Review of Definitely, Maybe (2008) by Chads. — 15 Feb 2008

Political demagoguery, it's in the genes of this seemingly harmless romantic comedy called "Definitely, Maybe", a film that definitely wants to you to join the anti-Hillary army come this November, maybe even before the Democratic nomination for the presidency is wrapped up(the Derek Luke character might be a Barack Obama stand-in).

Will Hayes(Ryan Reynolds), a campaign worker for Bill Clinton's 1992 nomination bid, comes to work everyday dressed in a suit and tie. Although formal wear isn't a uniform exclusive to the Young Republicans, Will's ignorance of that cultural Zeitgeist that was "grunge" music(he doesn't know who Kurt Cobain is), makes you wonder what he and his friends were listening to during the year punk broke.

Red and blue are ubiquitous colors in "Definitely, Maybe", most notably when Will fixes lunch for his daughter Maya(Abigail Breslin). There are two colanders; a red and a blue one, Will chooses the red sieve(he's also a University of Wisconsin grad; red is the dominant school color).

Later in the film, Will shouts, "What am I doing here?" while performing the work of a grunt at Clinton headquarters. Most notably, he's the lone Clinton dissenter at a party where the Monica Lewinsky scandal is discussed amongst his former colleagues.

Will harps about the lie, the sanctity of the Oval Office, in other words, the same song and dance we heard from conservative pundits like Ann Coulter. His friends would vote again for Bill in a heartbeat(read: they'd vote for Hillary).

Not Will; that's because he's too moderate, like Hillary, who often distances herself from the liberal side of her party. "Definitely, Maybe" reminds voters of the moral baggage that Clinton's husband brings to the table, and how the former-first lady is neither true blue nor dead red-right.

Where Michael Moore failed, "Definitely, Maybe" was released to persuade potential voters to either vote for the republican candidate, or for Barack Obama, who political analysts believe would have a lesser chance of beating his challenger in the general election.