How to Be Single Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray video presentation of "How to Be Single" impresses with its 1080p, AVC-encoded visuals that capitalize on the digital photography captured by the Alexa camera. Directed by Christian Ditter and featuring cinematography by Christian Rein, the film employs a golden glow through post-processing, enriching the vibrant color palette of New York City. The colors are vividly rendered, with bold primaries and visually striking neons during party scenes. The warmer tones and yellow lights of Tom’s Bar create meaningful variety. Details are sharply defined, though certain wild club scenes reveal a slightly waxy texture attributable to their specific color schemes. Blacks are consistently deep, if not always reaching inky perfection, while contrast remains generally reliable despite feeling boosted in a few segments.

The video is characterized by solid clarity typical of Alexa photography, ensuring a reliable and artifact-free visual experience. The average bitrate of approximately 25.98 Mbps is in line with typical Warner theatrical releases, and the encoding handles the rich color palette and deep blacks effectively. The absence of compression artifacts and video noise contributes to an overall clean and aesthetically pleasing presentation. While the film may not make any top ten lists for video quality, its visual stylings more than suffice for an enjoyable viewing experience.

In summary, "How to Be Single" on Blu-ray offers a visually appealing experience with accurately rendered colors, sharp details, and consistently deep blacks. While contrast could be more pronounced in some scenes and black levels occasionally fall short of absolute depth, the presentation remains technically sound and visually engaging, capturing the energetic ambiance of New York City beautifully.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix for "How to Be Single" exhibits both technical precision and a professional quality. Dialogue remains clean and precisely rendered, making it easy to follow throughout the film's various environments. The soundtrack is heavily influenced by a dynamic range of pop hits, featuring tracks from Guns 'n' Roses to Heart, and notably concluding with Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", adding a vibrant musical texture to the narrative. Ambient effects are skillfully balanced to enhance the viewing experience but primarily come alive during the film's intense party scenes where loud dance music and a pulsating subwoofer are prominently felt, effectively immersing the audience in the chaotic energy.

While the overall sound mix successfully employs background noises and atmospheric elements to create a rich auditory space, it does have moments where the audio levels spike unexpectedly, particularly during transitions to energetic club scenes. These abrupt shifts can be jarring, necessitating frequent volume adjustments, which detracts slightly from an otherwise exceptional auditory presentation. Despite this minor hiccup, the surround sound does an admirable job of enveloping the listener, creating an engaging and spatially realistic sound environment that complements the film's visual storytelling. Overall, "How to Be Single" offers a robust and lively DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that is largely effective and immersive.

The Blu-ray release of "How to Be Single" offers a range of extras that will surely appeal to fans of the film. While some of the features lean towards the conventional Electronic Press Kit (EPK) territory, providing interviews and behind-the-scenes looks, they nonetheless add value and context to the viewing experience. Highlights include "Rebel Wilson Outtakes," which stand out for their humor, and "Deleted Scenes," which provide additional depth to supporting characters. However, some features like the "Gag Reel" may leave viewers wanting more due to its brevity. Overall, these extras contribute an engaging and entertaining glimpse into the film's production.

Extras included in this disc:

• The Pros and Cons of How to Be Single: Cast interviews, excluding Leslie Mann.
• Rebel Rabble: A Look at Rebel Wilson: Improvisations by Rebel Wilson.
• The Best Idea Wins!: The Humor of How to Be Single: Insights from director Christian Ditter and producer Dana Fox.
• Gag Reel: A brief assortment of outtakes.
• Rebel Wilson Outtakes: Alternate takes and extended scenes with Rebel Wilson.
• Deleted Scenes: Five scenes showcasing additional subplots and character moments.

"How to Be Single" ventures into the familiar terrain of romantic comedies with the tale of Alice (Dakota Johnson), who breaks up with her long-term boyfriend to discover herself in NYC. Despite a promising start, the movie quickly devolves into a mixed bag of intertwined plots that lack cohesive direction. Robin (Rebel Wilson) brings raunchy humor, attempting to inject life into an otherwise standard narrative. However, her character, along with others such as Leslie Mann's Meg and Alison Brie's Lucy, falls into clichéd traps. The comedic elements often come off as forced, detracting from moments that should evoke genuine emotional responses.

Director Christian Ditter and screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein struggle to translate Liz Tuccillo’s novel into a cinematic experience with depth. Where Tuccillo’s book offered insightful commentary on dating among thirty-something women, the film settles on a superficial portrayal of twenty-somethings navigating single life. Attempts at raunchy comedy do not land effectively, with scenes resorting to tired sex jokes that fail to advance character development or plot. The film also suffers from poor narrative structure, awkwardly stitching together subplots without providing substantial connections between them.

Furthermore, the male characters in "How to Be Single" serve as mere caricatures, offering little credibility or depth, which exacerbates the film’s shortcomings. The romantic entanglements feel contrived and fail to resonate on any meaningful level. Even the conclusion borrows from better-executed films, tarnishing any potential originality. Overall, "How to Be Single" misses the mark as a genre-defining romantic comedy and squanders its talented cast on an uninspired script filled with missed opportunities for genuine empowerment and humor.

"How to Be Single" arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Brothers in a technically proficient package, although the film itself unfortunately falls short. Despite a respectable box office performance, likely aided by counter-programming against "Deadpool" and the scarcity of romantic comedies in theaters, "How to Be Single" disappoints by being neither truly romantic nor consistently funny. The film struggles to differentiate itself within the genre, rehashing themes and tropes explored more effectively in other, superior movies.

The visual and audio quality of the Blu-ray transfer is commendable. The A/V transfer maintains a high standard, providing a vibrant and immersive experience, although it does little to elevate the content's lackluster storytelling. However, supplementing the main feature are bonus materials that, while sparse, add some value. The deleted scenes, in particular, hint at a more developed narrative that could have improved the overall experience.

In conclusion, "How to Be Single" on Blu-ray is well-presented technically but fails to deliver an engaging or memorable viewing experience. It may appeal to the curious or those with a particular interest in romantic comedies, but it ultimately feels like a rental rather than a must-own addition to any collection.