Definitely, Maybe– 2008
*** Out of ****The romantic comedy can often be a blight on any mans movie going experience. While I am sure that this association is somewhat skewed by the fact that much of the male going population will deny they enjoyed it, even if it has to be a secret until the last shovel full of dirt is dumped on their coffin. But I am happy to report that those males out there, who are looking to take their sweetheart to a night on the town, will not end up seeing more of their watch then the movie on this occasion.
Definitely, Maybe is a fresh and original take on the genre which is clogged yearly with poor excuses for a date movie; be they trying too hard to jerk your heartstrings, or simply be a clichéd bore. It is told in an ingenious backwards fashion following the eve of Will Hayes’ (Ryan Reynolds) divorce, where he tells his daughter, played by Abigail Breslin of his three loves in life. We have his college sweetheart, Emily played by Elizabeth Banks who you will recognize from the 40 Year Old Virgin, his love interest at work April (Isla Fisher) and his cultured and mature woman Summer, played by Rachael Weisz. The narrative transcends years, as Will crosses paths with theses woman in various encounters. It is essentially a love triangle, but these three women are never truly aware of each other, so it is sultry, without being trashy. The catch, the makes this movie unique, is that as Will tells his daughter the story, he changes the names so she (and the audience) does not know who her mother will turn out to be. It is ingenious and fresh, and keeps us guessing as time weaves closer to the present. Ryan Reynolds makes an appealing albeit untraditional leading man, but he is witty and attractive, and the audience can see how these woman would fall for him.
The lovely trio of ladies, all do a fine job, presenting themselves as sexy, but cultured and human simultaneously. Abigail Breslin is adorable, and there is some excellent supporting work from Kevin Kline as Hampton Roth, Summer’s mentor of sorts. Surprisingly there is actually one aspect that could be considered genius about this film, and I can’t for the life of me figure out how they accomplished it. Throughout the story we, (not me at least) can not figure out who our dashing leading man will end up with and although all extremely appealing, none of the ladies are represented more highly then any of the others yet we know who we want him to end up with. And the movie satisfies in that respect wholeheartedly.
If we, the public, get more romantic comedies like this every year, then maybe at some point, it will be a more widely enjoyed genre. Just take a talented cast, witty believable writing, together which although not tear-jerking evoke strong emotion and you will be successful every time. So would I maybe recommend this movie? Definitely.
© 2008 Simon Brookfield
