Source:
https://scmp.com/lifestyle/film-tv/article/1912374/film-review-how-be-single-predictable-and-stereotypical Lifestyle
Film review: How to Be Single – predictable and stereotypical
Romantic comedy plays out like a second-rate Sex and the City
This handout image shows a still of Dakota Johnson as Alice and Rebel Wilson as Robin, in the film How to Be Single (2016). Photo / Courtesy of Warner Bros. Picture - © 2016 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. [15FEBRUARY2016 FEATURES FILM ONLINE]
This dismal attempt to spice up a romantic comedy is as crude and clunky as they come. A vague premise about how to successfully live a single life quickly degenerates into a dumbed-down Sex and the City story about how to find a suitable mate in New York. Although the shenanigans do generate the occasional laugh, the jokes are too stupid and the situations too predictable to amuse anyone with more than one brain cell.
How to be Single starts with Alice (Dakota Johnson) telling her boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) that she wants to take a break from their long-term relationship so she can discover her true essence. She moves in with her sister (Leslie Mann) and starts to hang out with her hard-drinking work colleague Robin (Australian comic Rebel Wilson) at the neighbourhood bar. After a few weeks on the town, and a brief one-night stand, she tries to resume her relationship with Josh – only to find he doesn’t want her back.
Alison Brie and Anders Holm in a still from the film.
The most annoying aspect of the movie is how it purports to be daring, but is in fact horribly conventional. Although the characters ramble on about independence and living an interesting life, they’re really only interested in finding a boyfriend.
How to Be Single opens on February 18