How To Be Single movie review

What I like about the movie How To Be Single:

#The main character is played by Dakota Johnson. You will forget that she is in 50 Shades Of Grey movie. She is a lot better actress here and comedy suits her.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

#Alison Brie. I love her since The Five Year Old Engagement. She looked so young for her age, And this movie is one of her best roles since Unikitty in Lego Movie.

#Rebel Wilson. Not just she made you laugh but this movie will be different without her. 'Nuff said.

#It is not a traditional Valentine movie. You can really relate if you are single. It is also universal. But this movie will make singleness a good thing.

#You can watch it even if you are alone because you can understand being single. It can be watched by couples so that they will learn to appreciate singleness. But it is best to watch with your circle of friends.

#The male characters are a colorful batch of different personalities that made this movie good.

#But the best part, these women are empowered.

How To Be Single is the second best movies that opened this week. The first one is Deadpool. Opens February 11 in Philippine cinemas through Warner Bros. For more movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. 

DAKOTA JOHNSON, CURIOUS AND LOOKING FOR LOVE IN “HOW TO BE SINGLE”

Press release

She has become one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars after landing the coveted role of Anastasia Steele in the box office record-smashing “Fifty Shades of Grey” for which she received a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Now, Dakota Johnson headlines New Line Cinema's romantic comedy “How to Be Single,” based on the book by Liz Tucillo (TV’s “Sex & the City”). Also starring Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann, the film follows a host of singles at various stages of—and with varying opinions on—the single state.

Returning to her comedy roots, Johnson deftly handles her character, Alice’s fumbling attempts to meet men upon finding herself newly single, especially when paired with Rebel Wilson’s extreme party girl, Robin, the perfect tour guide through the world of free drinks, hook-ups and text message protocol.

Just out of college, Alice is worried she’s missing out—on what, she’s not quite sure, but taking a “break” from longtime boyfriend Josh in order to make sure he’s the one is the right thing to do…isn’t it?

“How to Be Single” takes us along with Alice as she ventures into a new job, a new city—New York—a newly unattached life, and all that goes along with it. Johnson says, “I loved how believable the story was—we’ve all been that person who is stumbling through, trying to figure things out.”

Screenwriter Dana Fox, who worked with Johnson previously, was happy to see the actress go back to a comedic role after several more dramatic parts. “Dakota is just naturally talented, especially when it comes to comedy, both physical and verbal,” she states. “As a writer, it’s such a pleasure for me to work with her again, because nothing comes out feeling ‘written.’”

When we first meet her character, Johnson observes, “She is sort of this doe-eyed, curious young woman starting college. She meets a boy right away and is quickly in a comfortable and nurturing relationship.”

Fast forward four years. “Like so many of us, Alice has always depended on someone, whether it’s her parents, her sister or her boyfriend. Suddenly, she has this profound moment of realization and forces herself into what she thinks is an awakening, but which is really just a break up,” the actress acknowledges. “But taking a break turns into a total explosion of life as she knows it, and now she has to figure out how to handle it.”

After persuading her very serious boyfriend she needs to experiment with being on her own, Alice heads to Manhattan to start a new job as a paralegal. “Right away, she falls into the hands of Robin, who’s kind of insane,” Johnson laughs. “Alice has been sheltered and established a lot of boundaries for herself; Robin has zero boundaries and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her, so long as she’s having fun.”

The role of Alice required a convincing amount of girl-next-door naiveté in order for moviegoers to slip into her shoes, or at least remember a time when they did. Director Christian Ditter found Johnson to be “absolutely gorgeous but at the same time completely relatable. She’s talented and gives a very authentic performance, which makes it easy for the audience to see themselves in her place. She grounds the story for all the other characters, who are much more outrageous.”

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, Feb. 11, “How to Be Single” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

THE GUYS ARE ON THE PROWL IN “HOW TO BE SINGLE”

Press release

First rule of the singles scene: Boys buy the drinks! To pick up the tab—and more—the filmmakers from New Line Cinema’s romantic comedy “How to Be Single” cast a host of hot comedians from film and TV fame to play the men ready to show the women a good time.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

They are Anders Holm (“The Intern”), Nicholas Braun (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”), Damon Wayans, Jr. (TV’s “New Girl”), and Jake Lacy (HBO’s “Girls”).

Serial single Tom is a bartender with a tried-and-true formula for getting a girl out the door before dawn. “He’s got love ‘em and leave ‘em down to a system,” says Anders Holm, who plays the philandering flirt with a premeditated lack of amenities in his bachelor pad. “He’s used to getting his way and getting any girl he wants.”

“I think Anders is one of the greatest rising stars in comedy acting,” director Christian Ditter says. “The role is a ladies’ man, but I wanted to cast someone really interesting and fun who could mine the humor in Tom, and he brought all that.”

