So here's a movie that I was expecting like many in it's genre to have some kind of a story with some basic variations on, boy meets girl, girl breaks boys heart, boy does a bunch of stupid and ridiculous things ultimately leading to another girl(as these genre movies tend to be). The problem is mostly none of that happen in this movie, I mean OK yes there was a girl, and she technically broke his heart. However that's where it gets a little strange. There's a lot of daydreaming, a lot of random memories and a bunch of events that occurred, but none of them are in any specific order that's suppose to dictate a story line. So what you end up with... is a guy who basically just went through stuff, but you're not really sure what order it happen in, and why and how. It's very literally pointless because by the end of the movie you're not sure exactly what they were going for. I mean, was he suppose to like being single? Was he suppose to find a better girl? Was he suppose to figure out that he was the problem? Or that he wasn't? None of this is actually answered at all. 3/10 good acting, jumbled confusing story line if you can call it that.
11 Reviews
A Students attempt at making a romcom?
MaxHaydon199413 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Better off Single is at best a story of love and how to live without it. At worst it's a film that uses patchy interludes to make up the time that a real film would fill out comfortably. needless fancy editing takes you away from the story and distracts from the little plot this film has to offer. The acting leaves much to be desired and on the whole it feels like a student's attempt at making a romcom. In reality it failed to deliver any legitimate story and was probably best of not being made. Although there was moments I found myself mildly amused, any humour was drowned out by the real joke... that this script made it onto film.
Too boring to finish in one sitting.
joshfanguy14 October 2016
I like movies with this premise... I loved "Singles" "She's outta his league" or whatever it was called...I'm a sucker for the lovable loser loses girl and tries to get her back sort of thing...but this movie failed on every front. It wasn't funny...it wasn't engaging... it wasn't dramatic. Half the time I couldn't even tell what was happening in flashback vs real time. This was a jumbled mess of a movie without any semblance of likable characters...I literally couldn't even finish it the first time I started it... I only went back to finish it so I could write this review with a clear conscience that I actually finished the movie. It's just not engaging and doesn't have any of the elements that normally make a story like this enjoyable. Huge letdown...I was expecting far more.
Not bad at all, surprisingly mediocre + for a romantic comedy
amirrunoron11 October 2016
I read the previous posters review, and was so annoyed, he\she actually made me type in my user and password to review this... I will say, that the reviewer was right. This is not your generic Hollywood romantic comedy. He\she actually complained that the movie was not generic. Amazing. This is an OK movie. Its not inception, or The Hatefull Eight, but it is a nice movie to pass the time, during a sleepless night with your 3 week old baby. Was that a burn on the movie? I will say this: The editing was exceptional. It was different. And the movie took several plot turns (not twists) that actually made it an interesting watch. If you are looking for your typical romantic comedy, this is not it.This is better. (once again, this got a 6\10 from me, if you haven't noticed...)
Best Whining by a Single Guy.....Ever!
yossarian10010 January 2017
Great screenplay, great dialog, and a most wonderful collection of sketches tied together by a general theme of whining about not being in a relationship with Miss Perfect.
Aaron Tveit gives a tremendously satisfying performance, as does the entire supporting cast, who play off one another like a seasoned theater group.
I chuckled non-stop, and that says.....It doesn't get any better than this. However, if don't get urban wit, some of this might go over your head. Or, if you expect a romantic comedy to follow a formula, you might be disappointed, too.
Still, I give this a hearty recommendation. "Better Off Single" is witty, probing, and spot-on honest. Enjoy!
Aaron Tveit gives a tremendously satisfying performance, as does the entire supporting cast, who play off one another like a seasoned theater group.
I chuckled non-stop, and that says.....It doesn't get any better than this. However, if don't get urban wit, some of this might go over your head. Or, if you expect a romantic comedy to follow a formula, you might be disappointed, too.
Still, I give this a hearty recommendation. "Better Off Single" is witty, probing, and spot-on honest. Enjoy!
Not great, but not that bad either
Barrrrrrt15 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
(this review contains some mild spoilers but nothing regarding the plot)
I enjoyed this movie.
