Some people believe being single is shameful, especially if you’re a woman. More so if you're a woman who's already out in the “real world.” While many females gratefully ignore the thought of marriage and children, others long for it and make it their goal to find someone. Then, there’s the one who enjoys herself and the process. All these women exist. In How to Be Single, we meet them, laugh with them and identify with them. The male characters may be secondary, but their contribution is one that does not go unnoticed. Whether you're male or female, the ball falls close to home.

Directed by first time comedy director, Christian Ditter, he stated How to Be Single marks his first American film. “For me when I read the script, How to Be Single, I thought ‘okay, why hasn't anybody showed me that movie when I was single because it’s so much fun and you learn a lot. It’s also a movie that hasn't been made before… I certainly relate to it.” He explained the variety of good content is everywhere so making a film that would separate from a sitcom was the challenge he had in mind. He mentioned an emotional story shift between Dakota’s character, Alice and her boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun). “I just watched Dakota’s face and just how she listens and how I see what he says sinking in and how I see her eyes catching up with his words. That was so powerful that I knew that second… we have a movie. And then when Rebel came on set I knew we had a comedy.”

A humorous, smart and gracious Rebel Wilson described her character as  “The Hitch of How to Be Single. I give all the advice.” She also admitted her relation to her character Robin. “The thing I like about my character is that she’s kind of like eternally single, which is like me in real life,” she said humorously. “Unfortunately I haven't met the right person yet, so I really related to that.” How to Be Single is complete with Wilson’s performance. Her comedy delivery and talent transcend. The star revealed, “I have these other projects now in development with the same studio ‘cause they've loved my performance in this.” She confirmed it’s a comedy where she stars as the lead character.

Dakota Johnson (Alice) and Leslie Mann (Meg) play sisters. The two agreed on the importance of the film and the optimism of where the female community is headed. Johnson expressed, “The thing that I appreciated is that it’s a depiction of a girl who has really depended on a lot of people her whole life to make her feel better or to help her out with things and sort of hold her hand and guide her through certain situations.” On being part of the change of female leads and not relying on men, but rather on self love, Leslie Mann says she loves that and concurs on it being ‘a big deal.’ “I’m raising two girls right now and I’m excited for them, that they get to grow up in the world the way it is now as opposed to when I was younger or when my mother was. I love the message at the end of the movie and I’m excited for them to see it and I’m excited for the… movement.”

The elegant and rather posh Alison Brie told us that she too is delighted on what the film represents. “My character, her whole story is representing online dating and that whole side of dating, which is a big part of the way people date today.” While Brie doesn’t identify with her character’s ways, she did point out the stress of dating and how her character Lucy reflects it. “A major fault in her [Lucy] is her specificity and obviously, though she's highly intelligent… She’s so invested in finding the one, she does it like it’s a job. But she has a really hard time I think because she’s so closed minded.” 

The collaboration between the writers gave a lot of good material to the performers. As Dana Fox helped structure (and write) the story, Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (“The Vow,” “He’s Just Not That Into You”) wrote the screenplay. Based on the book by Liz Tucillo (TV’s “Sex & the City,” “He’s Just Not That Into You”), Abby and Marc admit they only relied on the book for one thing. “We used the title… It’s a really good title!” said Abby Kohn. She explained Liz “did more of an anthropological study of singlehood.” Marc added, “Internationally. What single women are like in different cultures, which is super interesting and it brought up a lot of things to think about for us in terms of why singlehood is viewed a particular way.”

A smart and witty Dana Fox spoke on writing and producing the film. “I might have been responsible for some of the R-rated,” she attested. She noted her appreciation for stories where people just say what they feel. “You can’t talk about being single without being able to swear and talk about sex.” Fox recalled on her times of singlehood. “For me personally, I was a little bit of a show pony girlfriend in the beginning. Like I was always trying to be all things to all guys… So  I would sort of pretzel myself into whatever shape I felt fit the guy the best and I kinda realized that I was attracting the wrong guys, ‘cause I was attracting guys that liked that version of me instead of who I actually was.” A theme that is portrayed in the film. 

Fox also shared that the movie is not your typical ‘love movie between a man and a woman, but rather between two friends.’ Alice and Robin’s character are the bigger story of the film with key character’s Lucy (Alison Brie), Meg (Leslie Mann), Tom (Anders Holm), Ken (Jake Lacy), David (Damon Wayans Jr.), and George (Jason Mantzoukas). The events and circumstances they go through shape every one of them. It goes without saying that every female should in fact watch this film. Not only does it present relatable issues, but it also demonstrates ways to resolve them. As Rebel Wilson described “the overall message of the film… ‘Yeah, don't be stuck in like a codependent situation. It’s alright to be single and to look after yourself.”

How to Be Single is in theaters Friday, February 12th.