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Definitely, MaybeGenre: Comedy/Romance
Released: 2008
Rating:
I am totally guilty. You can throw me in a court room and convict me because I am totally and completely guilty of thinking this movie was going to be the same old romantic comedy BS that we have been seeing for years. I saw one trailer for the movie and found out that it was coming out on Valentine's Day and automatically pigeon held the film to a crappy romantic comedy. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with the stellar cast and the amazingly clever dialogue and story. I know that most of the people who hear my reviews are going to be men; considering I do reviews for the Junkies and most of our audience is men. Let me tell you though; don't let this movie shy you away because of its mediocre trailers. I remember seeing a TV trailer for it and there was a quote from a critic and he said that this was the best romantic comedy he had seen since ANNIE HALL. I almost jumped out of the window because I hold Woody Allen in high regards and Annie Hall is definitely one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Definitely, Maybe is definitely NOT ANYWHERE NEAR as good as Woody Allen's film but it is safe to say that it is one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in a long time. Definitely, Maybe stars Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Blade: Trinity), Isla Fisher (Hot Rod, Wedding Crashers), Abigail Breslin (No Reservations, Little Miss Sunshine), Kevin Kline (In and Out), Rachel Weiscz (The Constant Gardner, The Fountain—married to my boy Darren Aronofsky, director of Requiem For a Dream, Pi) and Derek Luke (Catch a Fire).
I can just see Chad Dukes' (Big O and Dukes Show) face now when I review this movie. He is going to make a face like how can this kid like this film and not like Rambo. Like I have said before, I am a huge ACTION FAN, but you have to be able to open up to the occasional romantic comedy. It is good to have a sense for all types of film. The story line to Definitely, Maybe is extremely clever. Essentially, you have William Hayes and he works at an advertising agency for Cap'n Crunch. We learn that he is getting divorced from his wife and that every Tuesday and Thursday, he goes to his daughter's school to pick her up. The beginning of the film was very clever because as the credits role, we get a voice over from Reynolds while he is listening to his IPOD on the way to pick up his daughter from school. He gets there and learns that they started teaching sex education to these kids who couldn't be more than 10 years old. After they get home, his daughter Maya (Breslin) starts badgering him about sex and her dad's relationships. She pops the question of wanting to know why he and her mother didn't work out. This is where the film kicks in. He promises to tell her this story about what happened but he is going to change names around so she has to guess which one her mom is in the story.
Now, keep in mind, she knows who her mom is, but since he is changing all the names in the story, she doesn't know who is who in his story and she keeps a tally on paper to help figure out who is who. The majority of the film takes place in a flashback style and we go through William's relationships and heartbreaks. What is amazing is when the film cuts back to present day; you are just so enthralled in the story that you immediately want it to go back to the past so we can learn more. We, the audience, do not know which of these woman he dated, is the mother. We are learning the story just like Maya is. The woman in the story are as follows; April (Isla Fisher), Summer (Rachel Weiscz) and Emily (woman from SLITHER and 40 YEAR OLD VIRIGN, where she played the crazy sex freak that Steve Carell's character meets in the bookstore).
I thought it was interesting how they focused the film around the Bill Clinton election. When William is recounting the story to his daughter, it takes place in the early 90's and we learn that William moves from Wisconsin to New York to help with the Clinton campaign. I wonder if they did this to pump up Hilary Clinton. Who knows? Hollywood could be sneaky about that.
Overall, this is the perfect romantic comedy that leaves most of the clichés out. One thing I hate is when all these romantic comedies just run with the clichés and the montages. The writers did a great job keeping the film intense and leaving the audience guessing. Now, this is not giving anything away, but one of my favorite things about the film was how it ended. That is one reason why I really liked The Break Up with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. It ended in non-cliché way; in the same vein as Casablanca. I am not saying that Definitely, Maybe has a similar ending. I am just saying it did not end all cliché like every other romantic comedy does.
I really enjoyed the clever dialogue and banter between Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Breslin. They did an excellent job together on screen. They are both good actors and I hope to see more from both of them soon.
I feel that the film is the perfect matinee film, hence the 4 BDK rating. They actually are releasing a good romantic comedy on Valentine's Day. This is good because guys do not have to suffer because their girlfriends want to see a romantic comedy. This movie will make you laugh and in my case get teary eyed. You can call me gay all you want but we all have an emotional side and guys can show that too.
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