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On seeing the trailer for the new romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, my initial
reaction was that it was too bad that a film with so many actresses whose
work I enjoy would be ruined by the presence of resident screwball Ryan
Reynolds. Imagine my surprise when Reynolds proved an engaging presence in
this delightful romantic comedy. He easily rises to the challenge presented
by writer/director Adam Brooks and co-stars Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, and
Elizabeth Banks. Initially the premise of the film seems contrived and
overly cute. Will Hayes (Reynolds) has been served divorce papers,
prompting his inquisitive daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), to ask how he
and her mother met. To keep things interesting, Will focuses primarily on
three of the many women he’s dated and changes their names to keep
his daughter on her toes and us engaged. We are treated to a series of
flashbacks that begin in 1992 as we see Will begin to work for the Clinton
campaign, where he meets April (Fisher), another volunteer. Unfortunately,
she asks him to deliver a diary, parts of which he reads in one of the
film’s funnier scenes, to her friend Summer (Weisz), and he finds
himself attracted to her as well. Rounding out the trio is Emily (Banks),
the girl Will has left back home in Wisconsin, whom he calls when
he’s drunk or lonely. This could have been another pedestrian romantic
comedy, but Brooks insists on holding his cards close to his vest when it
comes to letting us know the identity of Will’s soon-to-be-ex, and
that helps make the film engaging and ultimately moving. Instead of leaving
us with a couple about to embark on a beautiful relationship, we are left
at the end of a marriage. Having just seen how it all came to be, this sort
of resolution, especially where Maya is concerned, proves more poignant
than might be expected. With Fisher and Weisz on board, it’s easy to see
why Will would be torn between the two of these confident, smart, sexy
women. The chemistry these three have is as natural as the change of
seasons, making the possibility of love between Will and either of the
women possible and desirable. Banks is engaging as well, yet she suffers
from a lack of screen time. As a result, her character functions as nothing
more than an artificial fly in the ointment, present to needlessly
complicate the plot and nothing more. As a bonus, Kevin Kline is on board
as Summer’s boozy older lover. Railing constantly about the plight of
the modern world, the actor steals every scene he’s in. In the end,
the film rests on the shoulders of Reynolds and Breslin, and they
surprisingly play their father-daughter scenes with a degree of subtlety
that is winning. Although it would be easy to categorize Definitely, Maybe as a chick
flick, that would not only dismissive but inaccurate as well. Although the
film’s romantic elements seem to be front and center, Will’s
efforts to explain to his daughter how he met his mother and how he lost her make the
film tick. This is a sweet love story of a different sort, focusing not
just on romantic relationships but also the sacred bond between a parent
and a child, making it a Valentine’s gift that viewers are likely to
return to again and again.
This article appears in Feb 7-13, 2008.
