Universal’s back-to-back shooting plans for its lucrative Fifty Shades series will mean that Anastasia Steele won’t be appearing on our cinema screens in 2016, but actress Dakota Johnson is still keeping busy with a project from the other end of the romantic spectrum in Christian Ditter’s How To Be Single.
Tiptoeing through the minefield known as modern romance, Johnson leads the picture as Alice, a lonely heart living in New York City who likes nothing more than ensuring her life remains on the straight and narrow. That all changes when she’s with Rebel Wilson’s uproarious Robin. Taking strides to grip life by the short and curlies, Wilson’s character offers our hapless lead a whole new perspective on love and what it means to be single.
Clichéd though it may be – yes, Alice seems to eventually fall in love – How To Be Single sets itself apart with the chemistry between its two female leads. Rebel Wilson is comfortable in her comedy niche, while it’s nice to see Johnson express her acting ability beyond her brooding, reticent turn in Fifty Shades.
Perhaps it’s best to label Ditter’s feature film as a buddy romance movie?
How To Be Single will open on February 12. Leslie Mann, Alison Brie, Jason Mantzoukas, and Damon Wayans Jr. round out the cast list.
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.
