How to Be Single

Colourful and near-aggressively peppy, director Christian Ditter's sixth feature offers a crash course in the dating game and learning to love yourself. It introduces us to a newly single paralegal (Dakota Johnson), her party-girl friend (Rebel Wilson), her obstetrician sister (Leslie Mann) and - somewhat on the outskirts of the story - a neurotic personal dating strategist (Alison Brie). It's montage-heavy and full of contradictions, yet the film's energy is undeniable and if the lessons are trite then the positivity and occasional narrative curveballs are at least appealing. Discounting Jake Lacy's endearingly puppyish receptionist, the male characters are bland although the leading ladies are wonderful, with Wilson and Mann nailing the comedy and Johnson bringing sincerity to a plethora of contrived situations. Not quite as modern as it purports to be and too eager to please everyone, How to Be Single won't teach you much but it certainly knows how to have a good time.