Review of Definitely, Maybe (2008) by Txrangersfan72 — 18 Sep 2010

I am a sucker for the romantic comedy, but there is nothing I hate worse than a cheesy one. Ok, so maybe they are all a bit cheesy, but I have fallen victim to the formula of watching two souls destined to be together and the story it takes to get them there. Wow...I just realized. I AM cheesy!

And, thus, I have fallen hard for Definitely, Maybe. Unlike most romantic comedies, this one is centered primarily around the adorable young actress Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine, another one of my favorites. Abigail plays the precious young Maya, daughter of underrated hunky actor Ryan Reynolds (yes, I said it), who plays former Clinton-campaign worker-turned-ad-man Will Hayes, who wants desperately to make sense of her parents' divorce and to see her father happy. As with any little girl, the fantasy romance plays heavily in her belief-system about love, thus she begs her father to explain how she came to be, and how he came to marry the woman from whom he is obtaining a divorce. The movie weaves an intricate and pretty realistic set of scenarios (although all of them together seems a bit far-fetched) on how men and women decide to enter and eventually exit relationships.

As the story moves its way through the film, the viewer is introduced to a myriad of attractive and unique female supporting cast members, played by Elizabeth Banks (Emily/Sarah), Rachel Weisz (Summer/Natasha) and the eventual owner of Will's heart, the immensely sexy Isla Fisher (April).

The writing and directing of Adam Brooks sucks the viewer into the narration just as much as young Maya. I found myself trying to figure out where the story was going and making openly verbal guesses as to what would happen next. At no point did the story get old or boring. And, by the end, I found myself tearing up.

Having come from a divorced family myself, and at times, nearing divorce in my own marriage, it's movies like this that do a very REAL job of expressing what questions and emotions children go through as their life changes through no fault of their own. It's heartbreaking. And Maya's quest to make sense of it all through this story is as much part of her own healing as it is Will's. And, in the end, they both do everything they can to find the happy ending. Like any good romantic comedy, the predictable happy ending does indeed come.

Supporting cast members Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz and her lover, the perfectly-cast Kevin Kline, do a tremendous job giving depth to the story and providing a realistic view of how all of us migrate through our 20s and early-to-mid 30s beginning as enthusiastic, yet naive, adults to realistic and somewhat cynical thirtysomethings. Being one myself, I was taken aback by the transformation of each character as they become more mature, having gone down their own individual paths, eventually leading Will and April back together.

I have been waiting for the rest of the world to realize just how great Ryan is since the first episode I saw of Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place. I was convinced he was Jim Carrey's younger brother. Now, I realize he is not only good looking on screen, but also deadpan funny (see Waiting, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Just Friends)and superbly believable in dramatic (or non-funny) roles, as evidenced in Definitely, Amityville Horror and Blade:Trinity. When I saw the trailers for Definitely, Maybe, I thought (pardon the pun), maybe Ryan had finally found the vehicle, the writer/director and the supporting cast to show the rest of the world just what a phenomenal talent he is. Alas, the movie did ok, but this wonderful movie didn't receive the accolades it so richly deserves.

While there is no need for a sequel, I encourage you to rent or buy this film on DVD to not only see a great film, but financially support future films like this.