How to Be Single
How to Be Single is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Christian Ditter and written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox, based on the novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo. It stars Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann, Damon Wayans Jr., Anders Holm, Nicholas Braun, Jake Lacy and Jason Mantzoukas. It was released on February 12, 2016, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Plot
Alice temporarily dumps her college boyfriend Josh and moves to New York City to be a paralegal. She moves in with her sister, Meg, an OB/GYN who refuses to have a baby or relationship. Alice befriends wild Australian co-worker Robin, who enjoys partying and one-night stands, and local bartender Tom, who embraces the bachelor lifestyle and hooks up with various women, including Alice. Tom meets Lucy at his bar when she uses his Internet for free; she explains she is looking for "The One" using various dating sites.Alice meets with Josh to tell him that she is ready to get back together with him. Josh explains he is seeing someone else, which distresses Alice. Meg has a change of heart while watching over a baby and decides to have a child of her own via a sperm donor.
Shortly after she becomes pregnant, Meg unexpectedly hooks up with a younger man, Ken, after meeting him at Alice's office Christmas party. Ken, the law office receptionist, is smitten with her. She tries to break it off, but he continues to pursue her cutely. Thinking Ken is too young for her to have a future with, she hides the pregnancy from him.
Back at Tom's bar, Lucy has a string of horrible dates, at which point Tom realizes that he has feelings for her. In an attempt to put herself out there, Alice attends a networking event, where she hits it off with a man named David.
Lucy has been in a relationship for three weeks with a man named Paul, who reveals that he has been seeing other people, thinking she was doing the same, and breaks up with her. Lucy breaks down at her volunteer job reading to kids at a bookstore. George, who works there, soothes her, and the two begin a relationship.
Alice and Robin attend Josh's holiday party; Alice finds she cannot watch Josh with his new girlfriend. She runs into David, who shows her a private view of the Rockefeller Christmas tree, dazzling her, and they begin a relationship. Three months later, as she is singing with David's daughter Phoebe, David becomes upset with her, reminding her that she's not Phoebe's mother. His wife died two years ago and he believes it's too soon for Phoebe to have a stepmother. David and Alice break up as a result.
Tom becomes upset with Lucy's relationship with George, and invites Alice to get drunk. The two talk about their frustrations with their feelings for Josh and Lucy and sleep together to distract themselves. Ken discovers Meg is pregnant but is eager to help raise her child. Meg, concerned that he is not truly committed, ends the relationship.
At Alice's birthday party, Robin invites Tom, David, and Josh without Alice's knowledge, as she thought it would be funny. Shaken by the presence of all three men, Alice argues with Robin. Tom confesses to Lucy, but she announces that she is engaged to George. Josh approaches Alice, and they make out but stop when Josh reveals to a horrified Alice that he is now engaged and was merely looking for closure with her. Invigorated by a desire to find herself, Alice leaves to go home. Her cab hits Robin, who was trying to get a cab for Meg, who is in labor. They rush to the hospital, where Meg delivers a baby girl. Ken convinces Meg to try their relationship again, while Alice repairs her relationship with Robin.
The film closes with Alice reflecting on her time living alone and being single. Meg and Ken are together, while Robin continues her old habits. Tom opens up to the possibilities of non-casual relationships. Lucy marries George, and David tells his daughter the truth about her mother's death. Finally, Alice is seen hiking the Grand Canyon by herself so that she can witness the sunrise on New Year's Day: a dream she always had.
Cast
- Dakota Johnson as Alice Kepley, Meg's sister and Robin's friend and co-worker
- Rebel Wilson as Robin, Alice's friend and co-worker
- Leslie Mann as Meg Kepley, Alice's sister
- Damon Wayans, Jr. as David Stone, Alice's love interest
- Anders Holm as Tom, a bartender
- Alison Brie as Lucy, George's wife
- Nicholas Braun as Josh, Alice's love interest
- Jake Lacy as Ken, Meg's love interest
- Jason Mantzoukas as George, Lucy's husband
- Colin Jost as Paul
- Brent Morin as Lucy's Date
Production
Lily Collins was in early talks on February 24, 2014, to join the cast of the film. Alison Brie was in talks to join the film on June 19, 2014. Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, and Leslie Mann were all cast in the film on January 29, 2015. Damon Wayans, Jr. was added to the cast on March 6, 2015. Jason Mantzoukas and Nicholas Braun were also cast, on April 14, 2015; Braun played the love interest of Johnson's character, while Mantzoukas played the love interest of Brie's. Anders Holm was cast as Tom, and Saturday Night Live performer Colin Jost was also cast in a supporting role.
Principal photography began on April 20, 2015 in New York City, and ended on June 25, 2015.
Release
Box office
How to Be Single grossed $46.8 million in the United States and Canada and $53.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $100 million, against an estimated production budget of $38 million.The film opened alongside Deadpool and Zoolander 2 and over its four-day President's Day opening weekend was projected to gross $20–25 million from 3,343 theaters. The film made $700,000 from its Thursday night previews and $5.3 million on its first day. It went on to gross $17.9 million in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office behind Deadpool and Kung Fu Panda 3. In its second weekend the film grossed $8.2 million, finishing fifth at the box office.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 156 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "How to Be Single boasts the rough outline of a feminist rom-com, but too willingly indulges in the genre conventions it wants to subvert." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, praising the film's supporting cast and script.