I don't think I've enjoyed watching the character arc of the leading heroine in a romantic comedy unfold as much as I liked Dakota Johnson's "Alice" personal, love story/arc unfold in the jem of a movie: "How to Be Single" (2016: screenplay by Abby Kohn, Mark Silversteiin, Dana Fox, book by Liz Tuccilo) than I have in a character in years. Why did I like Alice/Dakota Johnson's character arc so much? Well, that's easy; because Alice's is a story of love lossed because she wanted to see what the other side had to offer. Alice, the lead protagonist in the story, begins with a break-up with her boyfriend of several years because she wants to try the single life in New York on her own appart from him for a while. The committed boyfriend does NOT want Alice to go, but she is insistant. And guess what, the grass isn't greener on the other side!
So what is meant in evaluating a movie based on character is the inner story being worked out in that character's life over the duration of the film. It's like the overall story, BUTas tied to main lesson or theme explored by what happens to the main character. And in the case of "Alice" from "How to be Single" her character arc is does she become a more better rounded person as a result of leaving a committed boyfiend/girlfriend relationship to explore a lifesytle that is foreign to her. By the end of the movie, and by definintion the end of Alice's character arc, she comes to the conclusion that, yes, she is comfortable in her own skin and has mastered the art of being single and successfully arived at a new level of existence.
BEST message in a rom-com in YEARS!! Boo-yay! And guess what, I don't agree with Alice's ulitmate character arrival. I think being single SUCKS, and I'd rather be in a committed relationship where you have someone to share your life with. So I think Alice got it wrong. BUT that's the beauty of the movies, it allows you to follow the trajectory of someone else's point of view in light of their life circumstances. Make sence? This is where the personal message of the movie either resonates with you, or fails to do so. In my case, I found myself TOTALLY engeaged in Alice's life and was rooting for her throughout. I really like this movie, "How to be Single" when it deals with Alice and the ups and downs that she goes through in exploring the aftermath of leaving a committed relationship, just because you got mommentarily bored with it. If you prefer leaving a committed relationship to see what else is out there, you're risking A LOT. Love is precious. And it is NOT everywhere. I am so proud of the greater message of this JEM of a movie, "How to Be Single", because it brings home the fact that being single is wayyy less attractive than sharing a life together with your soulmate, at least in my opinion. Don't believe me, okay, fucker, maybe you'll believe it if you hear it from one these old heavy metal ballads from the the '80s:
I did not see Dakota Johnson is her breakout role in "50 Shades of Grey" and I have NO INTEREST in watching a movie that from MY perspective appears to be all about the gradual corruption of an impressionable girl by a rich and sucessfull sexaul male. But I did go into "How to Be Single" having watched Dakota Johnson's earlier hosting of "Saturday Night Live" last year.
Now Alice in "How to be Single" has a character arc that goes back and forth as she and her ex-boyfriend have numberous run-ins. Gradually Alice grows in her singleness and learns to embrace it with a substantial amout of help from a lecherous bartender who is vey much like the Barney character from CBS's "How I Met Your Mother". Now, for my money I thought Alice ended up arriving at the wrong conclusion for her love life; she's not better off single and becoming a more self-realized version of Rebel Wilson's character in the movie. Alice is better of being in love with her soul mate. We all are. Singleness SUCKS. That's my feeling.
Buttt... I'm always open to alternative viewpoints, and that's what you're getting here. Besides Alice, this movie also gets into the romantic struggles of Alison Brie's character (Alison Brie was in NBC's "Community" 1/2 hour sit-com) and Leslie Mann. HUGE fan of Leslie Mann, but her character arc and love story of an aging career woman who finally decides to get artifically inseminated--then finds a committed man that she falls in love with, was rather boring. That love story felt old, and done before. Not only that, but done better before. I did like Alison Brie foray in love in this movie as a know-it-all, who is secretly desperate to find love--and nearly does with the lecherous bartender that Alice ends up shagging several times. Rebel Wilson's character is a catalyst for change in Alice's life, but she's also over-the-top comedy relief that feels more like a cartoon character than an actual living person.
