I really didn't want to see this movie. Romantic comedies aren't my favourite genre - give me a spine-tingly thriller or a gory scary movie and I am a happy girl. Despite my reluctance, this movie drew me in from the first scene.
The Plot
The premise of this movie is simple. Ally, a twenty-something woman, reads an article in a ladies magazine that states that according to a reputable Harvard doctor's study, women who have slept with 20 or more men have over a 95% chance of never getting married. The article goes on to cite why the marriage rate for women who have slept around is so low, and Ally is horrified as she guesses her lover figure is close to 20. She tallies up how many guys she has been intimate with and her total is 19 men.
Ally panics, vowing not to sleep with another guy until she finds THE ONE. As she is out one day with her sister, she runs into one of her 19 ex-lovers, a guy who was previously physically unattractive but is now a hottie. This gets Ally thinking - perhaps one of her other past lovers has the potential to be her future husband. As a bonus, she will be able to keep her number of lovers under 20.
Ally asks her across-the-hall neighbour, Colin, an investigative genius, to track down the other 18 guys on her list. In exchange, she will allow him to hang out in her apartment every morning while the woman he slept with the night before (usually a different one each night) gets out.
Colin is able to find each of the guys and one at a time, Ally reunites with them. Some are in committed relationships with other people, some are single, and all have the potential to be marriage material in Ally's eyes.
As I'm not a movie spoiler, I won't divulge how the rom-com ends. Suffice to say, the premise of the movie sounds a bit absurd but the flick is carried off surprisingly well. The 106 minutes of this R-rated movie are thoroughly entertaining and will keep you rooted to your seat, waiting to see what and who happens next.
The Actors
The two main characters in this movie are played by Anna Faris and Chris Evans. You may recognize Faris from The House Bunny, the Scary Movie franchise, and as Erica on the TV series Friends. Faris isn't a favourite actress of mine - I find her a tad too bubbly - but she does a surprisingly superb role as the trampy Ally. The men in the audience will appreciate Faris in all the scenes where Ally is wandering around in her skimpy underwear.
Easy-on-the-eyes Evans plays Colin. You'll recognize him from Captain America, Fantastic Four, The Losers, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He does an above-par job as a womanizing neighbour with romantic intentions of his own.
Final Thoughts
If you like romantic comedies, this one is a notch above most other flicks in this genre. I give it four out of five stars for rom-com lovers!
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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