MOVIE
REVIEW: DEFINITELY MAYBE
02/08/08
SYNOPSIS: Ryan Reynolds stars as Will Hayes, a
30-something Manhattan dad in the midst of a divorce when
his 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), starts to
question him about his life before marriage. Maya wants to
know absolutely everything about how her parents met and
fell in love.
Will's story begins in 1992, as a young, starry-eyed
aspiring politician who moves to New York from Wisconsin in
order to work on the presidential campaign. For Maya, Will
relives his past as an idealistic young man learning the ins
and outs of big city politics, and recounts the history of
his romantic relationships with three very different women.
Will hopelessly attempts a "gentler" version of his story
for his daughter and changes the names so Maya has to guess
who is the woman her father finally married. Is her mother
Will's college sweetheart, the dependable girl next door
Emily (Elizabeth Banks)? Is she his longtime best friend and
confidante, the apolitical April (Isla Fisher)? Or is she
the free-spirited but ambitious journalist Summer (Rachel
Weisz)?
As Maya puts together the pieces of her dad's romantic
puzzle, she begins to understand that love is not so simple
or easy. And as Will tells her his tale, Maya helps him to
understand that it's definitely never too late to go
back...and maybe even possible to find a happy ending.
REVIEW: I don’t know
if it was because I was in a romantic mood or it just caught
me on a good day, but this movie really got to me. Maybe
it’s because I can relate so well to the story or maybe it’s
because I’m a fan of each of the stars in the film, in
either case I really enjoyed it. It’s the most charming
romantic comedy I’ve seen in a while. The story was modern,
adult, and relatively realistic. The cast was superb and
appropriate. I would definitely maybe recommend this movie
as the movie-to-see for Valentine’s Day.
Life is all about relationships and sex, right? Then that
turns into time, aging, marriage, kids, and divorce. Throw
in politics and now you’ve got an interesting story about an
average guy, Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) and the various
relationships he has during the prime of his life. On that
fateful day in school when sex education is on the
curriculum, his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) comes home
with a lot of questions. The questioning turns into Will
giving Maya his whole love life history. All the characters
in this film are so different from one another and yet so
typical and relatable. Of course with New York City as a
backdrop, anything goes as far as characters are concerned.
What sells even more in this picture are the charm in the
performances and the charm in the story itself. Starting
with Ryan, he continues to demonstrate his abilities. He has
quietly and successfully expanded his repertoire to include
various genres: Van Wilder, Blade 3, Smokin Aces, and now a
romantic comedy to name a few. Abigail has yet to disappoint
me and I don’t think she ever will. Her role as an
endearing, curious child is right up her ally. As for the
three other ladies in Will’s life, Emily (Elizabeth Banks),
April (Isla Fisher), and Summer (Rachel Weisz), you can’t
help but fall in love with each of them in different ways
and for different reasons. These three stunning actresses
give refreshing performances that compliment Ryan’s
performance quite well.
Will Hayes: I had two serious girlfriends... and then some
other smattering of other women.
Maya Hayes: What's the boy word for 'slut'?
Will Hayes: They still haven't come up with one yet.
Even Abigail gets a chance to enjoy the sharp, witty script
written for this movie. The playful banter between Will and
the three main women in his life is entertaining and fitting
for these performers that have excellent line delivery
abilities. Considering that the majority of this movie is in
flashback mode, the transition and overall story flow is
pretty smooth. One of the major aspects of the plot of this
film is Maya trying to determine which of Will’s
relationships turned into her mom based on Will’s telling of
the story. It is interesting that Abigail could actually get
away with being the daughter of any of the three actresses.
That helps with the intrigue factor of the movie.
Writer/Director Adam Brooks has done excellent writing for
such popular films as French Kiss, Practical Magic,
Wimbledon, and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Apparently
he is able to spread his talent over to directing. Not
having directed a major motion picture in over 6 years, he
Definitely did a commendable job with this one. If your
plans are to take your special someone to dinner and a movie
this Valentine Season, you should Definitely consider
Definitely Maybe.
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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