What’s Your Number?
I’ve wanted to see What’s Your Number? from the time I saw the first trailer for it. I’ve liked Anna Faris ever since The House Bunny, and of course, I’m a big Chris Evans fan, given how many comic book films he’s been in (Captain America, Fantastic Four, The Losers, Scott Pilgrim) and that he looks amazing in all of them.
The premise is this: Ally (Faris) has a loser boyfriend (Zachary Quinto). He leaves the same day she gets fired (by Joel Hale, Community, playing uncool for once). On the way home, she reads one of those dumb women’s magazine articles geared to make you feel bad about yourself. This time, it says that the average woman has only 10.5 lovers in their lifetime. She finds that low, since she’s had 19. Now, this seems reasonable for a modern woman to me, but she freaks out over it and decides to be celibate.
Chris Evans in What's Your Number?
She winds up hunting down previous boyfriends, in the hopes that one of them is now a better match for her, with the help of her gorgeous neighbor Colin (Evans). He has his own issues, bringing home lots of women he ducks out on the next morning. His presence subtly points out the double standard, since no one cares about his number even though it’s increasing daily.
You see where this is going, of course. It’s a predictable film, but I found it just want I wanted, light entertainment that made me laugh. The scene, for example, where she’s trying to find her exes on Google, and she winds up talking back to her computer, I thought was both funny and a good example of how Faris could hold my attention on her own. Other scenes play off her skill with physical comedy. Then there’s the weird out-of-nowhere joke about Katharine and Audrey Hepburn that shows how friends pick each other up. Those were my favorite moments, the throw-away lines and random mentions, because they so often surprised and tickled me.
Ari Graynor, Anna Faris, and Kate Simses (Strangely, there is no publicity photo for this movie where Faris doesn't have her mouth open.)
The movie has a number of recognizable people in it. The supporting cast is the typical younger, better-adjusted sister (Ari Graynor, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist), who’s getting married; their gorgeous, somewhat controlling mother (Blythe Danner); various bridesmaids (including Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings) and Heather Burns); and the former dates (including Martin Freeman, Chris Pratt, and Andy Samberg).
I like a good romantic comedy, especially one with emphasis on the comedy, and this one brings the couple together with a twisted enough shared activity — hunting down people — that I found it unusual and entertaining. I also appreciated the way Evans’ character tended to answer the door in the nude. What’s Your Number? gave me exactly what I was hoping for, a fun evening in with plenty of laughs.
(Note: This is definitely an R-rated movie, due to a lot of frank language and situations, but unlike every other hard-R comedy I’ve watched, there were no gross bits or scenes that made me think “ewwwww.”)
Special Features
In addition to the choice of watching the theatrical version or an EX-tended Edition (with 11 extra minutes), the DVD has the movie’s trailer and four deleted scenes. The Blu-ray comes with a bare-bones DVD and a digital copy (iTunes compatible), plus another four deleted scenes — the eight together run 17 minutes, although I found them mostly unnecessary — and a gag reel (7 minutes). That part is actually funny, due to them splicing in, amongst the flubs and bad words, footage of the crew answering the question of what their number is in various ways.