The genesis for this write up is simple. Girlfriends talking about Chris Evans. Trust, the discussion was innocent enough and concluded with my friend recommending that I catch the 2011 film What’s Your Number? So I did and here is what I thought about it.
Obviously if I cared enough to write about it, I feel some kind of way … granted, the end result is a rather lukewarm.
A rom-com based on the book by Karyn Bosnak (“20 Times a Lady”) What’s Your Number? stars Anna Faris as Ally, who, after reading a magazine article in a ladies’ mag, concludes she is going to be forever alone. Thus begins her rather interesting trip down memory lane. As she goes on this quest, she is tormented (and helped) by her “free-loving” neighbor, played by Chris Evans. I do not have to go into too much detail, I suppose, as the plot does move along quite as one would expect with such a central premise.
An often over-used trope in many a film, one of my favorite parts of the movie were the numerous exes that were cameos. If any of you are so inclined to catch this flick, I will do you a solid and not spill who pop up on screen.
Anna Faris (who also received producer credits on the film), has some chuckle-worthy moments to be sure. But like in so many of her other performances, I feel her comedic talent is not fully exploited. And well, Chris Evans is Chris Evans and does his thing as the sexy neighbor who the audience will have no problem rooting for. Besides, I think he is just happy to be shooting a film in his hometown of Boston.
Where the film most notably lets down the side is that it does not go far enough in its critique of the women’s magazines and the ‘advice’ and ‘expert tips’ they dispense at the expense of readers’ sanity and exercise of free will and common sense. There is definitely enough ‘there’ there to poke fun at and turn the published words on themselves for a good laugh.
So the final verdict: It’s on video, so on a quiet weekend evening in, it will pass as entertaining enough, thanks to Anna Faris.
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