Definitely Maybe

The concept here is great: on the eve of his divorce, a father tells his daughter the story of how he fell in love with her mother by changing names so she has to guess who she is in the story. What's so amazing is how they were able to pull off this story with three female leads all interacting with the same man, and yet somehow make us cheer each of them on in their own way. Ryan Reynolds is great in the lead, easily flowing from the caring father of the present to the stricken college student of the past and beyond. As the story unfolds, you'll meet Emily, April, and Summer--three women who will have a dramatic impact on his life in various ways.

There are some genuinely funny moments in this film, and I honestly can say I never really got bored at any point. It was like watching three romances unfolds and ultimately fall apart for different reasons. No doubt you will find yourself choosing a favorite, and like Maya (the daughter), you'll be hoping your favorite will turn out to be her mother. Be prepared to be surprised though.

As the movie drew closer to the end, I honestly thought I was going to be disappointed in how it ended. But the movie managed to end perfectly. Reynolds is a great actor who can be flippant and cocky one moment, then broken-hearted and in love during the next. Isla Fisher does a great job as April, the outgoing copy girl who works with him during the Bill Clinton campaign.

If you're looking for a great romantic movie, this is the one.

In most romantic comedies, you have a story where boy meets girl, then boy loses girl, and finally boy and girl re-unite and live happily ever after (or v.v.).

"Definitely, Maybe" is definitely not your usual run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, and refreshingly so: taking a very different approach to the subject.

For starters, the storyline revolves around the relationship between a father (Ryan Reynolds, played by Will Hayes) and his daughter, Maya (played by Abigail Breslin). Throughout most of the film, Ryan's romantic adventures (and misadventures) are potrayed as a series of flashbacks, as he relates the story of his life to his daughter in the form of a bedtime story.

Some of the dialog, particularly Maya's lines, are hysterically, if not shockingly funny such as a very clinical discussion she has with her father about procreation as he picks her up at school after a "sex ed" class: she asks, for instance, how a baby could be "mistake" after going through all that effort to try and make one. Later, she asks her father (after he relates his past relationships to her) "What's the male word for 'Slut'?" To which he sheepishly responds "They're still working on that one."

An interesting twist is that the father thinks he's helping Maya to become more mature and sophisticated in her knowldge of the many emotional dimensions and complexities of adult relationsips. In fact, there's more to it than that: as Maya's dad tells the story of his relationships with three very different women: "Emily", "Summer" and "April" to his daughter, you see him growing in maturity as he drifts from one relationship into another (and back again). You also begin to understand why his marriage to Maya's mom failed (as is hinted at the start of the film): he's the one who needed to grow up. A point emphasized when Maya explicitly tells him so.

Ultimately, this movie spoke to me about the importance of maturity in relationships, and about how Love doesn't always come in the package (or place) you expect.

I give "Definitely, Maybe" four stars not likely to get an Academy Award, but certainly a sweet, funny story with excellent performances.

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Wow, what a great movie. I havent seen such a heart-felt romantic comedy in so many years and this really jumpstarted that romantic side of heart that's been dying to see a good romantic comedy. This movie is simply superb in execution and performance... touching and funny in all the right places and I never once felt bored despite its seemingly long duration. I thought of doing some internet surfing but couldnt bear to tear my eyes away and miss those good moments, and there are many.

I would rate this on the top of my list for romantic comedies. I hope we see more of Ryan Reynolds because I liked him a lot in 2 guys and a girl and a pizza joint. The actresses were all memorable and amazing (especially Isla Fisher). Anyways, you cant go wrong with this one when you want to make your heart warm a little.

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Is Ryan Reynolds capable of making a bad movie? I am sure he must have somewhere, but I have yet to see one. And this film may be the best one yet. All three of the leading ladies were good, with Isla Fisher pitch perfect. And young Abigail Breslin will surely be a gem for decades to come.

A good comedy shows us things about human nature and truth. It is no accident that the only great writer who appears in any of Plato's Dialogues is Aristophanes [in the Symposion]. Even the ancient Greeks understood this simple factthat comedy can teach the deeper truths about humanity far better than drama. This comedy goes far beyond the usual cheap Hollywood formula to truly explore what happens as people fall into and out of loveand perhaps how real love begins. This is not about winning or losing at loverather it is about how our character is what makes love possibleor impossible. In short, this film really explores that part of human nature that is entertwined with romance. Aristophanes would have approved.

So this actually is a romantic comedy that does not follow the standard formula. Yet, despite the premise, it DOES have a happy ending.

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This was billed as a romantic comedy but I didn't find it anywhere near a comedy. Maya delivers the best comedic, if not the only, comedic lines. That being said, it was a nice family film. Will is reluctant to talk about his past because it's "complicated" and Maya is tired of hearing "it's complicated". Finally, the two make a truce and Will shares his life's story--romance wise--with as much innocence as he can muster up. But as the story unfolds, it's not Maya that gets a lesson in life, but Will. Some consider the character of Will to be rather dull, but you have to remember that he's supposed to be depressed. He'd gotten burned so many times in his relationships--his best friend, his girlfriends, his job--that he's all but given up on finding true happiness. When his daughter tells him he needs to get happy again, he tries to tell her that he is--that he has her, but wise beyond her years, she sets him straight. She loves that he feels she's the best thing that ever happened to him, but she knows he needs more, he deserves more. If you spend your life doing everything for your children and find that you aren't as happy as you'd like to be and worry that doing things for you--to make you happy--could hurt your children's happiness, then you must take a queue from Maya and find happiness because when you are happy, so are your children.

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