Movie Review: How To Be Single

I’ve put off watching How To Be Single for the longest time, even though every one I know kept saying I should see it. I was having a less-than-great day yesterday, and figured it was the perfect time to finally watch this movie that people have been raving about.

Our story begins with young Alice (Dakota Johnson) telling her longtime boyfriend Josh (Nichola Braun) they need to take a break and experience being with other people before settling down together. Now, anyone who knows anything about Rom-Coms – like I do – will know that this is a bad idea.  So, Alice moves to the big city and takes a new job where she meets Robin (Rebel Wilson). Robin, being a brash, unashamed woman takes Alice under her wing and decides to teach her how to be single. Yes, that’s where the title comes from.

But Alice isn’t the only person we have to focus on in this thrilling sex comedy. There’s her sister Meg (Leslie Mann) who has been fiercely independent for so long, she’s forgotten how to be in a relationship. We also meet Lucy (Alison Brie) who is determined to find the “perfect guy” and Tom (Anders Holm) the owner of the local bar who is the typical playboy.

How To Be Single take us through the journeys of these five people, who all make different lifestyle choices as it concerns their relationships. What I love the most about this movie is the fact that everyone’s decisions and lifestyles are prortrayed in a non-judgemental way. We see both the positive and negative sides of all their actions and get to witness moments we can relate to.

Throughout the movie, Alice struggles with wanting to be single and needing to be in a relationship, Meg decides to have a baby and has to learn to be in a relationship, Robin shows Alice that being single is about late nights, drinking and random hookups, and Lucy goes through a number of men on dating sites in search of the perfect one. The men aren’t left out of this one either. Tom has to deal with the fact that he might not be getting tired of being a playboy, and we get amazing scenes from Damon Wayans, Jr who plays Josh – a single dad trying to move on from the death of his wife.

The best part of the movie is it deosn’t end like most other Rom-Coms; where they all fall into happy relationships and there’s flowers and confetti and a big wedding. The end very much focuses on the title itself, teaching that it’s okay to be single and to take time to know yourself before diving into relationships.

The cast was great, to be honest. Together, they made all the seemingly random moments of each others’ lives come together in one beautiful knot. This movie made me laugh and cry and just shake my head in amusement and agreement. I recommend that you watch it if you haven’t already.