Today, just as in all of history when people have dated and fallen in love, one of the defining characteristics of a person is whether they are single or not. The original purpose of Facebook was even to find out if the person you could potentially like was in a relationship or not. As someone who has been single for the past 21 (22, by the time this article is published) years, I still do not feel like I'm an expert on the subject. What is being single all about anyway?
Enter the movie I have been waiting months to see: "How to Be Single."
Yes, right off the bat it promises humor, love, misunderstandings and everything you would expect from a romantic comedy focusing on the lives of a group of young, single people in New York City, but it turned out to be a lot more.
Alice, played by Dakota Johnson ("Fifty Shades of Grey," "Black Mass"), is a 20-something paralegal who is newly single and newly employed. She turns to her over-the-top, partying new friend Robin, expertly played by Rebel Wilson ("Bridesmaids," "Pitch Perfect") for advice in her newly single life and get's a lot more than she bargained for. Robin shows Alice how she lives her own single life: going out every night, casually hooking up with strange guys and hardly ever having time to be bored and alone in her own apartment. Alice, who has only ever been in long-term relationships takes every bit of Robin's advice with a grain of salt, attempting to make it work for her. However, as she soon discovers, there are no hard and fast rules for how to be single.
Not every single person is the same. We are all single for different reasons, and some of us may or may not be OK with staying single. You have to make it work for you.
This movie does not end like you would expect it to. Our heroine does not meet the one perfect guy, different from all the rest, who knows everything about her and wins her over with a grand romantic gesture and they kiss and live happily ever after.
The reason "How to Be Single" is so different is because it shows you the importance of enjoying the time when you are single as getting to know yourself. You may be a person who has spent their whole life focusing on work, and now you're ready for some sort of family. You may be the person who has been searching for love only to get too invested too soon every time, and you just need to let the universe take its course. You may be the person who has never let anyone get close to you, but you need to let friendship be your first real relationship. Or you may be the person who has been so focused on being in a relationship that you haven't taken a moment to get to know yourself or experience something. anything, on your own.
Everybody always seems to see being single as something sad or disappointing, but "How to Be Single" teaches us that it is important to take the time when you are by yourself to better yourself.
