun, if standard, physical role for her character thanks to her fearless on-screen presence.

This is one of those films where I seriously hope the actors got paid more than the writers because they almost effectively undermine the shortcomings and noticeable imperfections of the screenplay every chance they get. Sadly, the trio of writers, Dana Fox, Abby Kohn, and Marc Silverstein, nearly spoil the pot here by throwing too many ingredients in without adequate preparation. Many of the plot-strands in this film aren't well developed, and much like hookup culture itself, real relationships are stunted and have an inability to develop when there's simultaneously too much and too little going on. One doesn't really notice this until the film ends and they're walking out of the theater, to their car, or to the bathroom and reflecting on how desperately little in this film gets solved as a result of the film's scattershot tendencies.

This sort of disorganized narrative may have been more forgivable if the film had something groundbreaking, or at least meaningful, to say about being single, but it makes the same inexcusable thematic misstep as last year's "Paper Towns" with its end monologue. It basically states that going out and having carnal sex, mistreating others, and playing with people's emotions is okay so long is it's in the pursuit of self-discovery, which is unforgivable, unacceptable, and absolutely ludicrous. A film with this kind of theme is harmful, but thankfully it doesn't pander it to the extent of "Paper Towns."

While "How to Be Single" is frequently entertaining and sporadically funny, it's also thematically problematic and, all-around, misguided with its casual depictions of treating people unfairly and justifying the character's poor behavior as a path to finding themselves. The commendable cast do all that they can to save this film, but the flaws are too weight to save a spiraling plane from heading anywhere but downwards.

As suggested above, this isn't the kind of movie that I would watch but, after watching Dakota Johnson In several films and enjoying her work, I thought I would give it a go and I am definitely glad I did. To begin with, the plot line is brilliant showing the stories of several women and how they change emotionally and physically in some cases through the movie. These characters all have their own story arcs, their own personalities and their own ways of dealing with things which creates an interesting interaction when they run into each other. The actresses and actors that play some of the main characters are perfect, playing their roles to their full potential making them lovable and just downright hilarious. The film itself also has some interesting life lessons and things to live by throughout. The film is indeed funny and light hearted and I much recommend it to anyone who wants a good laugh.