Movie Buff: “What’s Your Number?”

By Samantha Tyson in Entertainment, Films on Sep 30, 2011 4:21 / comments

Accidental romance, a promising ending—we’ve seen this movie time and time again. Luckily, “What’s Your Number?” has managed to be no worse than other similar romantic comedies.

On Tuesday, Program Council hosted an advance screening of “What’s Your Number?”, a movie that officially hit theaters in Boulder on Friday. The film stars Anna Faris and Chris Evans and is directed by Mark Mylod.

(Courtesy 20th Century Fox)

Faris plays Ally Darling, a lighthearted, yet profoundly lost woman living in Boston. Although Faris is brilliant in her role, Ally’s character has moments reminiscent of the same dumb-blonde character Faris has played in the past. The part doesn’t seem to be a huge stretch for Faris, but it’s easy to relate to and highlights her comedic aptitude.

The film begins with Ally in a frenzy over the number of sexual partners she’s had. After reading an article in a magazine, she worries about exceeding 20 lovers—something the article says might jeopardize her chances of finding a future husband. Ally then sets out to track down her exes and even rediscover love.

In a fateful turn of events, her womanizing neighbor, Colin, agrees to assist her in the humorously disastrous process of stalking her exes. Though neither of them sees it coming, he and Ally have an undeniable spark, which of course throws Ally’s plans off track.

The film is enjoyable to watch, but renders no surprises. The plot structure is about as imaginative as a peanut butter sandwich, and many of the best lines and plot twists already appeared in trailers.

Another downfall is the underdeveloped relationship between Ally and her family. Her relationships with her sister and her parents are key to Ally’s decision-making. This becomes especially true with her budding romance with Colin. However, this whole aspect of the movie is not very believable.

One particularly unconvincing scene is when her father, played by Ed Begley Jr., comes into the movie anti-climactically at the very end of the film and gives Ally some fatherly advice. Despite having not appeared in the movie until the end, the audience is supposed to believe that his guidance leads to Ally’s epiphany at the pinnacle point in the film.

This whole interaction between Ally and her father gives no real insight into their relationship and seems incomplete. The film would have benefited from strengthening the emotional relationships between family members.

However, the silly and sexy love story between Ally and Colin leaves you yearning to fall in love— like every decent rom-com should. The chemistry between Faris and Evans is enviable, and often makes up for what the script lacks.

A particularly entertaining scene includes a tantalizing game of “strip horse” after sneaking in to the TD Banknorth garden in Boston. This leads to the pair jumping into the harbor, naked and hand-in-hand, only to find out how cold the water is. The onscreen magnetism between Evans and Faris is what saves the movie from being a complete disappointment.

One of the shining aspects of the film is the positive message about being one’s true self in any relationship. Yet, like the bland plot structure, the message is nothing that you can’t find in the stash of guilty-pleasure movies that you cycle through on a regular basis.

Having said that, could it hurt to add one more to the collection? Once it comes out on DVD, the charming moments in “What’s Your Number?” make it worth a view, but there is no need to rush to the theaters in the meantime. If midterms and paper deadlines have got you on house arrest, don’t sweat it—watch the preview and you won’t have missed a thing.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sam Tyson at Samantha.Tyson@colorado.edu.