Definitely, Maybe

Definitely, Maybe_360P

I'm worried because I don't think that there's a way to market what's in this movie without making it look like the same old, worn-out stuff. It's not. I was lucky to catch this in an NYU film class, and I can say that most people left the screening with a happy feeling and a light heart. It was refreshing -- the writer (who also directs it) is genius because of the treacherous plot line that he pulled off flawlessly and because of the character development, again, flawless and credible. It's not a movie that will make you view the world differently per se, but you may review the way you think about a few things and you may feel inspired about being an everyday person. Isla Fisher is really magnetic and a heart-winning actor. My lord Reynolds is handsome, too. He grew on my sister and I as we watched it and he really commands the feel of a film without even trying -- he's just there and after a while, you can't deny how much you enjoy his seemingly-effortless acting.

I saw this story as some sort of divorced parent's fantasy. If you could just sit your 9 year old daughter down for a couple hours and explain how "complicated" adult life and relationships are, surely she would understand why you and mommy divorced. This includes telling your daughter about sleeping with other women, boozing, smoking, etc. Of course, your child would suddenly understand and accept that daddy wants to put his * in another woman other than mommy (note the first 10 minutes of the movie the little girl talks continuously about how a man "thrusts his * into a woman's *", as she has just learned sex ed at school and can't stop talking about it. Funny? Not really). Not only would your daughter understand you, but she would INSIST that you hook back up with that hottie from your younger days and drag you to her house (instead of dreaming that you get back together with mommy so your family is intact). Yeah, right, dream on. Keep telling yourself that's what your daughter would do. And oh yeah, your little girl also won't have any problems hearing that her mom had a lesbian relationship with another one of your lays from your younger days, and slept with your roommate to boot. Naw...it's all good. She'll understand. Seriously, pass on this one. It's also heavily pro-Democrat, as the lead character spends the 90's working for Bill Clinton. At least at the end, even this shallow, self-absorbed character is disgusted at Slick Willie's inability to tell the truth, even though his loser friends about brag about how they would vote for him again in a heatbeat. And that's the ONLY reason I'm rating it a 2. It's the only redeeming message in this mess.

This turned out to be a surprisingly good little romance with touches of humor. I must admit that I wasn't expecting much when I sat down to watch this film, but it turned out to be a total viewing pleasure for me. One of the reasons for my low expectations is that I had just watched Chaos Theory in which Ryan Reynolds plays the role of a family man whose life is turned upside down. In fact both films start the same why in which an older, wiser Ryan tells the story in a series of flashbacks. From there on, they couldn't be farther apart. Whereas Chaos Theory is a mess of hysteric scenes and overacting, Definitely, Maybe is a believable tale with a big, big heart. The film begins with Will Hayes (Reynolds) contemplating his divorce papers saying to himself that he never expected to be at such a place in his life. Not only is he getting a divorce, he is a successful advertising man - a career path he never intended for himself. The great joy in his current life is the time he gets to spend with his daughter, Maya. There is a very humorous scene early in the film when Will goes to pick up Maya at school for an overnight visit. It seems the children have been given an introductory sex education lesson and there appears to be chaos and disorder caused by the first realizations of the facts of life. That evening, Maya, who is no slouch in the brains and maturity department, wants to know the story of her parents' romance and marriage. Will decides to tell her the story of the three women in his life that had influenced him the most, but he does not disclose to Maya or the audience which is Maya's mother. Using this premise, we are treated to a look at the life and romances of an interesting and very likable man. The tale starts with Will leaving his college sweetheart to go to New York City and work for the Clinton campaign in 1990. As the story progresses, we see Will maturing and changing from an idealistic young man to a somewhat wearied and discouraged citizen of the Clinton era. Along the way, he develops relationships with three extraordinary women - one of whom would become his wife and Maya's mother. I have read several reviews that do not praise Ryan Reynolds for his portrayal of Will, but I disagree. Reynolds is a suitable actor, and this part of Will might have been designed for him. He shows us the wide-eyed innocence of a young man first delving into the mire of politics and is then able to show that same young man matured and much wiser of the world. His performance is very good. Maya is played by Abigail Breslin who at a tender age is an excellent actress. Maya's character is extremely precocious and asks some very adult questions for her age, but she is still a little girl at heart. Breslin give the viewer a perfect Maya. I wonder if she will continue to be the consummate actress into her adulthood. Hers is definitely a career to follow. I've stated in previous reviews that I am a sap for tenderhearted movies such as Definitely, Maybe, so I may be biased in giving it five stars, but five stars it is. If you, also, enjoy a film with a heart, give this one a watch.

