February 17, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
FILM REVIEW: ‘How to Be Single’
Samples Manhattan Singles Scene
Arts & Entertainment
Kam Talks to Isaiah Washington
About ‘The Sin Seer,’ Books, ESP
By Kam Williams
Special to The Skanner News
By Kam Williams
Special to The Skanner News
W
I
hen Alice (Dakota
Johnson) graduat-
ed from college, it
would have been
very easy for her to settle
down with her college sweet-
heart of four years. After all,
Josh (Nicholas Braun) was not
only a nice guy with a prom-
ising future but very eager to
marry and start a family.
However, since she’d never
really dated anyone else, Al-
ice wanted to test the waters before
making such a big commitment. So,
she ended the relationship and moved
clear across the country to New York
City to live with her elder sister, Meg
(Leslie Mann), an obstetrician who
hears her biological clock ticking.
Alice lands a job as a paralegal at
a big law firm where she makes fast
friends with a flamboyant co-worker
(Rebel Wilson) eager to show her the
ropes both around the office and the
Manhattan dating scene. Despite a
Rubenesque figure, Robin exudes an
enviable confidence that the relative-
ly-modest Alice ostensibly admires.
After hours, the two descend upon
a trendy meat market, where Alice
catches the eye of a handsome bar-
tender (Anders Holm). Against her
better judgment, she impulsively
agrees to a one-night stand with the
stranger, only to find it not to her lik-
‘How to Be Single’
ing.
Worse, the disaster has her pining
for Josh who has no interest in rec-
onciling. That means Alice must con-
tinue to negotiate her way around
the gauntlet of a strange new world
where she can’t quite get her footing.
Thus unfolds How to Be Single, a
raunchy romantic comedy directed
by Christian Ditter (Love, Rosie). The
movie is very loosely based on Liz
Tuccillo’s 2008 best-seller of the same
name which revolved around a 38
year-old heroine instead of one in her
early twenties.
Dakota Johnson exhibits an endear-
ing mix of sensuality and vulnerabili-
ty as the naive newcomer looking for
love in all the wrong places. And her
character’s plight is playfully juxta-
posed against that of her sister who is
so desperate to get pregnant that she’s
See FILM on page 11
saiah Washington was born
Aug. 3, 1963 in Houston, Tex-
as. After a stint in the US Air
Force, he attended Howard
University as a theater arts ma-
jor, then joined the City Kids
Repertory, a troupe which per-
formed at schools for at-risk
kids.
Isaiah has appeared in such
Isaiah Washington as a private eye in ‘The Sin Seer’
Spike Lee films as Crooklyn,
an to star in, and I saw yet another op-
Clockers, Girl 6 and Get on the
Bus. Other movies on his resume in- portunity to be a producer on a movie.
clude Romeo Must Die, Out of Sight, Bul-
KW: How would you describe the film
worth and Love Jones.
His first regular gig on TV was as a in 25 words or less?
IW: It’s a shocker in the end!
regular cast member on “Grey’s Anat-
omy.” In his spare time, Isaiah enjoys
KW: Do you believe that some people
building model airplanes, and he also
wrote a memoir, A Man From Another have extra sensory powers in real life?
IW: Absolutely!
Land: How Finding My Roots Changed
My Life.
KW: How would you describe your
Here, he talks about his latest offer-
ing, The Sin Seer, a thriller where he character, Grant Summit?
IW: As mysterious, loyal and a pro-
plays an ex-con-turned-private eye
who solves cases with the help of a tector.
clairvoyant [Lisa Arrindell Anderson].
KW: What message do you think peo-
Kam Williams: Hi Isaiah, thanks for ple will take away from the film?
IW: Watch your friends and family
the interview.
members closely.
Isaiah Washington: Hi, Kam.
KW: What interested you in The Sin
Seer?
IW: I thought that the story was very
unique for an African American wom-
KW: AALBC.com founder Troy John-
son asks: What was the last book you
See WASHINGTON on page 10