Taglines: Ally’s looking for the best ex of her life.
Ally is an original modern heroine. She is smart, attractive, funny and romantic – a young woman trying to figure out who she really is, as well as whom she should be with. While her quest to find her best “ex,” or former boyfriend, is triggered by a magazine article, it also signifies something even more intriguing: Ally is at a point in her life when she doesn’t have the husband, job or life she thought she’d have. She is at a crossroads, which leads her to wonder if she has missed something – or someone – important during the past decade.
This is a raunchy romantic comedy aimed at young adult audiences. Fans of stars Anna Faris and Chris Evans will have plenty to savor though other known stars only show up in small roles. Sexual content, language, and constant sex talk make this one not for children.
About the Production
The average number of lovers women have in their lifetime is 10.5
Ally becomes convinced she’s reached the limit of sexual partners a woman can have before she’s deemed unmarriageable (except maybe, as Dr. Fig notes, she lives in New Zealand). With celibacy as a non-starter, Ally embarks on a mission to find a mate, without adding to her number, by seeking the colorful and strange assortment of lovers from her past; she wonders, are they married, available, gay …dead?
“Ally begins to realize she’s a little lost in life,” says Faris. “She’s now unemployed, and has a bit of an identity crisis when she realizes that since she’s slept with twenty people she may not ever be able to find a husband. It doesn’t help that her little sister, who’s kind of perfect, is getting married.”
As an actor and filmmaker, Faris appreciated the story being told from Ally’s point of view, in a no-holds-barred way that mixes sex, heart, fun and emotion. “I loved the idea of women getting to play in what right now seems like a man’s world,” Faris elaborates. “Women can relate to envelope-pushing comedies, just like men can. So I wanted to play in that world as well, where a modern woman can be raunchy and real and gritty with her friends.” (The development of WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? preceded the recent box office hit “Bridesmaids.”)
Gabrielle Allan, who wrote the script with Jennifer Crittenden, describes WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? as “the story of a woman who’s been living by everybody else’s rules for a long time. She finally meets somebody who challenges her to be honest about who she is. Ally comes to accept that she’s not like everybody else, and that she has been trying to live up to impossible expectations. It’s the story of a woman coming into her own.”
Several of these story elements and themes are found in the book upon which the screenplay is based, “20 Times a Lady,” by Karyn Bosnak. “I had read somewhere that the average American woman had 10.5 sexual partners, but many of the people I had spoken with had higher numbers,” recalls the author. “So I decided to give Ally twice the national average – giving her even more reason to freak out.”
Ally’s dismay at realizing she may have approached some kind of un-magical milestone points to another inviolable truth in the battle of the sexes over: women subtract; men add. Meaning that guys will boast of more sexual conquests than they really had, and women will admit to fewer than the actual number. “Women and men both lie about that number – to anyone and everyone,” says Bosnak.
“I’ve done what Ally does in the film,” admits Gabrielle Allan. “I’ve gone backwards to not raise my number. I really related to Ally even though her quest is crazy and neurotic. It’s important to Ally, and I remember it being important to me. I think that a woman keeping track of her number and the reason why she’s keeping track, was a fun idea.”
Whatever the veracity of a person’s “number,” Bosnak says the story’s most important message is being true to oneself. “If you’re examining your past, you should never regret the reasons you did certain things, because you can’t change them, and all those choices made you who you are.”
Screenwriter Jennifer Crittenden remembers that “the book made us laugh; it was really funny. It seemed like a perfect premise for a romantic comedy – to go back and rediscover who you’ve been with. The big challenge was to keep the film from feeling episodic, as Ally runs from guy to guy to guy to guy, so we gave Ally a home base from which she embarks on her adventures. This allows her to spend more time with Colin,” and to have that dynamic unfold.
The filmmakers embraced the story’s edgier elements. “There’s no way around the fact that our protagonist has slept with 19 people; that’s pretty edgy for a romantic comedy in and of itself,” says producer Tripp Vinson. “Rather than run away from that, it seemed like a smarter choice to just to embrace it and go for it.”
Director Mark Mylod, best known for producing and directing several seasons of “Entourage” on HBO, describes how he “was looking to do a romantic comedy but I wanted to do one that had edge, something that was relevant and felt fresh. I was struck by the screenplay’s cleverness and humor – it was laugh-out-loud funny – and I liked that Ally was strong. The theme of Ally finding herself and having the strength to be herself resonated with me.”
“I see Ally as somebody who is trying to find some true connection with a guy but is going about it completely the wrong way by trying to change for them instead of letting them come to her,” Mylod continues. “So tonally, I wanted WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? to be an interesting cocktail of a frank and lively sexual content but with a genuine romantic heart. We’re playing to the genre, but we’re also pulling the rug out on it by giving it a new twist and keeping it fresh and vital.”