Let me qualify that. If you loved 27 Dresses or Dan in Real Life, you'll like this movie. It has the same contrived feel, the same "no one would ever say this stuff in real life" dialog, the same chemistry-free pairings. Within 10 minutes of watching this mess, I was bored and annoyed. The acting was horrible--though kudos to Isla Fisher for giving it her all under the circumstances, I loved that "Marisa Tomei" kind of quality she had--but how can you really "ding" actors when the scripts they are given are so lame? Reynolds--who I suspect couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, let alone this pile of pooh--admittedly had dialog that no man should have to say. Note to writers of "romantic comedies": Men are not women. Most of them do not talk like women. We do not want to hear them talking like women. (Also, were RR's eyebrows shaped? Because that was just a bit too "metrosexual" for my taste.) Even Abigail Breslin, the little girl, pretty much phoned it in. There was a scene where she flops onto her tummy in bed, pouting, and suddenly she kicks her feet a bit--not in a natural "I'm having a tantrum" way, but more like she was thinking, "Oh, wait, it would be a good touch if I kicked my feet here." There is no character development in the movie. Everyone is extremely superficial, annoyingly so. Some events make no sense. (Why did Will get fired for one faux pas in an industry riddled with scandal? And just what all happened, job-wise, between "then" and "now"?) Timing is deliberately kept fuzzy. It's hard to tell how much time has passed. (For example, Will looks about the same to me at the start of Clinton's campaign as he does at the end of the film.) If you can find a scintilla of originality in this movie, let me know. For example, we get the usual "I want to see your face first thing when I wake up in the morning and last thing at night" spiel at one point. Then we get the done-to-death scene where the female friend tells male protagonist (who's about to propose to another woman) to practice proposing on *her* first, and as he gets to the "I love you" part, his voice trickles off and they stare into each other's eyes for just a moment. And you just know where this is all going... Why do I torture myself with this dreck?

As the plot summary puts it, the father "hopelessly attempts to tell his 10 yr old daughter a PG version of his romantic history" -- an attempt at which he fails. His romantic history is interesting and engaging for the audience, but the backdrop of him telling these stories, rich with sexual content, to his young daughter gives the movie an undeniable "icky" factor. Without giving anything away, what starts the whole conversation is that the daughter finds out about intercourse in sex-ed class at elementary school, much to her shock. On the heels of that revelation, what father would launch into a lengthy story of his romantic and sexual past with his innocent young daughter? The daughter's immediate and open acceptance that there are other women in her father's life besides her mother, while a nice morally liberal idea, I found rather unrealistic. The father's romantic storyline isn't bad, but tying it all together with the young daughter made it a bit disturbing, soiled the romantic tone, and ultimately spoiled the movie for me. Not recommended.

