What's Your Number?

Back in 2011, we were still living in a world where a woman’s "number" was treated with the same statistical gravity as a credit score or a cholesterol reading. It was the tail end of the glossy, high-concept studio rom-com era, just before the genre largely migrated to streaming platforms and lost its luster for the silver screen. What’s Your Number? arrived with a premise that feels like a dusty relic of Cosmopolitan magazine logic: Ally Darling (Anna Faris) reads an article claiming that once a woman hits 20 lovers, her chances of marriage plummet to zero. Naturally, having hit the big 2-0, she decides to revisit her previous nineteen flings to see if she missed "the one" the first time around.

The High Stakes of Low Numbers

Looking back at this film from over a decade later, the premise is undeniably creaky. It’s a movie that tries to have its cake and eat it too, leaning into the raunchy comedy trends sparked by films like Bridesmaids while tethering itself to a weirdly conservative anxiety about "body counts." But here’s the thing: the movie actually works, and that is almost entirely due to the manic, rubber-faced brilliance of Anna Faris.

I watched this recently while eating a bowl of cold leftover spaghetti at 11:00 PM, and I realized that Faris is essentially our generation’s Lucille Ball. She has this fearless commitment to being the loudest, weirdest, and most physically awkward person in the room. Whether she’s faking a British accent or trying to look "nonchalant" while stalking an ex, her timing is impeccable. The film, directed by Mark Mylod (who would later give us the much sharper The Menu), knows that Faris is its secret weapon. Without her, this would be a scavenger hunt through a dumpster of bad decisions. With her, it’s a masterclass in how a great performer can elevate middling material.

The Captain and the Comedienne

Then there’s the Chris Evans of it all. At the time, Evans was just beginning his tenure as Captain America, and What’s Your Number? feels like one of the last times we got to see him play the "charming dirtbag" archetype he perfected in the early 2000s. He plays Colin, Ally’s neighbor who helps her track down her exes in exchange for a place to hide from his own morning-after conquests.

The chemistry between Faris and Evans is genuinely top-tier. There’s a relaxed, improvisational energy to their scenes that feels more authentic than the scripted "meet-cutes" of the 90s. While the movie follows the rigid DVD-era comedy structure—complete with the mandatory "falling out" at the end of the second act—the two leads make the journey feel fresh. It’s also worth noting that Chris Evans spends so much time shirtless he probably qualified for a hazard pay exemption from the costume department. It was a clear marketing tactic of the era, but looking back, it’s a fun reminder of his pre-superhero-stardom persona.

A Gallery of Rogues and MCU Cameos

One of the most enjoyable aspects of revisiting this film is the "before they were famous" bingo game you get to play with the supporting cast. Ally’s list of exes is basically a casting director’s fever dream. You’ve got a pre-stardom Chris Pratt (Faris’s real-life husband at the time) playing "Disgusting Donald," a hilarious Anthony Mackie as a closeted politician, and even Martin Freeman showing up for a brief, delightful stint.

The film operates on a rapid-fire joke delivery system. Not every joke lands—some of the humor feels a bit "of its time" in a way that doesn't always age gracefully—but the hit-to-miss ratio is surprisingly high. The screenplay by Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan understands that the "exes" are essentially vignettes, and they allow actors like Ari Graynor (who is criminally underrated as Ally's sister) and Blythe Danner to chew the scenery in the background. It captures that transition period where comedies were moving away from the saccharine sweetness of the Nora Ephron years and toward something a bit more cynical and sweatier.

Apparently, the production had to cut several other high-profile cameos to keep the runtime under two hours, which is a shame because the "parade of exes" is the film's strongest comedic engine. There’s a certain charm to the way the film utilizes its Boston setting, too—it feels like one of the last mid-budget comedies that actually went on location rather than shooting everything on a generic Atlanta soundstage.

Ultimately, What’s Your Number? is a breezy, frequently hilarious relic of the early 2010s. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, and it certainly isn't going to win any awards for progressive gender politics, but it survives on the sheer charisma of its leads. It’s the kind of movie that rewards a lazy Sunday afternoon viewing, offering enough genuine laughs and "I forgot he was in this!" moments to justify its existence. If you can get past the dated magazine-logic premise, there's a lot of heart and some truly fantastic physical comedy waiting for you.