Definitely, Maybe is not a romantic comedy, at least not in the traditional, contemporary sense. There is romance and there is comedy, but the funny and uplifting Definitely, Maybe could, perhaps, better be called a romantic drama.
Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is a 30-something Manhattanite dispirited by his job at a top advertising agency and crestfallen by his impending divorce. When his daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), begins asking about his life before marriage and how he and her mother met and fell in love, Will decides to frame the story in the form of a puzzle: he will change the names of all the women involved and she will have to guess which of the three loves of his life became his wife and her mother.
Will’s story begins in 1992, as the young, aspiring politician moves from Wisconsin to New York City to work on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, leaving behind his college sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks). A small town boy in the big city, Will faces an uphill battle learning the ins and outs of hard-hitting politics. He has help in the sunny disposition of the apolitical April (Ilsa Fisher), who works with him at the campaign office, and the fiercely intelligent, free-spirited and ambitious journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz).
As Will recounts the history of his romantic relationships with the three very different women, each of whom speak to some need in his life, he fruitlessly attempts to weave a “gentler” version of the story for Maya (how do you incorporate bad lifestyle choices, sleeping around, divorce and the rest of it in a manner than doesn’t traumatize a child, much less unrealistically burnished romcom conventions?). As Maya begins putting the pieces of her dad’s romantic puzzle together, she discovers quickly what took her dad many painful years to learn — love is not as simple or as easy as either of them once believed.
Stealing a page from TV’s hilarious “How I Met Your Mother,” Definitely, Maybe is more than a story of Will’s love life, it is the story of his life. The film uses the Clinton presidency as a framing devise, allowing us to track Will’s growth from a starry-eyed idealist with big dreams and even bigger romantic impulses as Bill Clinton rides into town, to a disheartened realist who learns that heroes disappoint, dreams frequently turn to nightmares and love doesn’t always last as the Clinton presidency implodes in sexual scandal. Definitely, Maybe deserves credit for interesting us in a character who is allowed to grow before our eyes, from an immature boy powered by undeniable desires to a mature man flushed with the realization of what real love truly requires.
What is perhaps most surprising is that the film is able to keep you guessing as to the identity of Maya’s mother right up to the very end because it never once caricatures Will’s loves as stereotypical, romantic villains. Each of the women, despite whatever shortcomings they (and Will) might have, are alluring, intelligent and realistically drawn. Though only one of them will be Maya’s mother, each is capable of the role.
Fisher brings a vivacious comic energy and fragile honesty to April. Weisz’ Summer is darkly intelligent and chic seductive. Banks exemplifies why we all love the quintessential girl-next-door. Kevin Kline shows up for a delicious turn as an aging, libido-driven, gonzo journalist. Breslin takes on the adorable, yet far too smart and hip for her age role with her usual aplomb. Ryan Reynolds is an actor I have had my eye on since I first saw him on the underrated “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.” Blessed with impeccable comic timing and shocking good looks, Reynolds has always been an unsung actor worthy of a place at the table with the rest of his generation’s finest. His time may finally be here.
Definitely, Maybe revels in its gorgeous New York setting, especially dwelling on the city’s Upper West Side locations (where the production shut down my street for several days of filming).
Definitely, Maybe doesn’t ask us to leave our brains at the door or our hearts at home. With understated honestly, commendable restraint and undeniable appeal, this bittersweet, surprisingly rewarding film is the perfect antidote to the spate of abominable romantic comedies hitting theater screens lately.
More how Harry met Sally than when, the above average Definitely, Maybe may not be destined to be a great comedy classic, but this valentine earns every sweet and believable moment.
© Copyright 2008 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.