Holm says that he and Ditter discussed at length how far to take Tom’s bad boy behavior. “We talked about whether he’s a nice bad guy or a bad nice guy, and decided that he’s really the worst kind of good guy. He’s a genuinely nice dude caught in a pattern of easy chicks, no personal commitments, and he doesn’t know how to be serious even if he finds someone he could be serious with. He’s created a lifestyle that’s now his identity, and he’s lost in it. Not that it really bothers him.”

When Alice (Dakota Johnson) dips her toes in the pool of Manhattan’s single men, she dives right into the deep end with Tom, the polar opposite of her longtime beau, Josh. “They were two awkward college freshmen who fell for each other,” Nicholas Braun says of his character and Alice. “Josh was a safe option and a good guy who treated her well. I don’t think there was any danger of being surprised with Josh, and I think that’s part of why she leaves him.

“Alice is a girl a lot of girls can identify with,” he adds. “She’s at that stage of life where you don’t want to feel settled down, you need to do some soul searching. And while Josh is a good example of someone who thinks that this relationship is the only one for him, even Josh isn’t going to wait for his girlfriend to go off and have sex with a bunch of guys just so she can see if he’s still the one for her. He’s gonna look around, too.”

While Alice is on the lookout for someone new, she meets a single dad, David, who is attracted to her but hesitant to test the relationship waters again. Damon Wayans Jr. portrays the wary widower venturing back into the dating world.

“He’s trying to maneuver his way through that part of life again, but he may not be ready for it,” Wayans offers. “He sees Alice once and finds her intriguing, but it’s not until they wind up seeing each other again, randomly, that the sparks fly.”

Wayans enjoyed working with Johnson. “Dakota is very fun and very free and thinks on her toes. She likes to improv a lot, which was great for me,” says the comedy veteran.

“Damon Wayans is such a funny guy and I adore his work,” Ditter conveys. “In this film, he has one of the more serious roles, and he played the part so well, never letting it get too heavy or dramatic. He brought just the right balance to it.”

Alice isn’t the only one who meets what could be the right guy at what may be the wrong time. Her practical, all-work-and-no-play sister, Meg (Leslie Mann), is surprised to be an object of interest for the much younger Ken, played by Jake Lacy. Sweet and sincere, Ken is crushing on Meg in a big way. “She’s in it for the quick and dirty,” Lacy says, “and Ken digs that, but he wants to see things through, to keep it going afterward. She’s also pretty sure that he’s too young for her, and I like that he’s trying to break down the barriers she keeps putting up.”

“Leslie was wonderful to work with,” Lacy relates. “She’s smart, funny, talented, quick and beautiful. She had different ideas every time we started a scene and had really thought through every moment, which made it easy to play off of her and give her something new in every take, too.”

“We were very lucky that all the actors we had were very good on their feet and could riff off each other,” says Ditter, “which allowed for a lot of experimentation. I think that by having our very talented ensemble contribute creatively, we got the fresh, contemporary feel we were going for.”

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, Feb. 11, “How to Be Single” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

REBEL WILSON, THE PARTY ANIMAL IN “HOW TO BE SINGLE”

Press release

Fresh from reprising her breakout role as fan-favorite Fat Amy in the smash comedy “Pitch Perfect 2,” Rebel Wilson now stars opposite Dakota Johnson in New Line Cinema's “How to Be Single.”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Based on the book by Liz Tucillo (TV’s “Sex & the City,” “He’s Just Not That Into You”), the film follows a host of singles at various stages of—and with varying opinions on—the single state.

Wilson plays the aggressively spirited Robin, who makes it her mission to not only show her new co-worker Alice (Johnson) the ropes at the office, but after business hours as well. “Robin really loves being single and wants everyone else to love it as much as she does,” Johnson offers. “Alice, on her own for the first time, figures she might as well learn from the master.”

Wilson took a no-holds-barred approach to her character. “Robin is the eternally single girl who knows who she is and what she wants, is super independent and has the best life you could have in the best city in the world. She goes out partying, drinks a lot, has one-night stands, and doesn’t carry any of the baggage that a relationship can bring.”

In fact, when we first see Robin, she’s at the top of her game. “She’s at one of New York’s hottest clubs, dancing up a storm,” Wilson notes. The production brought in Wilson’s close friend Aakomon Jones, who choreographed her in “Pitch Perfect,” to give Robin all the right moves for her entrance. “AJ choreographed a little dance for me and we did it about 50 times that day, just for that one opening shot. It was so much fun,” she adds.

Upon meeting Alice, Robin is determined to show her the way of the single life—her way. “Robin literally teaches her how to be single—how to get drinks for free in a bar, where to hook up with someone at work, when to text back the guy you slept with the night before… All the tricks in her book,” Wilson notes.

