The accompanying music video portrayed a self-reflection theme, Allen taking a view over her past-self in the mirror and realising her life was wasted on superficial matters.

[4] It has a basic sequence of A♭—E♭/G—Fm—G7—F7 as its chord progression, while piano, synths and percussion are used for the background music, with occasional flourishes from harpsichord and organ.

[4] The single distributed in France includes a duet with French singer Ours, called "22 (Vingt Deux)",[5] which is also present on the Paris Live Session.

[7] Mayer Nissim of the Digital Spy awarded "22" three stars and wrote that the song projects the life of a "Bridget Jones-type everywoman" and complimented the lyrics, but went on to say that Allen's "nursery rhyme melodies" are losing originality.

[8] Lucy Davies from the BBC considered that if, in the singer's opinion, women who are single and approaching thirty are worthless to society, then she could be "an unreconstructed male in a young woman's body".

[10] A reviewer from The Canadian Press viewed the song as "nouveau-feminist ditty", which "swings on finger snaps and circus-sounding organ reminiscent of the Beatles' Sgt.

The music video was shot in the bathrooms of Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen Street, London on 1 June 2009 and was directed by Jake Scott.

https://www.locationhq.co.uk/locations/interiors/950546-grand-art-deco-toilet-wc-public-toilet-filming-photography-cubicles-for-filming/ The Daily Mirror reported that Allen was wearing a chocolate coloured dress, sporting her new short hairstyle and performing with twenty trained dancers.

The scene suddenly changes, seeing 'young' Allen alone in the same bathroom, this time with a man with whom she dances around the central sink unit, while the bridge to the song is coming to an end.