A key element in keeping things fresh and vital is the dynamic between Ally and her new neighbor Colin, played by Chris Evans. Seeking a haven from the woman he’s brought home the night before, Colin comes to Ally’s rescue when she tries to disentangle herself from her booze-riddled mistake of the night before. Ally and Colin click, and even though Ally’s romantic sights are aimed entirely in retrospect, she has found in Colin a new friend and ally. “Ally and Colin enhance each other but don’t necessarily live for each other,” says Evans. “They’ve helped each other become better versions of themselves, but they don’t need each other to exist.”
Faris and Evans nicely balance one another, with Evans displaying a sense of grounded, physical stability while Faris provides a series of fluid, deft and comical transitions that always surprise. “When Ally and Colin meet, there’s a lot of tension between them,” notes Faris. “Ally’s kind of disgusted with Colin because she sees women coming in and out of his apartment. She thinks he’s just this man-whore. Ally wants much more for her own life, so she’s really annoyed when sees somebody who’s lackadaisical in their own lifestyle – probably because she’s envious. Eventually they come to understand one another.”
“Colin comes from a family of cops and detectives, so he’s good at digging up dirt,” adds Evans. “That’s why Ally enlists his help. And he’s a bit of a womanizer, and is very ‘alpha.’ He’s a likable guy but he’s not exactly husband material. But slowly Colin realizes that Ally’s the person he’s supposed to be with, and that opens a lot more doors for him.”
Executive producer Nan Morales confirms that Ally and Colin’s first meeting is far from auspicious. “When she meets him, the audience will think, ‘No, Ally no!’ It’s like what her friends say: ‘You don’t want to go out with that guy; he’s dangerous, he’s sexy, he can trick you.’ But this is how Colin lives; he’s honest about it. This is a lesson Ally needs to learn; she needs to own who she is in order to go to the next level in her life.”
“Ally and Colin are different in many, many ways,” says Mylod, “but humor brings them together, which happens in a lot of relationships, and I think they have the same intrinsic values.”
Joining Faris and Evans in the starring cast is Ari Graynor, who has appeared on Broadway and scored key comic roles in such films as Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and the upcoming 20th Century Fox comedy The Sitter. In WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?, Graynor plays Daisy Darling, Ally’s almost-perfect younger sister. Says Graynor: “Daisy has always stayed on the right path, done the right thing. She has never made any major missteps in her life. Ally is just a little bit more eccentric and sort of marches to the beat of her own drum, but despite their differences, Daisy and Ally really get each other and have this sort of kindred spirit.”
Playing the sisters’ mother Ava is Blythe Danner. An award-winning actor whose work encompasses memorable roles on stage, screen and television, Danner found much to embrace in playing Ava. “Ava is a tough cookie, very judgmental, and very tough on Ally,” Danner notes. “She’s not an easy mom. But we find out Ava has a bigger heart than we’d initially thought. She may be heightened a couple of notches, but I think that every parent will understand her.”
Ally’s Exes
The actors who play the motley bunch of Ally’s ex-boyfriends bring to WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? a wide range of acting styles and experience. These special cameos help define Ally’s journey and her world. Let’s meet them:
RICK (Zachary Quinto) is a self-absorbed, environmentally-aggressive bike rider who makes it clear that he has no interest in furthering his relationship with Ally.
ROGER (Joel McHale) is Ally’s boss, who even after firing her, isn’t above trying to seduce Ally. Roger wears a suit during the day and then changes into another suit when he goes out. He’s that guy.
DISGUSTING DONALD (Chris Pratt) is the “ex” whose surprise meeting with Ally triggers her quest to track down past boyfriends. When Donald and Ally first dated, he weighed 400 pounds – hence, the nickname – but now he is in great shape…and engaged.
DAVE HANSEN (Mike Vogel) was a magician-bartender able to charm coins out of a woman’s most intimate places.
SIMON (Martin Freeman) is a “proper” Brit with whom Ally pretended to be English when they first dated. When Ally and Simon reunite, she must return to her lapsed, rusty English accent – to disastrous results.
GERRY PERRY (Andy Samberg) is a puppeteer to whom Ally lost her virginity. When Ally reunites with Gerry, she can’t figure out who’s more wooden – and crazier – Gerry or his puppet.
DR. BARRETT INGOLD (Thomas Lennon) is a gynecologist, who fails to remember or recognize Ally…until he examines her.
TOM PIPER (Anthony Mackie) is an ambitious politician with whom Ally is initially delighted to reconnect with, until the politically expedient reason behind Tom’s renewed interest in Ally is revealed. .
JAKE ADAMS (Dave Annable) is rich, handsome, and best of all still a good guy. Is he the one perfect match for Ally?
What’s Your Number?
Directed by: Mark Mylod
Starring: Chris Evans, Anna Faris, Joel McHale, Zachary Quinto, Andy Samberg, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner, Heather Burns, Eliza Coupe, Kate Simses, Tika Sumpter
Screenplay by: Gabrielle Allan, Karyn Bosnak, Jennifer Crittenden
Production Design by: Jon Billington
Cinematography by: James M. Muro
Film Editing by: Julie Monroe
Costume Design by: Amy Westcott
Set Decoration by: Denise Pizzini
Art Direction by: David Swayze
Music by: Aaron Zigman
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content and language.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: September 30, 2011
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