AllMovie

There's nothing particularly original or unique about Singles, but director Kwon Chil-in brings it enough poppy energy and well-observed humor to make it all seem fresh and palatable. Among the film's chief assets is a charming lead performance from the lanky, tomboyish Jang Jin-yeong. Jang delivers an intelligent and slyly understated performance as Na-nan, the film's cutely goofy central character and narrator. While the script by No Hye-yeong and Park Hun-su makes a weak effort at satire by drawing attention to its similarity to other romantic comedies (as when Na-nan, walking home from breaking up with her boyfriend, tells the audience that in a movie, it would begin to rain right about now, and -- on cue -- it does), this in itself is a pretty familiar trope by now. But the film overcomes this with its genuinely funny insights into work and love, and its emotional honesty about the nature of romantic relationships among attractive, intelligent thirtyish singles who haven't quite figured out where they're going. Na-nan's workplace situation draws big laughs, even though we empathize with her humiliation. Anyone who's ever worked in a service-industry job will identify with her as the forced cheerfulness of her workplace demeanor spills over into her personal life, most hilariously at an engagement party where, trying to make a positive impression on her ex, she nervously greets him with, "Hello, welcome to Chili's!" The trajectory of the two romantic relationships in the film seems predictable, but the film holds some surprises. The ending isn't particularly satisfying, at least not in the way a big-budget Hollywood romantic comedy would have to be, but it seems like a refreshingly honest assessment of where these characters are in life.