By Daniela Coe-McNamara
Staff writer
The day before Valentine’s Day, yet another inspirational, witty romantic comedy has hit the theaters to save the hearts and minds of thousands of lonely girls, this time with the intentions laid out right in the title: “How to Be Single.”
Corny truisms and the multiple perspectives on different relationships with a wide range personalities make “How to Be Single” one of the most stereotypical and cliche romantic comedies. This can also be attributed to its lack of substance or comedy, and the unnecessary add-ins like graphic animations and strange time lapses.
Centered around a young New York woman fresh out of a four year relationship, “How to Be Single” follows Alice (Dakota Johnson) and her best friend Robin (Rebel Wilson) as Robin attempts to show Alice what she’s missing in the single world.
One of the only ways that “How to Be Single” succeeded in its attempt at yet another typical romantic comedy is through its use of multiple perspectives. This multi-person focus is similar to other hit rom-coms, such as Valentine’s Day, making it easy for audiences to relate to the multitude of personalities and behaviors being portrayed.
Despite the constant reassurance that “How to Be Single” isn’t just any other romantic comedy about teaching a newly single girl how to find herself, it becomes evident that this is exactly what the film is. Barely a scene can pass without a cliche remark about strength or finding yourself, making the audience nearly sick with bittersweet nonsense.
Another aspect of “How to Be Single” that ultimately fails to fully grab the attention of the audience are the graphic visuals used throughout. It seems as though the directors had a penchant for graphic design, as exemplified by animations of text bubbles, dating advice, and other random snippets that could have done without the unnecessary and most likely costly visuals.
When casting a romantic comedy, it is usually in best taste to select actors and actresses that not only fit the part, but can fluidly move with the comedic aspect of the film as well. The directors of “How to Be Single” succeeded with a grand total of one casting when selecting their comedic roles, and that is with Robin (Rebel Wilson), the eccentric and promiscuous best friend who takes on the role of holding up the entire comedy side of the film.
However, the idea of having multiple characters involved in multiple love triangles only sounds good in theory, as exemplified by the chaotic and hard to follow plot of the film. Due to the lack of development of any singular character, the film becomes confusing. Many of the characters’ lives are entangled and the audience struggles to remember who is who and what is happening.
The confusing event caused by focusing on multiple characters further ruins the film after the film suddenly jumps ahead three months, supplementing the distance between audience and cast. This fast forward causes the audience to lose track of some of the characters until the last moment where the director attempts to tie up any loose ends, as the minor characters slip through the cracks unnoticed.
If taken at face value for what it truly is, “How To Be Single” is another romantic comedy meant to empower the single girl, then “How to Be Single” does exactly what it was intended to. However, if the film tries to pass as anything other than the stereotypical, corny, pick-me-up film for the needy, “How to Be Single” has room for improvement.
“How To Be Single” is rated R and playing at theaters nearby.
Leave a Reply