It takes a lot to make a genuinely good romantic comedy anymore. The task of pleasing both men and women and yet being sweet and hilarious is a fine line that few films can do perfectly. The genre has been failing for a while now and good romantic comedies are few and far between. However, Definitely, Maybe is a breath of fresh air to this genre and forms what is a self-proclaimed, “love story mystery”.
Ryan Reynolds (Smokin’ Aces, Just Friends) plays Will Hayes, an ad-executive who after his daughter Maya, played by Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Signs) learns about sex education one day at school, asks her father about his mother and the story of how she came about. This leads Will to tell his High Fidelity-esque recount which takes him back to the 90’s to recall his tale of lost loves and broken hearts and through this, the story of his ex-wife and Maya’s mom. He tells Maya of Emily, his college sweetheart, performed by Elizabeth Banks (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Invincible), her former friend Summer, acted by Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardner, The Mummy) and her co-worker/friend April played by Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, The Lookout). Through the telling of the story, Maya must look through the clues and try to figure out who in the story is her mother and how she can make her father happy again.
The telling of Hayes’ story takes us into the past, present and future, showing the audience the beginning and the middle, yet hiding the end. While this may seem like a simple idea, it works brilliantly and asks the audience to piece things together for themselves, coming up with their own conclusions. This story device helps elevate the film from just being another standard “chick flick”.
Reynolds once again proves that he is a likable and entertaining lead actor and holds his own against the three leading ladies. He is able to pull off Will without being his usual wacky self and plays his role moderately reserved. He shows that he not only can play hilarious and also very serious, but he can play in the middle too and just as well as at both ends of the spectrum. The three love interests all have their own strengths and the movie does not make any one woman more likable or interesting then the others, leaving the audience to root for all three. Banks is perfect as Will’s first love, and she also plays it more reserved then most of her previous comedy roles. Weisz plays a complex and deep writer who is very much the most unique of the three main ladies. Fisher plays her best role yet and is very likable and sweet as Will’s best friend. After her breakthrough role in Wedding Crashers, it is nice to let the audience see that she does not have to play that type of crazy character and that she can actually act. Breslin is the perfect daughter to Reynolds’ Will character and the chemistry between the two is fantastic and the love between the two is evident.
Writer/director Adam Brooks (Wimbledon, Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason) makes his best film yet and seems to have learned from his past mistakes in much worse films. He directs with a warmth that is not overly sugar coated, but leaves the audience feeling warm inside. One problem that plagues many romantic comedies is a wooden script that has dialogue that has been recycled from film to film. Yet Definitely, Maybe sounds incredibly original and unique compared to previous films. The setting Brooks sets is decisively nineties and the film is filled with nineties nostalgia strategically placed throughout. The obvious references to Clinton, Nirvana and huge cell phones have been made in previous films, yet the jokes do not feel played out or overused.
The idea of a “love story mystery” is refreshing and is a nice change from the usual look at romantic films. The film plants subtle clues to who is Maya’s mother and lets the audience try to sift through the clues with her. While the film may seem predictable at times, it does not suffer for it and throws just as many surprises at the audience who thinks it has seen it all in these types of movies. Definitely, Maybe is not overly sappy, yet it is genuinely sweet. The acting is well done and filled with heart and almost every character is instantly likable. Definitely, Maybe does not force its’ heart down the audiences’ throats much like the way recent films such as 27 Dresses and Over Her Dead Body have. Definitely, Maybe is one of the few romantic comedies that should please everyone and is one of the best in its genre to come out in years.
Rating: B
No comments:
Post a Comment