“What’s Your Number?”
1.5 out of 5 Pitchforks
20th Century Fox
Released: Sept. 27
In “What’s Your Number?,” the likable and ditzy Anna Faris plays Ally Darling, a woman who becomes so insecure about her number of sexual partners that she searches for her past lovers in hopes she let a winner slip away. The goal of this hunt isn’t totally based in love, either; Darling hopes to not exceed her current number of twenty partners. She hires her neighbor, Colin Shea (played by Chris Evans), to help track down her past boyfriends. Along the way, Ally realizes the man she is searching for has been across the hall from her, falling madly in love with Colin.
A seemingly interesting plot revolving around two attractive actors should set the stage for a decent romantic comedy, right? Unfortunately, this is not so. Romantic comedies are already extremely predictable as it is, but “What’s Your Number?” takes predictability to a new level. The audience is simply waiting for the show to end the second it begins. It is immediately assumed that Faris and Evans will eventually be together and the time in between is a complete waste.
Toward the end of the movie, it is possible that Faris herself caught on to how completely unrealistic some scenes were. While searching high and low to find Colin so she can tell him how much she loves him, Ally finds herself hopping a fence to get to him. She says to herself, “This is bullsh--, why didn’t I just wait for him at his apartment?” — which was the very question every person in the audience was asking themselves as well.
It is frustrating how much potential the movie had to be a successful flick with its decent cast. Each character was disappointing and awful in their own way. Ari Graynor plays Ally’s younger sister, Daisy Darling, who comes off as selfish and obnoxious with how she is constantly nagging Ally to do favors for her. The mother, played by the famous Blythe Danner, is a dramatic older woman who expects perfection from her not-so-perfect daughters. Danner, who was entertaining in the “Meet the Parents” movies, supplies absolutely nothing for the film, besides being a character for audiences to be annoyed with.
Chris Evans’ character is exceptionally disappointing. A gorgeous, struggling-musician type who lies to women to get them in bed, finds love in the girl-next-door type. Could it get any more cliché? Nothing about his character was clever, only cheesy. The only thing he contributed to the movie was a set of beautiful abdominals for teenage girls to drool over, which was a cheap shot for producers to get more hits at the box office.
Anna Faris carries the film by adding in small pockets of comedy. Faris’ humor is easy to understand and does not beg for attention. She is silly and knows how to laugh at herself, giving the audience permission to laugh at her as well. It must have been exhausting for Faris to carry the entire film and be the only true comedienne.
The immaturity of the film makes it only a hit amongst audiences that do not have a clue what components make a decent film. Those that are easily amused, or simply don’t mind a bad plot, will probably be the only ones to enjoy this film.
It is painful to see such a film fail to entertain — especially a film with so much potential to be pleasant. Instead, “What’s Your Number?” is just another mediocre romantic comedy that will soon be forgotten.
Reach the reporter at jocelyn.gee@asu.edu
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