Definitely, Maybe

Year of Release: 2008
Genre: Romance / Comedy
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, frank dialogue, language & smoking.
Director: Adam Brooks
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks

Date Of Review: February 2008

Just like the characters in the film, I fell in and out of love with “Definitely, Maybe”. I think the main reason for this is its structure. Overall I didn’t like the flashback narrative; somehow it just came across a little bit disjointed for my liking. The film plays out through a story that Ryan Reynolds shares with his pre-teen-daughter. We watch with anticipation as Reynolds struggles to explain his past relationships and impending divorce to his child. It is a clever storytelling medium but one which either aggravates you or delights you. I think if they had of structured the film differently I would have liked it a lot more. Nevertheless, I give the filmmakers plus points for combining all story threads well by bringing them full circle and book ending them nicely. “Definitely, Maybe” is an interesting look at relationships during our young adult years. It’s a fairly pleasant watch with consistent performances but nothing really soars.

“Definitely, Maybe” likes to classify itself as a romantic comedy but it’s really more a romantic drama. There are really no laugh-out-loud moments. I saw it in a theatre about 3 quarters full and I barely heard a reaction, maybe a couple of sniggers. As for the romance part, I found some of the relationship scenes quite tedious at times. Just as you get involved in one romantic story thread it either loses its way in a sub-plot or quickly jumps to another relationship and so on.  One minute I found myself engaged in the story and the next minute getting bored with it. Maybe, it was the dodgy sub-plot with Kevin Kline, I am not sure?  Mid-way through I checked my watch and put my hand in my pocket to look at my ticket to see the film’s finishing time. I rarely do this in a film. I also noticed that some people in the aisles in front were also fidgeting a bit throughout. Maybe the film was just a bit too long for some viewers, myself included. On the other hand, one thing I must say is that the cinema I saw it in botched up the film’s start time. It started 20 minutes earlier than the advertised newspaper time. I am sure that those that missed the start of the film (the early narration and flashback scenario) would have been scratching their heads wondering what was going on. They would surely have been thrown off course for a while. I was one of the lucky ones. I arrived early but only just as the pre-show trailers had already kicked in.  There is nothing worse than missing the start of a movie. In general, if I missed the start of a movie I would prefer to come back another time rather than continue watching it.  

Performance wise, everyone pretty much did their bit. With this film Ryan Reynolds shows more maturity and an uncharacteristic vulnerability, a quality that we rarely see in his much broader work in films such as “Van Wilder” (2002) or “Waiting” (2005). Overall Reynolds comes out of this okay and it’s sure to help him gain respectability as a lead actor. The three women do their bit, Isla Fisher is likeably cute, Rachael Weisz is intriguing and Elizabeth Banks is fresh-faced. Kevin Kline is solid in support as an alcoholic literary scholar but as I said earlier some of his scenes drag on for far too long. On the bright side, Abigail Breslin steals the show and proves, just like she did with “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), that she is an amazing actress for someone of her age. It’s a really pity that she didn’t get more screen-time or have more of an impact on the relationships Reynolds has with his female friends, but then again that would have required a very different story or maybe that’s the type of film that I was looking for and would have preferred to see. Looking at the poster with Reynolds, the little girl and the three females, I think I was expecting something more in the line of that old classic “The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father” (1963) with Glenn Ford and a young Ron Howard.

Another positive of the film is its PG rating. There aren’t enough romantic comedies or teen comedies for that matter that can be enjoyed by the whole family. The reason why the filmmakers were able to keep “Definitely Maybe” down to a PG rating is because Reynolds is telling the story to his 10-year-old-daughter. When talking to a pre-teen he has no choice but to keep his storytelling to a more sanitized fashion. There are themes in which the filmmakers could have dealt with in a much racier style but you ultimately have to give the filmmakers credit for the way it is handled. It cuts out a lot of the sordid stuff; it only touches on the mature themes verbally and briefly, making it much more accessible to all ages. It was also a nice touch setting the back story in the 90s with Reynolds as a Political campaigner for Clinton. The little bit of political nostalgia proves interesting for viewers, including the infamous Clinton Lewinsky scandal that rocked America and in this case Reynolds' character.

At the end of the day, after this long and arduous journey through relationships the audience do get what they want, a positive happy ending. Just like some lives and relationships, an alternative title for this film could have been the “Long Way Round”….. but then again that was a Ewan McGregor TV travel series. “Definitely Maybe”, just like its title, characters and relationships, is a little bit unsure of itself at times but somehow manages to get through it all and scrapes by with its credibility intact.

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