In the first scenes, I knew this movie was different. Editing, sequences, music choice, there was a lot of risky innovative stuff going on. I loved it, and it drew me in.
Later on in the movie, the editing and storytelling is a bit too vague. It's like listening to advanced jazz when you're not used to it: it kinda makes you wish you knew what was going on. Were the scenes what actually happened? Or daydreams? Or daydreams that kind of showed what sort of happened in a metaphor? This makes you second guess your own eyes as you're watching the movie, and makes the story hard to follow. Also, in my case, it led to some character confusion.
There was some epic stuff in here, my favorite scene by far being the 'bankers in the zoo' scene. But also some dating advice from a guy who actually threw his own divorce party and some other gems.
Dialogue seemed a bit.. Well, I guess it happens in almost every Rom-com: when the boy and the girl meet they have a witty conversation to a level where it doesn't seem like they are being true to themselves at all - two people who try really hard to be smart and funny. The couples in the movie always get away with it and fall in love, and here I am sitting on the couch, wishing that for once a movie would portray a boy and a girl that meet as actual people, that want to have a relaxed conversation and not a try-hard exchange of witticisms.
In the end, the plot is a bit boring, the characters and acting was great, the storytelling and editing is full of potential but ends up being a bit fuzzy and confusing, and I say: kudos to the writer/director of this movie for getting this far, but please do more audience testing and collaboration in bringing your works to fruition. That way they can reach their full potential, and an even bigger audience.
PS: Thumbs up for the casting of the best-friends couple and for the slow-mo facial expressions of the lead.
I enjoyed this movie.
In the first scenes, I knew this movie was different. Editing, sequences, music choice, there was a lot of risky innovative stuff going on. I loved it, and it drew me in.
Later on in the movie, the editing and storytelling is a bit too vague. It's like listening to advanced jazz when you're not used to it: it kinda makes you wish you knew what was going on. Were the scenes what actually happened? Or daydreams? Or daydreams that kind of showed what sort of happened in a metaphor? This makes you second guess your own eyes as you're watching the movie, and makes the story hard to follow. Also, in my case, it led to some character confusion.
There was some epic stuff in here, my favorite scene by far being the 'bankers in the zoo' scene. But also some dating advice from a guy who actually threw his own divorce party and some other gems.
Dialogue seemed a bit.. Well, I guess it happens in almost every Rom-com: when the boy and the girl meet they have a witty conversation to a level where it doesn't seem like they are being true to themselves at all - two people who try really hard to be smart and funny. The couples in the movie always get away with it and fall in love, and here I am sitting on the couch, wishing that for once a movie would portray a boy and a girl that meet as actual people, that want to have a relaxed conversation and not a try-hard exchange of witticisms.
In the end, the plot is a bit boring, the characters and acting was great, the storytelling and editing is full of potential but ends up being a bit fuzzy and confusing, and I say: kudos to the writer/director of this movie for getting this far, but please do more audience testing and collaboration in bringing your works to fruition. That way they can reach their full potential, and an even bigger audience.
PS: Thumbs up for the casting of the best-friends couple and for the slow-mo facial expressions of the lead.
Very Underrated
jonathanhigh5-115 March 2017
I read one review that said this is nothing new for the genre which might be the case but its the film's unique story telling and quirkiness that made it enjoyable for me. It's relatable being that I live in NYC and the dating scene here is awful. We see our main character reflect on his failed relationship, date with some successes and failures, and then finally in the end find some inner peace. I feel that the kind of advice his friends try to give him is very similar to some of the crappy advice I was given from friends and family when I became single again. I think sometimes people are just better at making things sound better than they really are. It's that message and the experiences Aaron Tveit's character has that makes this movie worth watching.
Absolutely underrated and misunderstood
Zettelhead7 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This is not a movie about dating, it is not a movie about being a single and it is surely not a romantic comedy. Wtf? Well, it is all that, but still something completely different that most critics and reviewers don't seem to get. It is about a young man who tries to act like a "mensch" and find love, while his surrounding wants to fill him up with the typical American clichés about sex, relationship and live in general.
