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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Christian Ditter
Cast:
Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Damon Wayans Jr., Anders Holm, Alison Brie, Nicholas Braun, Leslie Mann
Writing Credits:
Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox

Synopsis:
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.

Box Office:
Budget
$38 million.
Opening Weekend
$18,750,000 on 3,343 Screens.
Domestic Gross
$46,813,366.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
English Descriptive Audio
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Latin Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Latin Spanish
Portuguese
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Latin Spanish
Portuguese
French

Runtime: 110 min.
Price: $29.98
Release Date: 5/24/2016

Bonus:
• “The Pros and Cons of How to Be Single” Featurette
• “Rebel Rabble” Featurette
• “The Best Idea Wins” Featurette
• Gag Reel
• Five Deleted Scenes
• Outtakes
• Preview


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
Panasonic TC-P60VT60 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV; Sony STR-DG1200 7.1 Channel Receiver; Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player using HDMI outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Kenwood 1050SW 150-watt Subwoofer.

RELATED REVIEWS


How to Be Single [Blu-Ray] (2016)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (May 16, 2016)

Though Valentine’s Day weekend might seem like the ideal time for movies that work for couples, 2015 showed the strength of the single female audience. 50 Shades of Grey - a movie that appealed to 1.2 percent of the heterosexual male audience – dominated multiplexes that weekend and demonstrated that sisters could do it for themselves.

With that as backdrop, 2016’s similarly “girls night out”-centered How to Be Single had to be a big hit, right? After all, it encountered no competition from other female-oriented flicks.

Reality worked differently, and Single would up in a mediocre third place. The superhero flick Deadpool owned Valentine’s Day weekend, so even though it seemed to offer little appeal to the ladies out there, it still left little room for anything else.

So Single didn’t flop, but with a total under $50 million, it fell well short of the $166 million earned by Grey a year earlier. Will this impact studios’ willingness to court single females in the future? Probably not, but this instance makes me feel Grey was an unusual case and not something that shows a potential trend.

Set in New York City, Single introduces us to four women: Alice (Dakota Johnson), Robin (Rebel Wilson), Meg (Leslie Mann) and Lucy (Alison Brie), all of whom find themselves single in the big city. The story mainly focuses on Alice, however, as the recent college grad arrives in NYC fresh off the end of a long-term relationship.

Because she spent her entire college experience with one boyfriend, Alice lacks much dating experience, and the other three women all influence her approach to the singles scene. We follow their romantic ups and downs.

When I watch a movie like Single, I always feel I need to add an asterisk. After all, as a middle-aged male, no one made Single for me. Is it fair for me to judge a film when I fall so far outside of its target audience?

Yeah, I think so, though obviously I approach the film from a different perspective. Still, I believe a good movie is a good movie is a good movie, so even if I’m not part of the intended group, I should still be able to appreciate a well-made effort.

I’ll say this about Single: it’s better than I expected – and superior to the boring Fifty Shades. At its peak, Single offers some saucy energy and comedy.

Unfortunately, the film squanders its potential too quickly. The first act fares pretty well, mainly due to the cast. In particular, Johnson displays an easy charm that carries the movie through some of its tedious parts. She seems so likable and natural that she keeps us engaged.

Wilson doesn’t break a sweat as the loose-cannon Robin, as we’ve seen the actor play similar bawdy roles in the past. However, she adds zest to the proceedings and creates enough humor to justify her presence – even if the character shows no connection to reality and exists as nothing more than an excuse for Wilson to do her comedic thing.

Unlike the Pitch Perfect films, Single never comments on Wilson’s/Robin’s weight. While it seems like a stretch that someone her size would wow the men as easily as Robin does, I still find it oddly satisfying that Single doesn’t explore the subject of weight. We’re left to accept Robin on the movie’s terms without any attempts to justify how an obese woman attracts so many guys.

At some point after the first act – and definitely before the film’s mid-point – the relative charms start to fade. Single wants to be a female empowerment movie, but it still focuses so heavily on the characters’ attempts to snare men that it sends a mixed message. Sure, it digs itself out of that hole a bit by the end, but this seems like a compromised, unconvincing finale.

