DEFINITELY, MAYBE

Adam Brooks Starring Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline Distributed by Focus Features Film was released in the U.K. on February 8th 2008. This review was written by Matt Holmes

rating: 3

Maybe it's the Valentines day mood, or the fact that it tried something different with the romantic comedy formula but I kinda liked Definitely, Maybe when I didn't really expect too. Set in New York and changing the usual structure of a formulaic romantic comedy, Definitely, Maybe is told mostly in flashback by loving father Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) as he gets cajoled by his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) after her first and premature sex education lesson at school, into telling her the story of the three big romances of his life, changing all the names of the women involved so that Maya would have to keep guessing over which one is her actual mother. The intent of course is to keep the privacy of those involved but also to keep Maya interested in the story and it's a neat framing device for us an audience. Thankfully the three women aren't overly stereotyped. There's his childhood sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), the flirtatious young April (Isla Fisher) who he met at work and the feisty and ambitious journalist Summer Hartley (Rachel Weisz). All seem to have the attitude of Maya, and all have a certain chemistry with Will that they could be the one and it's a credit to the film that it doesn't make it overly obvious which one is the mother in question. The film chronicles how each of the women fit into the various points of his life and smartly the screenplay from writer/director Adam Brooks (Wimbledon, Bridget Jones 2) isn't just concerned with the relationships themselves but also Will as a character, and how it effected his job as he went from being a bright and intelligent worker for the 1992 Clinton Presidential campaign, to an advertising execute who maybe isn't fully pleased with how his career turned out. And don't worry that can hardly be classified as a spoiler because of the flashback framing device the film is structured by. This political backdrop also plays well for a nice historical sub-plot as we get to relive the moments of Clinton's time in charge of the Whitehouse and it keeps the setting of Reynold's romantic tale interesting. The narrative is frequently interupted by Maya as she listens to the tale in her PJ's in bed as she learns the true nature that love is not always an easy track and there might be many low's in life before you are to find the one you are meant to be with. Reynolds' work is fine and although his character might be a little too soft-spoken and lacking in personality, I thought he did a pretty decent and believable job. The performance of Rachel Weisz in the movie reminded me a lot of the performance Kate Winslet gave in The Holiday, and she pretty much embarrasses Banks and Fisher by her acting talent. She can be likeable one moment but so a horrible bitch in the next, she has range and she ain't afraid to use it. Weisz's scenes were for me, always the most enjoyable and exciting. You truly didn't know how she was going to play her part and it it's always exciting to see her perform on screen. I loved the chemistry she brought with her lover in the film, the writer Hampton Roth (Kevin Kline). There's no other word to describe the character Kline plays here, it's unique and full of commanding presence. They might be my favourite odd couple on film I've seen in years. Isla Fisher, I'm not particularly convinced is anything other than a pretty face and Elizabeth Banks' character was a little underwritten for me. I liked Breslin's work though and she obviously is way ahead of most girls her age and you kinda get the opinion that she knows it too, but her performance here isn't too big and distracting. Definitely, Maybe is a smart comedy and much like another rom-com I liked last month Dan in Real Life, it hits the right tone between sweet, sadness and melancholy with the humor distinctively aimed for the 20 plus crowd. And I don't mean that in a Judd Apatow way, I mean it in a sweet and grown up way.