Definitely, Maybe (Widescreen)

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5 out of 5 stars

Who will win in the end? February 15, 2008
52 out of 56 found this review helpful

The concept here is great: on the eve of his divorce, a father tells his daughter the story of how he fell in love with her mother by changing names so she has to guess who she is in the story. What's so amazing is how they were able to pull off this story with three female leads all interacting with the same man, and yet somehow make us cheer each of them on in their own way. Ryan Reynolds is great in the lead, easily flowing from the caring father of the present to the stricken college student of the past and beyond. As the story unfolds, you'll meet Emily, April, and Summer--three women who will have a dramatic impact on his life in various ways.

There are some genuinely funny moments in this film, and I honestly can say I never really got bored at any point. It was like watching three romances unfolds and ultimately fall apart for different reasons. No doubt you will find yourself choosing a favorite, and like Maya (the daughter), you'll be hoping your favorite will turn out to be her mother. Be prepared to be surprised though.

As the movie drew closer to the end, I honestly thought I was going to be disappointed in how it ended. But the movie managed to end perfectly. Reynolds is a great actor who can be flippant and cocky one moment, then broken-hearted and in love during the next. Isla Fisher does a great job as April, the outgoing copy girl who works with him during the Bill Clinton campaign.

If you're looking for a great romantic movie, this is the one.

4 out of 5 stars

A different take on Romantic Comedy March 10, 2008
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

In most romantic comedies, you have a story where boy meets girl, then boy loses girl, and finally boy and girl re-unite and live happily ever after (or v.v.).

"Definitely, Maybe" is definitely not your usual run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, and refreshingly so: taking a very different approach to the subject.

For starters, the storyline revolves around the relationship between a father (Ryan Reynolds, played by Will Hayes) and his daughter, Maya (played by Abigail Breslin). Throughout most of the film, Ryan's romantic adventures (and misadventures) are potrayed as a series of flashbacks, as he relates the story of his life to his daughter in the form of a bedtime story.

Some of the dialog, particularly Maya's lines, are hysterically, if not shockingly funny - such as a very clinical discussion she has with her father about procreation as he picks her up at school after a "sex ed" class: she asks, for instance, how a baby could be "mistake" after going through all that effort to try and make one. Later, she asks her father (after he relates his past relationships to her) "What's the male word for 'Slut'?" To which he sheepishly responds "They're still working on that one."

An interesting twist is that the father thinks he's helping Maya to become more mature and sophisticated in her knowldge of the many emotional dimensions and complexities of adult relationsips. In fact, there's more to it than that: as Maya's dad tells the story of his relationships with three very different women: "Emily", "Summer" and "April" to his daughter, you see him growing in maturity as he drifts from one relationship into another (and back again). You also begin to understand why his marriage to Maya's mom failed (as is hinted at the start of the film): he's the one who needed to grow up. A point emphasized when Maya explicitly tells him so.

Ultimately, this movie spoke to me about the importance of maturity in relationships, and about how Love doesn't always come in the package (or place) you expect.

I give "Definitely, Maybe" four stars - not likely to get an Academy Award, but certainly a sweet, funny story with excellent performances.

4 out of 5 stars

Are You My Mother? February 16, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Romantic comedies often focus on the chemistry between adults, but rarely do they focus on the chemistry between an adult and a child. Such chemistry shines in "Definitely, Maybe," which sees Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Breslin playing one of the most charming father/daughter duos of recent memory. They just work well, and this is despite the fact that they're not given much screen time together. I say this because most of the film takes place before her character was born, recalling the events that led to the Reynolds character meeting her mother. This idea is heartwarming, if a little contrived; then again, I don't think a romantic comedy could even exist without being contrived, seeing as they never represent reality. After suffering through the dreadful "27 Dresses," films like "Definitely, Maybe" prove that such films can still be entertaining.

It all begins when soon-to-be-divorced Will Hayes (Reynolds) picks up his daughter, Maya (Breslin) from her school, which is swarming with parents outraged over the day's display of sex education. Maya challenges Will with a series of embarrassing questions, and on their return home, she wants him to tell her the story of how he and her mother met. He initially refuses, mostly because his is a very complicated story; he had not one but three serious girlfriends, and all of them had important parts to play. Will eventually decides to tell Maya the story, but only on the condition that he's allowed to change the names of the girlfriends. Maya actually likes this, because it will give her the chance to guess which woman became her mother.

Thus begins the story proper, which begins in Wisconsin in 1992. Will is a college student who dreams of becoming a politician, and he wants to follow this dream by moving to New York and joining Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. This doesn't mesh with the plans of his college sweetheart, whose name has been changed to Emily (Elizabeth Banks). Emily says she's worried that New York will change Will into something he's not; Will seems to understand that she's really scared of him succeeding and being too good for her, and because of that, he promises that their love will remain. Things obviously take a complicated turn when he arrives in New York, which for him is not only a blizzard of political activity, but also a hotbed of social development.