Single also jumps all over the place in terms of tone, and that causes problems – again, especially after the halfway mark. When it stays light and frothy, it manages entertainment, but as it takes itself more seriously, the results go downhill.

This becomes especially true when Alice starts to develop a relationship with wealthy developer David (Damon Wayans Jr.) and the story abruptly jumps ahead three months. Viewers may wonder if the filmmakers left gobs of development on the floor, as the material after this leap doesn’t fit naturally with the preceding moments. We’re pushed ahead too fast and feel like we missed important beats, factors that rob the rest of the movie of impact.

Even if the story progressed more organically, though, I think the second half of Single would’ve been a tough slog. The movie wants to be a comedy from start to finish but it indulges in sappy drama because it thinks it should.

It shouldn’t. If Single focused on what it did best, it would’ve been a mostly entertaining romp through dating life in the big city. Unfortunately, its delusions of drama sap its energy and leave it lackluster in the end.


The Blu-ray Grades: Picture A-/ Audio B/ Bonus C-

How to Be Single appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a strong transfer.

Sharpness looked very good. Virtually no softness materialized, which meant a tight, well-defined image. I witnessed no shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes remained absent. As expected, the film lacked any print flaws.

In terms of palette, Single went with a pretty standard mix of orange and teal. The film didn’t overwhelm us with those choices, but they dominated. Within the stylistic decisions, the hues seemed fine. Blacks were deep and tight, and shadows looked smooth and clear. This turned into a terrific image.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it opted for a fairly standard “comedy mix”. This meant the soundscape accentuated general atmosphere and not much else. Street moments opened up matters, and bar scenes boasted some good involvement, but most of the mix seemed pretty restrained. The elements added a little breadth but not much more.

Audio quality appeared good. Speech seemed distinctive and concise, without roughness or brittleness. Music was warm and full, and effects came across as accurate. Effects showed good delineation and accuracy. This ended up as a satisfactory mix for a romantic comedy.

A few extras fill out the set. The Pros and Cons of How to Be Single lasts five minutes, 10 seconds and includes comments from actors Rebel Wilson, Dakota Johnson, Anders Holm, Alison Brie, Jason Manzoukas, Damon Wayans Jr., Nicholas Braun and Jake Lacy. The show looks at story/characters as well as cast and characters. “Pros” does little more than recap movie elements without much else to offer – except spoilers, which makes it poor as a promotional piece.

During the four-minute, seven-second Rebel Rabble, we look at one of the movie’s lead actors via remarks from Wilson, Johnson, Holm, screenwriter/producer Dana Fox and director Christian Ditter. “Rabble” discusses Wilson’s performance and impact on the production. Other than a few fun improv bits, this feels like little more than fluff.

The Best Idea Wins! runs six minutes, five seconds and features Ditter, Holm, Braun, Fox, Wilson, Mantzoukas, and actor Leslie Mann, “Idea” looks at improv on the set. Much of it provides more happy talk, but it delivers enough alternate lines to be fun.

Five Deleted Scenes total eight minutes, five seconds. Two of these introduce and develop David much earlier than in the final cut; they’re interesting but unnecessary.

The third scene hints at Tom’s growing fondness for Lucy, and the fourth shows a downside in the Meg/Ken relationship. Finally, we see the tension between Alice and her ex. These have some minor charms but lack much to make them compelling.

A Gag Reel goes for one minute, 55 seconds. It shows some goofs/giggles along with improv moments; those add some minor value.

In that vein, we get seven minutes, 37 seconds of Rebel Wilson Outtakes. We get lots of fresh comedy bits from Wilson in this moderately enjoyable collection.

The disc opens with an ad for Me Before You. No trailer for Single appears here.

A mish-mash of comedy, romance, drama and sentiment, How to Be Single starts off fairly well. However, before long it finds itself mired in a morass of genre clichés from which it can’t escape. The Blu-ray offers excellent picture, decent audio and a smattering of supplements. As far as rom-coms go, Single fares okay, but it could’ve been much better.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3 Stars Number of Votes: 5
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11:
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