Still, I LOVE the approach of giving the audience three love stories and character arcs for the audience to follow. Sure beats the risk of ONLY having one love story, where if you're bored with that, you're stuck. I LOVE the approach of giving the audience more and giving them choices for what to key on. That's the way I think, folks. When I write a story I love to pack a lot of different stuff. Not trying to draw the attention away from the main thing, but rather give multiple avenues that people can go down and explore--as they so chose to do so.
So is "How to be Single" an iconic romantic comedy?
No. It's funny in spots, but not overly so. Alice's character arc is extremely interesting to explore in a high concept kind of way, but her scenes don't hold up to the heroine's of the all-time greats. So, no, I wouldn't put "How to be Single" in my top-25 of the all tiime best romantic comedies, BUT "How to be Single" IS a worthwhile, romantic comedy that explores women's forays into modern romances.
Last summer we had Amy Townsends strong character arc in "Trainwreck" and now some six months later we get Dakota Johnson in "How to Be Single".
YESSS!! The romantic comedy genre is starting to show some signs of life--and it's coming from the women! Women with strong character arcs that give the audience something to think about. I am soooo for moives like that. Suddenly, I'm feeling better about modern movies and the people behind the scenes making them.
Now "How to Be Single" wasn't the only movie I saw last weekend. I did get out to see "Zoolander 2" (2016: written by Justin Therox, Ben Stiller, Nicholas Stoller, and John Hamburg) too. Unfortunatly, "Zoolander 2" was really, really fucked-up. How fucked up was it? This movie has its last main sequence a ritualisitc child sacrifce being perfomred by the leading fashion designers of the world! O, sure the TRIED to make this scene funny, but the dark and foreboding setting and context was too much for a very weak brand of humor to overcome.
I couln't believe how weak the Derek Zoolander and Hansel characters were in this movie. Reprising these characters. Didn't. Work. At. Alllllll!!! Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Even Mugotu, when he finally arrives is a complete bore too; he even had a sequence with his gay, black assistant that was nearly IDENTICAL to a scene they had in the first Zoolander movie.
The one saving grace of this movie was the epifany I had about Kyle Mooney (a Saturnday Night Live, regular perfomer) who has a minor role in Zoolander 2, as a dissing, young DJ. My epifany was that Kyle Mooney would make a GREAT Brandon Little, who is my main protagoninst in "Give It Up for Chimpy" and "Love, Music and Monkeys" which were the 1st and 4th script that I wrote respectuflly. "Give It Up for Chimpy" is the story about a love-sick zookeeper who leaves the job he knows to save the live a special case monkey, the two of them then go on to host a late night talk show where the Brandon's dream girl works.
New "Give It Up for Chimpy" dream roster:
Brandon Little: main protagonist: Kyle Mooney
Stacy Dutchman: main protagonist's love interest: Taylor Swift
Jim Poland: the Bellamy/wrong guy: James Franco
Chimpy the Monkey: ME! E.C. Henry--or someone who can do Chimpy on par with me (a.k.a, someone who's ready to let it rip and go full money AND be able to do Jim Carey-eque facial mannerims)
Olga Klonhoffer: Glick's wife: Amy Schumer
Glick Beckler: wise-cracking smartass: Mathew Lillard (the guy who played Shaggy in the earlier Scobie Doo movies) or Pete Davidson, who also on Saturday Night Live
Alexander Doyle: Brandon's mentor at the late night talk show: Steve Higgins (Jimmy Fallon's side kick on the Tonight Show)
Director: Judd Apatow
"Give It Up for Chimpy" sigh... STILL a dream of mine. Maybe someday. The cool thing is, I thnk Kyle Mooney, is ready to go big in a feature length movie. He does clown really well, and I THINK he's got the make-up to do the schlub arctype well too.
Sorry for the late post and missing my usual Sunday post, was kinda depressed and sore on Sunday. Spent the weekend planting fruit and trees--in the pooring rain! Then I hit the bottle hard... I'm bad, I know. I need someone to give me a spanking! A hottie that is.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
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