DVD Film Review: Definitely, Maybe
Ryan Renolds Stars with Abigail Breslin as His Young Daughter
Oct 16, 2008
In the beginning of Definitely, Maybe, pre-teen Maya (played by Abigail Breslin) proclaims, “Look, I know love isn’t a fairytale.” The wiser-than-her-years girl is right. It’s not. But most romantic comedies of late make love out to have a storybook ending, and with Definitely, Maybe opening on Valentine’s Day, it could have easily gone down the same sappy path.
But Adam Brooks’ film rises above the papier-mâché hearts and red roses to paint love as it really is—a messy fight in which sometimes you find love, and sometimes you don’t even know what—or who—you’re looking for.
When thirty-something advertising agent Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) picks up Maya from her class, he discovers that a sex-ed class has sparked the young girl’s interest in the story of her own parents’ meeting. On the cusp of divorce, Will loses the battle of wills against his persistent daughter and turns his own living history into a bedtime story for her. But Will decides to not to tell Maya or the audience which character is her mother. And so, the “love-story mystery”—as Maya calls it—unfolds.
His story begins when the fresh-eyed college-grad leaves Wisconsin to join the Bill Clinton presidential campaign team in New York City.
A Tale of Three Women
From this point on, Will becomes a supporting character in his own story, outshined by his three loves, each one more beautiful, and more interesting than the next. First is his college sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks), who fears she’ll lose her boyfriend to the big city. Then comes Summer (Rachel Weisz), a slightly mysterious brunette intellectual whose career as a journalist seems to outweigh any matters of her heart. Finally is the firecracker April (Isla Fisher), a free-spirit who Will keeps in touch with after they develop a friendship during the Bill Clinton campaign.
The actresses playing the three love interests are both believable and lovable. All three characters are far from perfect. But their quirks are often part of their charm, and make them into believable women rather than simply unattainable silver-screen goddess. The fact that the film features three talented actresses in such commanding roles should be enough to send anyone running to the theater.
As Will tells his story to his endlessly curious daughter, we find that his tale is not a fairytale at all, but that he has in fact gotten his heart broken several times by the women he trusted with it. Some of them cheat on him with other men, others with their careers. Each time Will walks in with a ring in hand, he leaves empty handed.
A Blast From the Past
In an unexpected twist, by weaving Will’s story around the presidency of Bill Clinton (and the faces of his own women from Gennifer Flowers to Monika Lewinsky), the film takes on an interesting timeliness. And Will’s own optimism at the beginning of the Clinton campaign is reflected in the young faces campaigning on the streets today.
Imperfect
As with love, there are some imperfections with this film. There are moments that slip into that “life is so easy when you’re in love” romantic comedy trap, such as when Will conveniently finds a box of keepsakes from years ago on his living room table. And Maya (no matter how wise of a preteen she may be) too easily accepts her parent’s divorce and her father’s quest to find a woman other than her mother to love.
Maya’s character may be the hardest to accept. Because Breslin is naturally a doe-eyed “isn’t-she-adorable” kid, it is far easier for her character to fall off the cliff into the depths of cheesy, mushy love gunk. Even the slightest cutesy remark becomes too much to handle when said in that tiny chipmunk-like voice. Overall, the film succeeds in avoiding this pitfall, but often just barely.
But if we can ignore the strange awkward title, and the occasional cheesy romantic-comedy slip, Definitely, Maybe can be a breath of fresh air from the puffy, sugar-coated world of fairytale romance.
