Romantic comedies, chick flicks, gag reflex testers - no matter how the genre is described, it will no doubt entail unrealistic romance, predictability and corny one-liners, yet it never fails to attract large audiences. Usually seats are filled with groups of bubbly girls and their reluctant boyfriends with ducked heads, praying not to be seen at such an emasculating event. Rarely does one of these money-making movies turn out to be enjoyable for everyone.
"Definitely, Maybe" was born from England's Working Title production studio, whose clever minds gave us "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Love Actually." Canadian writer and director Adam Brooks, who wrote "Wimbledon" and "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," smartly told this romantic story with no questions left unanswered. No character was overlooked or forgotten through the course of the film and Brooks wisely minimized the cheesy elements of a typical chick flick.
William Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) lives in Manhattan, stuck with a disappointing job and a painful divorce. His one break from this less-than-blissful life is seeing his daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin). While picking up his daughter one day, Hayes unknowingly stumbles on an unruly chaos of screaming kids and terrified parents, otherwise known as sexual-education day.
With her newfound unsettling knowledge of the birds and the bees, Maya is plagued with a desperate need to know the real story about how her divorcing parents met. Maya intently listens to Hayes as she tries to solve the love mystery - which woman in the story is her mother and the source of her father's true happiness. Is it his college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), Summer (Rachel Weisz) the free-spirited journalist or his best friend April (Isla Fisher)?
Though Reynolds is best known for over-the-top guy humor, his performance in "Definitely, Maybe" was surprisingly heart-warming, sarcastic and sympathetic in all the right places. Breslin certainly doesn't take a back seat to the humor. The three female characters played by Banks, Weisz and Fisher remained likeable even after repeatedly breaking the lead character's heart.
"Definitely, Maybe" is a heartbreaking yet adorable film with something for everyone. Most viewers will have the end of the story figured out in the first 10 minutes, but at least the road to the end is less predictable. This romantic film provides an enjoyable movie-going experience for all girls from sappy to cynical and allows accompanying boyfriends to lift their heads, free of embarrassment.
