Review of Singles (1992) by Ken B — 29 Feb 2008

There is something quintessentially Seattle about Singles and without intimate knowledge of the area and the grunge scene, Singles is average at best. The filmmaking here is uneven at best, but it's a clear step forward in maturity from Crowe's earlier films, such as Say Anything.

There are some really charming moments and some very interesting characters, but amateur filmmaking and an inability to transcend some of the staleness in the genre prevents it from real success. Singles is a romantic comedy at its roots and it gets trapped in some of that genres conventions.

This is far from the worst of its sins though. The simple fact is, your characters cannot and should not talk into the camera. It's distracting and amateur. There is a lot of fun and nostalgia to be had in Singles, but it's far from Crowe's best.

At least it's a huge improvement over his worst.