| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008) |
| Director | Adam Brooks |
| Writer | Adam Brooks |
| Lead Actor | Ryan Reynolds |
| Cast | Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Release Date | February 14, 2008 (United States) |
| Duration | 1 hour 52 minutes |
| Budget | $24 million |
| Language | English |
| IMDB Rating | 7.1/10 |
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Positive Aspects of DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008)
“Definitely, Maybe” can loosely be thrown in to the romantic comedy genre for marketing purposes but it isn’t really one of those films. The trailers definitely seemed to give that indication a guy has to juggle three women and in the process figure out which one he really wants through comedic antics. But that’s not what actually happens at all in this film. Instead, we have a father, Will Hayes, telling his daughter Maya the story about how he met her mother. The story is an intriguing tale of Will and the three strongest relationships he had with women, and no, it’s not about him juggling them either.
None of the relationships overlap, rather they jump between each other at different intervals in his life and how all of this effects not only his life but him as a person. What makes this work well is that you’re not actually sure which one he will end up with as he is in the process of getting a divorce with his wife, and mother of Maya. There are no bad guys in this film each person is simply showing their human traits and flaws, both in Will Hayes and the women he has relationships with.
Ryan Reynolds plays Will Hayes with a genuine charm and sincerity without any silly playboy antics. Elizabeth Banks plays his soon to be ex-wife (and first girlfriend) as the girl next door, Rachel Weisz plays the upper-class journalist Summer Hartley with a sense of sophistication, and Isla Fisher plays her character of April with a sense of quirkiness, charm and sincerity. Kevin Kline also does a magnificent turn as successful political author Hampton Roth with whom Summer is first with when Will meets her. All of this comes together to create a romantic, light-hearted drama which is actually, dare I say it, unpredictable and realistic.
The theme coming through is that any one of these relationships could have worked but the timing for either party was off. In the end, we get the happy ending but given the solid direction from Adam Brooks who also wrote the screenplay, you never really know until the very last scene not only which of the women Will ends up with, but whether or not he will actually end up with her making this one of the most unpredictable romantic films in a long time. “Definitely, Maybe” was a surprise and worth seeing.
Drawbacks of DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008)
This film seems to take forever to get going. The first 45 minutes or so sets up Will’s life as he moves to New York to work on the campaign trail for Bill Clinton when he first ran for President. The problem is, we don’t really get to see his relationship stories start until after all of this has set up. It’s important to set that up of course for his character but it went for way too long, leaving you wondering if you’re actually watching a romantic movie or a political one.
These scenes are also the weakest in the film because they introduce some silly behaviour in Will’s character (in being the toilet paper and coffee guy) which seem out of place with the rest of the film. Hearing him yell out, “why am I here?” is funny the first time, but it’s silly over and over again. Tightening up this section of the film would have made it stronger, although the tie-in with Clinton’s extra-marital affairs was quite a nice touch.
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