Forget The Town, "What's Your Number?" is the Most Authentically Boston Movie Ever

The Most Boston Movie Ever Made Isn't What You Think

Anna Faris. Chris Evans. Boston locations you'll actually recognize. And more swearing than you'd expect.

If you've never seen What's Your Number? (2011), you've probably written it off and honestly, so did the critics. It sits somewhere around 24% on Rotten Tomatoes. Half a star reviews complaining about "unnecessary swearing." Low audience scores. It was easy to ignore.

We didn't ignore it. My wife and I sat down and watched the whole thing for our YouTube series, These Two Idiots, where we react to movies together and I edit everything down into something worth watching. And here's what we found: What's Your Number? is a genuinely fun romantic comedy, a surprisingly hard-swinging one, and maybe most importantly, one of the most authentically Boston movies ever made.

The Boston Locations Are the Real Star

People throw The Town around as the definitive Boston movie, and it earns that. But a lot of The Town is interiors and establishing b-roll. What's Your Number? actually puts its characters in Boston — on the streets, in the neighborhoods, at the landmarks. It's the difference between a movie set in Boston and a movie that lives there.

The movie follows Ally Darling (Anna Faris), a recently fired woman who becomes determined not to sleep with anyone new until she's sure he's the one — because she's already at 20, which is apparently twice the national average according to a Marie Claire article she carries around like scripture.

What makes this thing special, at least for anyone who's spent time in the city, is how much of the actual Boston shows up on screen. We spotted the North End, Beacon Hill, Long Wharf, TD Garden, what looks like the courtyard of the Boston Public Library, and the Red Line — though whoever was on location scouting should know the Porter Square stop is not "remotely close" to the Financial District. Maybe that's why she got fired.

Chris Evans plays the lead opposite Faris, and this is pre-Captain America, pre-Marvel machine — just raw Chris Evans in a rom-com, being charming and occasionally shirtless. Anthony Mackie also shows up, which means the movie technically contains two future Captain Americas.

Is It Actually Good?

Look, the critics were wrong. This movie knows exactly what it is and commits to it completely. It's raunchy, it's fast, it's funny, and Faris and Evans have genuine chemistry. We were laughing throughout. By the end, my wife — who came in skeptical — gave it a thumbs up.

Is the premise a little dated? Sure. Does the movie care? Not even slightly.

Final score from us: somewhere between a 9 and a 10 out of 10 for what it is. A fun romp. Zero apologies.