Drew Barrymore Steps Behind the Camera Again for 'How to Be Single'

Drew Barrymore, like The Terminator, refuses to be stopped. She beat the child actor stigma, navigating a very successful career throughout her teens and twenties, and now in her thirties is continuing her run as a producer and, least expectedly of all, a surprisingly remarkable director.

Her first feature, 2009's "Whip It," was the rare film about girls that didn't talk down to them, but also didn't make its characters into ridiculously confident stereotypes of female empowerment. It ended up being a really touching little movie about growing up and all the self-righteous confidence and secret vulnerability that comes with it.

But naturally, it was too girly for the guys and not silly enough for the typical rom-com audience, and consequently almost nobody saw it. Luckily for the larger world of film, Barrymore's not letting that stop her from mounting her sophomore effort, "How To Be Single," as reported yesterday evening in The Hollywood Reporter.

The film is based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo, which follows the ups and downs of love for a group of New Yorkers during a ten-year span.

THR describes it as being in the same vein as "He's Just Not That into You" (which Barrymore starred in and produced) and "Valentine's Day," but I'd say that timespan means we're in for something a little bit different. Then again, they could easily compress that into the space of a week in which a group of people who are connected through rather circumspect and dramatically convenient ways each have huge revelations on the exact same day. You know, or not.

The film was written by Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn, who wrote "He's Just Not That into You" and "Valentine's Day" and please-don't-let-this-be-another-one-of-those.

I still hold out hope based on Barryore's impressive debut (seriously, watch it, it's awesome) and her surprising, self-aware, affecting turn in "Going the Distance" (another underrated film), but we'll have to see where the chips fall.