Criticizing a romantic comedy for being dumb and commercial is a little unfair. What is a Hollywood romantic comedy but a crass, easy-on-the-brain product designed to get women to drag their reluctant boyfriends and husbands into the mall-o-plex? So pity the director enlisted to make one. Like the contestants on a cooking show, he is given a set of ingredients and asked to make something palatable of them. With WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?, the components include: co-stars Anna Faris and Chris Evans; story based on a “chick-lit” novel by a blogger-turned-author; giggling girlfriends planning a lavish wedding; copious drinking; edgy vulgarity and casual sex; an embarrassing bridal toast; a compulsive womanizer poised for reform; prominent product placement (Apple); and supporting appearances by fading luminaries (Blythe Danner and Ed Begley Jr.) as the parents.
