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| Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson, single ladies that serve as your guide to self-enlightenment? Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. |
Forced, confused, and corny. Despite earnest efforts to promote a strong sense of self, it fails to entertain or inspire.
New York. Forever in a relationship, Alice (Dakota Johnson) breaks up with long-time boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) for that tiresome reason: to find herself. Seconds later, a hedonistic sex maniac (Rebel Wilson) takes Alice under her wing and teaches her how to pick up men in bars. Then bartender Tom (Anders Holm) comes along to teach her about one-night stands. And, like a robot, Alice, without reservations, allows herself to be swept away in pointless hookups readily available to her. Why?
A slew of other thinly developed characters who are single decorate this Christian Ditter film adapted from Lucy Tuccillo's novel: A desperate online dater (Alison Brie), a commitment-phobe nurse (Leslie Mann), and a very insignificant add-on, single-dad David (Damon Wayan's, Jr). Alice, the main character, however, takes the cake for being the most thinly and badly written character in the film.
The problem with this rom-com is its aim to preach in the midst of cheap humor. And it takes itself so seriously with its bizarre view of relationships, therefore falling into cliches and uncertain messages. Rebel Wilson's Robin, the guru of singledom, has an admirable strong sense of self, but is she mentally and emotionally healthy? Her lifestyle will tell you.
Essentially, the film projects men as nothing more than handymen (apart from being sex objects)— not just good for fixing TVs, but most importantly, for unzipping dresses. And when you have no boyfriend, it doesn't say you can actually be single and happy; instead, you can amazingly survive in your tragic loneliness— guided by Cheryl Strayed and some DIY dress-unzipping tool— basically the two major tenets on "How to be Single."
2 out of 5 stars
Opens February 11, 2016 in Philippine cinemas (Rated R-16 by the MTRCB)
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