What’s Your Number?

Director: Mark Mylod
Starring: Chris Evans, Anna Faris and Mike Vogel
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Runtime: 99 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2011
| JustWatch |
Rating notes: Strong sexual references
When Anna Farris, as Ally Darling (what’s in a name!) mentions an article in Marie Clare which tests young women on how many sexual partners they have had, we suspect that this film is the equivalent of this kind of magazine article, partly prurient, partly sensationalised, probably (because this is an American film), partly moralising by the end. And it is. It is the kind of thing that during the week tabloid newspapers might disapprove of, especially if they are reporting current events and behaviour, wagging their morally superior finger at less than moral behaviour – and then fill their weekend sections or magazines with several of these stories, often with salaciously inviting titles.

So, Ally tots up her lovers and is shocked to find that her sister and friends are well below the recommended limit before someone is judged to have gone over the top (twenty according to Marie Clare for those who are not going to see What’s Your Number?).

The statistic means that the next partner for Ally has to be the final one – or to contact each previous candidate and see if till death do us part can be with him. Needless to say, this involves a lot of embarrassing moments with some character actors, including Martin Freeman.

Meanwhile, across the hallway is the rather cavalierly promiscuous Colin (Chris Evans) whom Ally asks to help her find the twenty. Well, you know the rest… but not how it all gets to that final clinch. One of the troubles with the film is that Anna Farris is very good at portraying and sending up the dumb blonde image which she does here (Scary Movies, House Bunny…). She does some really dumb things here. And, that does not make her character a particularly likeable woman who deserves a solid chance in life. And if Mr Right came along, her life has not indicated that she would become Mrs Right. Nor does Colin’s story impress that he would commit forever. So that when they do, it is not very credible at all.

So, while we are taken on self-indulgent side trips, when we arrive at the final destination for Ally and Colin, we are not sure whether we believe that this could be the final destination.

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