We see him confronted with friends reducing the relationship between man and women to business-school-babble or baseball, who talk him into functionalizing sex, he is confronted with racists and cynical CEO's who have real fun dismissing their employees. When he cautiously mentions that some of those people are good at their work and have kids, they explain to him that being an asshole is the way to make money in this society and he can leave as well. (And for the first time in an American movie I saw normal (!!!) unemployed people that are not depicted as alcoholics, drug addicts or other completely miserable and depressed drop-outs!) The movies shows that stop playing the game is actually an option!
And then there is the TV that invades his daydreams and tries to explain the world - but it is just as ridiculous as the two politicians in a TV debate that is shown over and over. Even in the end, after giving an irritating mediocre speech about love, he adds "---I think this is what Oprah said."
For me this is a movie that uses the rom com-stereotypes (in a skillfull and funny way) to tell a story about how to keep your brain and authenticity together in an American mainstream-version of reality.
Beyond that: The camera work is great, the acting of Aaron Tveit is fantastic and his depicted character is absolutely believable and lovable, the shrink of Charlie is one of the most memorable characters in movie of all times, the surreal distortions are great.
Maybe you have to be European to have the necessary distance - whatsoever: watch this movie, forget everything you expect of rom coms! This is something else!
We see him confronted with friends reducing the relationship between man and women to business-school-babble or baseball, who talk him into functionalizing sex, he is confronted with racists and cynical CEO's who have real fun dismissing their employees. When he cautiously mentions that some of those people are good at their work and have kids, they explain to him that being an asshole is the way to make money in this society and he can leave as well. (And for the first time in an American movie I saw normal (!!!) unemployed people that are not depicted as alcoholics, drug addicts or other completely miserable and depressed drop-outs!) The movies shows that stop playing the game is actually an option!
And then there is the TV that invades his daydreams and tries to explain the world - but it is just as ridiculous as the two politicians in a TV debate that is shown over and over. Even in the end, after giving an irritating mediocre speech about love, he adds "---I think this is what Oprah said."
For me this is a movie that uses the rom com-stereotypes (in a skillfull and funny way) to tell a story about how to keep your brain and authenticity together in an American mainstream-version of reality.
Beyond that: The camera work is great, the acting of Aaron Tveit is fantastic and his depicted character is absolutely believable and lovable, the shrink of Charlie is one of the most memorable characters in movie of all times, the surreal distortions are great.
Maybe you have to be European to have the necessary distance - whatsoever: watch this movie, forget everything you expect of rom coms! This is something else!
Watch this if you like something different
yashasvilohia19 April 2017
While it *almost* has the same plot progression as literally every other rom-com from the guy's point of view, this is quite different. Interesting filming style and cinematography. I do like the overall message of the movie very much to the point where seeing the 4 star average rating annoyed me and I just had to write my first review. If you're reading this right now, just watch it already.
Great Art That Is Misunderstood And Under-Apprecaited
isantistao10 November 2020
Because people do not understand great art, unless they themselves are great artists, they will not appreciate it. And that is what has happened here. This film is way too artistic for most people. It is more than just an indie film. It is the most artistic romantic comedy I have ever seen. The way that it is filmed and edited and produced to look, as they describe it, hallucinogenic, is just masterful. This really is a masterpiece done on a budget, which is so incredibly impressive. The writing and directing and editing/production are all extremely impressive. It truly is a work of art. I was amazed. Partly because it didn't get good ratings, and it deserves a much higher rating. This movie is a perfect ten.
Another thing that people may not like about it but again is just part of the fact that it is incredibly artistic, is the fact that this movie jumps around a lot between past and present, blurring the lines between them. That is to show how this man is haunted by his past with his ex girlfriend and he is constantly reminded of her and having memories of her come up and play out in his present day life, to the point where she seems to appear in scenes in his everyday life. He is constantly caught up in his head letting his thoughts and emotions and insecurities about what others are thinking/saying about him or what his past girlfriends have done to him get carried away and run amok, and this movie uses the art of film to show you what it is like to be inside the mind of someone whose brain is doing that to them. It is something we can all relate to if we have been in love and heart broken before, our exes haunt us like ghosts. So while the continuity (or lack thereof) is confusing at times, that doesn't make it less good of a movie, rather the opposite. It makes it more artistic.