On set, Wilson definitely brings the fun. “I’m a huge fan of Rebel’s,” director Christian Ditter declares. “I think everything she does is hysterically funny, and she brought so much to the table, so many ideas and great improv. We always did a few scripted takes, of course, but then I said to her, ‘Okay, surprise me,’ and a lot of what she did is in the film, because she’s so inventive and such a comedy genius. I was afraid we’d have to digitally stabilize all of her takes because the camera operator was laughing so hard!”

“Rebel is magnificent; she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met,” Johnson raves. “She’s extremely heartfelt, but can then turn around and easily riff on the most ridiculous subjects. It was really amazing working with her.”

The feeling was mutual for Wilson. “I loved working with Dakota. We have such different energies and are such different physical types; we’re almost like a classic comedy duo.”

Because Ditter loved the way the two women played off each other, Wilson recalls, “We added a lot of outrageous physical comedy—nothing was too crazy for him. Christian really enjoys that stuff and trusted us to go with it, so we did. He was incredibly supportive of our ideas and we got up to some great mischief, Dakota and I.”

Producer John Rickard states, “Rebel is really at the forefront of pop culture and redefining what it means to be a comedy star. Whenever she’s on set, you really can’t take your eyes off her—you don’t want to miss what she might do or say next, and that translates to the screen. And Rebel and Dakota together? Lightning in a bottle.”

Wilson will next be seen starring in Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Brothers Grimsby,” which also stars Penelope Cruz and Mark Strong.

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, Feb. 11, “How to Be Single” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

STARS OF “HOW TO BE SINGLE” IN THEIR SOLO BANNERS

Press release

The four main female stars of Warner Bros. Pictures' new romantic comedy “How to Be Single” get their own singular banners which have just been revealed by the studio. Getting the special treatment are Dakota Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”), Rebel Wilson (“Pitch Perfect”), Alison Brie (“Get Hard”) and Leslie Mann (“Knocked Up”).

Christian Ditter (“Love, Rosie”) directed the comedy from a screenplay by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein (“The Vow,” “He’s Just Not That Into You”) and Dana Fox (“Couples Retreat,” “What Happens in Vegas”), screen story by Kohn & Silverstein, based on the book by Liz Tucillo (TV’s “Sex & the City,” He’s Just Not That Into You).

In the film, there’s a right way to be single, a wrong way to be single, and then…there’s Alice. And Robin. Lucy. Meg. Tom. David. New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, be it a love connection, a hook-up, or something in the middle. And somewhere between the teasing texts and one-night stands, what these unmarrieds all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love. Sleeping around in the city that never sleeps was never so much fun.

“How to Be Single” also stars Damon Wayans, Jr. (“Let’s Be Cops”), Anders Holm (“The Intern”), Nicholas Braun (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”), Jake Lacy (HBO’s “Girls”), with Jason Mantzoukas (“Neighbors”).

How to Be Single” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

TEASER TRAILER TELLS “HOW TO BE SINGLE”

Press release

Warner Bros. Pictures has unveiled the teaser trailer and poster for its upcoming romantic comedy “How to Be Single” starring Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson. 

There’s a right way to be single, a wrong way to be single, and then…there’s Alice. And Robin. Lucy. Meg. Tom. David. New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, be it a love connection, a hook-up, or something in the middle. And somewhere between the teasing texts and one-night stands, what these unmarrieds all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love. Sleeping around in the city that never sleeps was never so much fun.

“How to Be Single” stars Dakota Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”), Rebel Wilson (“Pitch Perfect”), Damon Wayans, Jr. (“Let’s Be Cops”), Anders Holm (“Neighbors,” upcoming “The Intern”), Alison Brie (“Get Hard”), Nicholas Braun (“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”), Jake Lacy (HBO’s “Girls”), with Jason Mantzoukas (“Neighbors,” TV’s “The League”) and Leslie Mann (“This is 40,”).

Christian Ditter (“Love, Rosie,” “The Crocodiles”) directed the comedy from a screenplay by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein (“The Vow,” “He’s Just Not That Into You”) and Dana Fox (“Couples Retreat,” “What Happens in Vegas”), screen story by Kohn & Silverstein, based on the book by Liz Tucillo (TV’s “Sex & the City,” He’s Just Not That Into You). John Rickard and Fox are producing the film. Marcus Viscidi, Richard Brener, Michael Disco, Dave Neustadter, Michele Weiss, Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen are executive producers.

Ditters’ behind-the-scenes creative team is headed by his frequent collaborator, director of photography Christian Rein, as well as production designer Steve Saklad (“Juno,” “Up in the Air”), editor Tia Nolan (“Friends with Benefits”) and costume designer Leah Katznelson (“Enough Said,” “21 Jump Street”). The music is by Fil Eisler (FOX TV’s “Empire”).

Opening across the Philippines in February 2016, “How to Be Single” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.