What’s Your Number? *
It’s the magic number some of us like to keep secret and others like to brag about, and it’s the subject of Anna Faris’ new rom-com What’s Your Number? that she also exec produces. Multi-tasking seems to be the key here, as Faris who stars in the film has to do much of the leg work, both on and off screen, to get any of this film’s scenes off the ground – even then that’s a tall feat.
Faris plays Ally Darling who is on a quest to find her best ‘ex’, after she reads a magazine article warning people who have more than 20 past relationships that they’ve probably missed their chance of true love and marriage. After another disastrous date and being fired from her marketing job, plus her younger sister, Daisy (Ari Graynor), getting married soon, Ally knows it’s time to get her life sorted out, with a little help from hunky neighbour and playboy Colin (Chris Evans).
Faris is forever bubbly and endearing in any role she’s in and does have great comic timing. She also has a wardrobe to die for in this that will please fashionistas and SATC fans – and the film appears more concerned with threads and bodies beautiful than sharp wit. However, with such a smart but dizzy character like Ally, Faris needs a strong romantic male lead to bounce off some of that energy.
Evans has all the physical credentials for such a role, however lacks any emotional depth or edge to Colin – we’re just left with cockiness without much charisma, and Evans as wooden as Ally’s puppets. The rom-com spark simply isn’t there between the pair, which results in a couple of characters’ large egos interplaying. And Evans looking forlorn in the latter half like a pining puppy just doesn’t fill the gaping romance void either.
The plot is incredibly predictable, which isn’t a surprise given the genre, and following on from the evolution of such contemporary offerings, the new rom-com women are all independent, smart and cynical – in fact it’s a wonder how any of them hook up at all. The plausibility of Ally and Colin doing just that seems miles off because of the lack of chemistry and meaningful scenes together, and their defining moment of unity at someone else’s wedding has been seen and done better and less awkwardly in many other films, missing that crucial end buzz and feel-good high that it’s all working towards.
2/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
by lgileskeddie