When his ten-year-old daughter starts asking awkward questions about his impending divorce - and his life before she was born - a thirtysomething Manhattan dad sits her down and tells her the story of his three great loves. He changes the names to keep the surprise of who he eventually married, and he spins a charming story - spanning fifteen years - of loves lost and found and lost again. And found again. Ryan Reynolds (one of my all-time favourite performers) has seldom been better, Abigail Breslin (who appears frequently to comment on the story being told) is as genuinely charming as ever, and all three girlfriends are wonderfully cast. The story moves along at brisk pace and it's easy to see why the hero would fall in love with each in turn (at various stages in his life). What's not as easy to see is which one he will eventually marry. And, as well as successfully concealing the identity of the mother, the film makes you wonder many times how it will all end. Yes, it's a romantic comedy, so you're conditioned to expect a happy ending, but this isn't your typical romantic comedy so you're expecting a non-typical ending. And you're right. The ending is just as clever as the rest of the movie and it makes for a great story overall. It's a very modern story. I think it would have been called "a sophisticated sex comedy" in bygone days. Which just means the characters are a bit more mature and closer to real life than you normally find in this genre. What could have been an enjoyable B-grade rom-com is lifted up by unconventional storytelling and a little extra effort spent to get the ending just right. Grade "A" from me. http://yetanotherfilmreviewblog.blogspot.com/

The set-up for this film is that a father is divorcing and his daughter, Maya, is asking him about how he met her mother. The guy then talks about a variety of women he dated and slept with as the child makes occasional commentary to interrupt the story. Some of her clever and charming remarks are calling one lady a B$%&@ and later, her father a *. Later, when you learn which one of them is her mother, she announces that she 'just learned all about sexual intercourse in school'. Later, the child gives her now to be divorced father dating advice. Charming....NOT! I did not like this film, though the acting was very, very nice. As a retired psychotherapist, I thought that the boundaries between the child (who seemed way too old for her years) and her father were blurred. The adult here was not him, that's for sure. Additionally, there are a lot of political elements in the film (because he's a political operative)--not a bad thing in a drama, but not exactly something I want to see in a romantic film. Nothing destroys romance like politics!! Overall, I'd say 'nice try but no cigar'. This is a film that too flawed to be worth rushing out to see. It's strange father-daughter situation aside, the story just seemed way too with-it and hip in its parenting style for my tastes. To me, romance should be romantic...and this really wasn't. Additionally, the child seemed like a child as written by someone who's never even seen a child or talked with one! The DVD for "Definitely, Maybe" starts off very badly--and this might only be with the Netflix version. It forces you to watch a LONG preview for "Mama Mia!"--whether you want to or not. I dunno about you, but this definitely makes me MUCH more inclined NEVER to watch a film they force you to preview...never.

I saw this film yesterday and I have to say I actually enjoyed it. Kudos to Ryan Reynolds for mastering his craft beyond his known comedy side. I loved the whole Democratic "Bill Clinton" thing. A lot of single people can relate to this story and it is truly realistic. This film is nicely structured and it this is a definitely take your girlfriend/boyfriend or significant other to see and this film as it is very refreshing. I was like "Maya" guessing where this was going. I would like to say to the editor please redo the opening credits, it was too long as I was ready to fall asleep and shorten it a bit, please capture your audience!! But overall GO SEE IT !!

"Definitely, Maybe" was marketed with the line "Best romantic comedy since Annie Hall." At first I was appalled because it must be a lie, and how dare they put it in the same sentence as Woody Allen. But as I struggled to find many examples of what could be the best, I relented my negativities towards this film. It is just your standard romantic comedy but with a few differences to set it apart. Instead of just one, we have three main relationship stories being told. And they set it all to the rise and fall of Bill Clinton's presidency. A fitting and very refreshing political addition. Ryan Reynolds, as handsome and funny as ever, tells us and his 11 year-old daughter about his three past relationships. They spend way too long building up these relationships because the course they take is pretty obvious from the get-go, but at least he ends up with the right girl. I view "Definitely, Maybe" as just a collection of some very funny scenes. As Reynolds picks up his daughter after school and she tells him about the sex ed class they just had, it's impossible not to laugh at the confused and crude Abigail Breslin. It may be wrong to have kids saying some of the things they did, but it's hilarious. The filmmakers seem to view it as more ground-breaking than it really is, but "Definitely, Maybe" is still good and funny and maybe (only maybe) the best romantic comedy since "Annie Hall"(1977).