Faris Searches Through Her Past to Find Mr. Right

By Keli Demertzis

What if you had the chance to face your past boyfriends to search for the one that got away? Well, Ally Darling gets that opportunity. Chances are, if you are a fan of lighthearted romantic comedies, as well as the comedic styling of Anna Faris, you will enjoy "What's Your Number?" which was released in theaters Friday, Sept. 30, and is directed by Mark Mylod.

Fitted with the tagline "Ally is looking for the best ex of her life," Faris plays Ally Darling, a woman in search of reconnecting with all of her past hookups. With motivation from an eye-opening "Marie Clare" magazine article, which stated that anyone who has had at least 20 partners will ultimately stay single, Ally's high number of 19 shocks her into action.

She is determined to find her soul mate in one of her past flings to stop her from hitting the dreaded number 20. However, along her journey, Ally learns a valuable lesson: be yourself and love will find you.

How is Ally supposed to track down these men that got away? She enlists neighbor Colin, played by the handsome Chris Evans, to run background checks on all 19 ex-boyfriends. However, Colin's work comes at a price — Ally had promised that whenever Colin needs to flee from his overbearing one-night stands, he could hide in her apartment. As desperate Ally and notorious womanizer Colin spend more time together, chemistry ensues.

While this mission takes place, Ally feels the pressure from her uptight mother, who questions why she hasn't found a husband yet. Not helping the cause is Ally's younger sister Daisy, who plans her own wedding during the course of the film.

The casting of this film is great. Faris has great physical comedy, while the handsome Evans is believable in his role as a man with a lack of relationship commitment. Women audience members, here is a spoiler alert: Evans is shirtless for about half of the film. Together, the duo have a great presence and chemistry onscreen (evidenced by an impromptu game of strip basketball).

Audiences will find humor in the scenes where Ally is forced to recollect moments with her ex-flings; in one scene an acne-ridden Gerry Perry, played by Andy Samberg, is seen having sex with Ally, all while holding his hand puppet. Furthermore, the East Coast scenery as well as Daisy's wedding scene will make female audience members melt (the beautifully written vows exchanged at the wedding may even cause a tear or two).

Already aware of Faris' comedic talent, I came into the film with high hopes in the laughter department. I knew this was a "romantic comedy" and not just a comedy, but I still left slightly disappointed. I was hoping for something fresh, a romantic comedy that deviated from the usual, but this wasn't the case. Cliché moments were apparent; for example, a dramatic decision concerning whether to follow the heart or the brain.

Some aspects of the film are unrealistic. When Ally experiences embarrassment and humiliation in the face of her past boyfriends, she never expresses sadness or any other emotion for that matter. In fact, one of her former flings has the audacity to ask Ally to pretend to be his wife, because he is gay and he wants to further his political career without people knowing.

Ally is shown as being perfectly happy in the following scene, as if nothing had happened. This lack of real life emotion made the film seem a little unread.

"What's Your Number?" is cute. It's not a deep thinker, not inspirational and not ground-breaking. Nonetheless, the movie's message is positive, and along the way you will find yourself giggling at crude jokes and feeling sympathetic for a loveless Ally.

Will Ally find Mr. Right in one of her past boyfriends, or will she exceed the dreaded number 20 and ultimately stay single?

Contact Keli Demertzis at kdemertzis@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.

Read about "What's Your Number?" on Rotten Tomatoes.