Another thing that many people may not get is the writing and dialogue, which is not realistic sounding most of the time, at least the times that he is recounting events and telling stories of how things happened from his past, which are made to sound satirical. Most people do not understand satire, just like how a lot of people don't understand sarcasm, but satire is like sarcasm on steroids. This satire in the film is meant to make things sound ridiculously hilarious and also make points about how silly some of the concepts in dating truly are. For instance, the way that happy couples are depicted in the beginning this movie as being like something out of a fairy tale. The satire in this movie is extremely clever and laugh out loud hilarious. I literally was laughing out loud almost every single scene! And that is rare for any comedy.
And of course this movie is extremely meaningful. It has a great story with a great ending. One that is realistic and not one of those cliche romantic cinematic finishes you see from the big production romance movies. This was a story that was meant to relate to real life (even though it was also using a lot of ridiculous satire along the way, it dropped that for the ending). It was meant to be relatable to everyone watching and teach us a life lesson that we could use in our real lives. The story has a great moral to it and I am not going to tell you what it is because you really should watch it for yourself. Just remember that you are not watching some cliche hollywood romance film. This is art. Try to appreciate it. Because a lot of creativity and craft went into making this great film, and it was done on a budget too, which makes it much more difficult and requires much more creativity and craft to make up for not having the money for the big production costs.
Another thing that people may not like about it but again is just part of the fact that it is incredibly artistic, is the fact that this movie jumps around a lot between past and present, blurring the lines between them. That is to show how this man is haunted by his past with his ex girlfriend and he is constantly reminded of her and having memories of her come up and play out in his present day life, to the point where she seems to appear in scenes in his everyday life. He is constantly caught up in his head letting his thoughts and emotions and insecurities about what others are thinking/saying about him or what his past girlfriends have done to him get carried away and run amok, and this movie uses the art of film to show you what it is like to be inside the mind of someone whose brain is doing that to them. It is something we can all relate to if we have been in love and heart broken before, our exes haunt us like ghosts. So while the continuity (or lack thereof) is confusing at times, that doesn't make it less good of a movie, rather the opposite. It makes it more artistic.
Another thing that many people may not get is the writing and dialogue, which is not realistic sounding most of the time, at least the times that he is recounting events and telling stories of how things happened from his past, which are made to sound satirical. Most people do not understand satire, just like how a lot of people don't understand sarcasm, but satire is like sarcasm on steroids. This satire in the film is meant to make things sound ridiculously hilarious and also make points about how silly some of the concepts in dating truly are. For instance, the way that happy couples are depicted in the beginning this movie as being like something out of a fairy tale. The satire in this movie is extremely clever and laugh out loud hilarious. I literally was laughing out loud almost every single scene! And that is rare for any comedy.
And of course this movie is extremely meaningful. It has a great story with a great ending. One that is realistic and not one of those cliche romantic cinematic finishes you see from the big production romance movies. This was a story that was meant to relate to real life (even though it was also using a lot of ridiculous satire along the way, it dropped that for the ending). It was meant to be relatable to everyone watching and teach us a life lesson that we could use in our real lives. The story has a great moral to it and I am not going to tell you what it is because you really should watch it for yourself. Just remember that you are not watching some cliche hollywood romance film. This is art. Try to appreciate it. Because a lot of creativity and craft went into making this great film, and it was done on a budget too, which makes it much more difficult and requires much more creativity and craft to make up for not having the money for the big production costs.
Horrible!
RoboGarrett18 May 2020
This movie is a total waste of Chris and Abbey Elliott and Lewis Black. The lead character is completely unlikable and unfunny. The story is stupid. The movie even looks and sounds cheap. The editing is even terrible! If you notice the editing feels wrong, that's a huge problem. In today's day and age we're not supposed to really even notice editing. The whole thing feels like a higher end student film. I can't believe the high reviews here. I'll give it a two because of the involvement of the talented comedy people I named, but how on earth did they get these people with such an awful script as this? Very disappointing.
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