Definitely, Maybe
Less a romantic comedy than a romantic remembrance, “Definitely, Maybe” is a charming love story not about your typical boy-meets-girl but about a daughter showing her father how he missed on love over the years by finding out the story of how he and her mother met. But again, it’s not your typical boy-meets-girl story, although the happy ending is something familiar to any fan of the genre.
Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds, “Van Wilder,” “Blade: Trinity”) has a successful career in advertising, but a love life that’s in ruins. He and his wife Sarah are working on a divorce, and their daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”) is caught in the middle. After her New York school has an ill-advised sex education class, the questions begin popping up, with one in particular coming to Maya’s mind- “How did you and my mom meet?” Reluctantly, Will agrees, on the condition that he’s not going to actually tell Maya, he’s going to change names around, and she’s going to have to guess. Enthusiastically, Maya agrees, saying, “I like it. It’s like a love story/mystery.”
And so it begins. Will starts in 1992 when he was an ambitious young Democrat from Wisconsin who had big plans when he went to New York to work on Bill Clinton’s Presidential campaign team in the Big Apple, leaving behind a predictable relationship with his college sweetie Emily (Elizabeth Banks, proving to be an engaging character actress again in a typically small role). Emily worries that the big city will change Will- I’ll let you figure out whether she’s right on that one- but gives him a present to give to her former roommate Summer (Rachel Weisz, with just the right blend of cunning, sexiness, and street smarts). Will takes a peek before giving it to her, not only revealing a talented writer in the up-and-comer (stuck in a dead-end affair with her professor, played by the arrogantly funny Kevin Kline…I do mean that as a compliment) but also striking up his imagination to possibilities beyond just friendship.
It takes a while for Will to find his footing in the Clinton campaign- he starts off by slipping and falling while refilling the bathroom with toilet paper- but he soon wins his coworker’s respect, leading to big things in the future. It’s also here when he meets April (“Wedding Crashers” honey Isla Fisher, whip-smart and dead-sexy), a firecracker of a girl who doesn’t believe in any one ideology, or really have much ambition in life, but does have a great heart, which might explain why her and Will become unexpectedly close friends over the years. The suspects in place, Will tells the story- with all its’ intersections and unexpected twists- with Maya listening attentively, and with wisdom beyond her years.
If you’re expecting anything but sweet sentiment and old-fashioned cinematic romance, you’re looking in the wrong place. Written and directed by Adam Brooks (a vet of off-beat love stories like “Practical Magic” and “Wimbledon” as a writer), this is a movie fan’s love story, paying homage to the likes of Woody Allen and classic romantic comedy with affection and enjoyment. Coming to mind are recent faves like “The Holiday,” “Keeping the Faith,” and “Failure to Launch,” among others. True, you might be able to pick up where the film is going as it progresses, but as with any good film of this ilk, a lot of the pleasure is getting there.
A lot of that has to do with this and the previously mentioned films’ main asset- their absolute sincerity about matters of the heart. Though not always above the easy pratfall for a job, when it comes to the story, they are genuinely interested in the characters, their feelings, their dreams, and their failings, and how they look to aspire to the dreams while rising above their failings. We become swept up in Will’s past along with Maya, seeing what she sees as he remembers the three most significant women in his past to the most significant one in his present and future. And we find ourselves as surprised as Maya is in where things head along the way.
Ryan Reynolds has been a star waiting to happen ever since his breakout in the cult fave “Van Wilder” (unloved by me); a later role in “Blade Trinity” opened the door to stardom further, as did roles in films like “Smokin’ Aces,” “Just Friends” and other mindless excursions in action and comedy. Gotta say, he’s never really hit the right note with me as an actor other than his role in the short-lived series “Two Guys and a Girl.” With “Definitely, Maybe,” Brooks taps into that everyman quality in Reynolds, and a star performance is born. His Will doesn’t feel forced or fake; his chemistry with Banks, Weisz, and Fisher is all immediate and enticing (making us feel like any one of them could be Maya’s mother), giving each thread of the story weight and an air of plausibility. This isn’t one of those “only in the movies” love stories, but what it might be like to go back into the scrapbook of our memory to look at the loves lost and won over the years at a moment of self-reflection, to see where we went wrong. Reynolds hits all the notes just right in a performance that will hopefully open up more possibilities than his previous work has.
His main leading lady in the film, however, is young Breslin as Maya. As was the case previously with child stars Haley Joel Osment and Dakota Fanning after their breakout roles, be prepared to be barraged with Breslin in the coming months. But you know what? Like Osment and Fanning, Breslin deserves the spotlight. She was the tiny light of sanity of the dysfunctional family in “Little Miss Sunshine” (and found herself Oscar-nominated as a result), and in this role in particular, she projects that same youthful enthusiasm and wise-beyond-her-years quality without seeming arrogant about it. She knows more than she lets on, but she also knows the joys of being a kid as well. And her and Reynolds make a believable father-daughter team. And even though their previous family is being broken up for reasons unknown (and smartly, not explored, nor particularly cared about), maybe a look into the past holds some hints at a new one that’ll lead to a happy ending. You can’t help but watch the film to see where things end up.