Here enters a woman named April (Isla Fisher), who doesn't consider herself a Democrat, a Republican, or even an Independent--political affiliations mean nothing to her because it means choosing a side, and choosing a side is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. There's an immediate connection between her and Will, although neither one is ready to admit that it will lead to something more than friendship. This is especially true since Will is ready to propose to Emily, who's finally found time to visit New York. I won't say whether or not he goes through with it, nor will I reveal what Emily says to him; what I will say is that one of Emily's old college friends enters the picture and complicates things further.

This friend is Summer Hartley (Rachel Weisz), a willful young woman aspiring to be journalist. She's introduced to Will through Emily's diary, which she wanted Summer to have as a gift (it describes some pretty naughty stuff, which is probably why Will reads it without permission). Despite the fact that she's sleeping with her thesis director--a pompous writer named Hampton Roth (Kevin Kline)--she quickly charms her way into Will's life, and he seems more than happy let her. At least, he does at first; his co-ownership of a political advertising agency is jeopardized when her published article paints a damning picture of the man he's endorsing as Governor. He quickly begins to rethink his situation, forcing him to wonder if the right woman is out there or if she even exists. Of course, we know right from the start that she does, so it's only a matter of Maya figuring everything out: Is her mother April, Emily, or Summer?

The final third of "Definitely, Maybe" is the weakest part, relying too heavily on the routine material romantic comedies are notorious for. This isn't to say that the film derails; it stays right on track all throughout, and it doesn't lose itself to an overabundance of sappy dialogue or implausible twists of fate. It's not free of them, of course, but at least they're used sparingly and at levels that are tolerable. And there's no denying that the main characters are engaging, especially Maya, who's more open to lines of communication than her father initially is. Watching them, I never once questioned or even analyzed their love for each other--I was immediately taken by it, and I continued to believe it even after the film ended.

These characters alone make this film worthwhile, so much so that we can forgive many of the more formulaic aspects; let's be vague and say that the final sequence is overwhelmingly predictable, a cliche taken from a deep pool of romantic comedy cliches. But I didn't mind this time because the story could actually support such a sequence; this is essentially a father/daughter story, and as such, it's appropriate--maybe even necessary--that the daughter would want the father to find the happiness he's been longing for (which obviously has nothing to do with political aspirations). Despite being flawed and generally harmless, "Definitely, Maybe" is still one of the better romantic comedies. I smiled more often, I laughed longer, and I was touched at a deeper level.

4 out of 5 stars

Definitely, Maybe February 21, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Will Hayes (Reynolds) is almost divorced. After picking up his daughter, Maya (Breslin), they head to his house where she asks him to tell her the story of how he and her mother met. Her hope is that his memories will deter him from signing the divorce paperwork. He agrees, but decides to change the names of those in the story so that Maya will have to guess who her mom is. The three main choices are Emily (Banks), Summer (Weisz), and April (Fisher). Emily is Will's college sweetheart, Summer is Emily's ex-lover, and April is a co-worker at the Clinton campaign.

"Definitely, Maybe" is a surprisingly good romantic comedy. The reason it really works though, is because of the uncertainty of who Will will end up with. It isn't your typical romantic comedy. Even if you pick out who Maya's mom is, you may not predict the ending. The trio of actresses are all good in there roles, and manage to help Reynolds along. Kevin Kline even turns up for a scene stealing role as Summer's professor/lover. "Definitely, Maybe" is a solid date movie that will be enjoyed by both men and women. I recommend it.

4 out of 5 stars

Are you my mother? August 11, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):

1.Will's getting divorced
2.His daughter's learning about the birds and the bees in school
3.He agrees to tell her about his love life and how he met her mother
4.Names were changed to make it a mystery
5.Emily was his first love
6.Summer lovin' had him a blast
7.He had pieces of April
8.The main mystery is why he'd share all this information with a ten year old
9.We learn about the women in his life through flashbacks to the Clinton era
10. Can you guess who's the Mummy?
11. Meet the Mummy
12. Life goes on

Ryan Reynolds plays Will, a boyishly cute but rather bland and naive political speech-writer who's about to get a divorce. Abigail Breslin compensates for his blandness as his precocious daughter Maya.

Through a series of flashbacks, Will tells Maya about his first love Emily, his friend April and his second love Summer. He changes the names to make it a mystery.

TMI IMHO

Maya (and the audience) try to work out which one is Maya's mother in this light romantic movie that's light on the comedy too. Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and Rachel Weisz carry most of the movie, while Kevin Kline provides the majority of the humor as eccentric writer Hampton Roth.

Recommended as a rental for an idle afternoon, and rated 3.5 stars

Amanda Richards, August 10, 2008

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