February 7, 2008
Three rom-coms in one, Definitely, Maybe is certainly value for money. Soon-to-be-divorced dad Will Hayes is asked by his young daughter to tell her how he met her mother. Reluctantly, he agrees to spin a story of the three loves in his life, changing their names and leaving his daughter to guess which one became her mum. Whether that’s the same woman he should have ended up with is another question.
Reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally, it tells its story over a similarly significant time-period, from college to adulthood. Taking us on a tour through the nineties, Definitely, Maybe follows Will Hayes’ ambitious graduate as he gets a job on Bill Clinton’s campaign team and meets three women who interweave through his life for the next fifteen years.
As a concept it works well, adding a level of complexity missing from most rom-coms. And the toing-and-froing between past and present as Hayes tells it as a bedtime story to his daughter (Little Miss Sunshine’s Abigail Breslin) and she comments upon the story so far, the narrative itself is refreshingly complicated. The sights and soundtracks of the nineties and noughties are also nicely detailed. Best of all though is the time taken with the characters themselves – not so much ‘wooden Will’ (Ryan Reynolds, Smokin’ Aces) but the women he unaccountably attracts – college sweetheart Elizabeth Banks (40 Year Old Virgin), quirkily disordered Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) and sophisticated journalist Rachel Weisz.
The downside is that – with the narrative, setting and people all requiring attention – there’s a lot to take in if you like your romcoms short and sweet. But Definitely, Maybe is well worth a watch. The ‘is-she, isn’t-she’ mystery is a cunning device – and writer-director Adam Brooks’ characterizations are so well done you find yourself disliking and then liking each of the women concerned. Consequently, the ending itself is unpredictable – unusually for a romantic comedy.
All the women are excellent – including little Abigail Breslin – but Kevin Kline’s cameo as a Left Bank dissipated writer almost steals the show with some cracking lines, superbly delivered. There are some good chuckles along the way and, true to the genre, some emotional punches too. Definitely, Maybe is a grown-up romantic comedy that takes its audience seriously and delivers a multi-layered mystery alongside the comedy-drama. Light and fluffy it ain’t and it’s taking a big chance packing so many strands into one movie. But if you like romantic comedies – or just stories that focus on real-world characters and complexities – then you should definitely, not maybe, see this.
Reminiscent of When Harry Met Sally, it tells its story over a similarly significant time-period, from college to adulthood. Taking us on a tour through the nineties, Definitely, Maybe follows Will Hayes’ ambitious graduate as he gets a job on Bill Clinton’s campaign team and meets three women who interweave through his life for the next fifteen years.
As a concept it works well, adding a level of complexity missing from most rom-coms. And the toing-and-froing between past and present as Hayes tells it as a bedtime story to his daughter (Little Miss Sunshine’s Abigail Breslin) and she comments upon the story so far, the narrative itself is refreshingly complicated. The sights and soundtracks of the nineties and noughties are also nicely detailed. Best of all though is the time taken with the characters themselves – not so much ‘wooden Will’ (Ryan Reynolds, Smokin’ Aces) but the women he unaccountably attracts – college sweetheart Elizabeth Banks (40 Year Old Virgin), quirkily disordered Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) and sophisticated journalist Rachel Weisz.
The downside is that – with the narrative, setting and people all requiring attention – there’s a lot to take in if you like your romcoms short and sweet. But Definitely, Maybe is well worth a watch. The ‘is-she, isn’t-she’ mystery is a cunning device – and writer-director Adam Brooks’ characterizations are so well done you find yourself disliking and then liking each of the women concerned. Consequently, the ending itself is unpredictable – unusually for a romantic comedy.
All the women are excellent – including little Abigail Breslin – but Kevin Kline’s cameo as a Left Bank dissipated writer almost steals the show with some cracking lines, superbly delivered. There are some good chuckles along the way and, true to the genre, some emotional punches too. Definitely, Maybe is a grown-up romantic comedy that takes its audience seriously and delivers a multi-layered mystery alongside the comedy-drama. Light and fluffy it ain’t and it’s taking a big chance packing so many strands into one movie. But if you like romantic comedies – or just stories that focus on real-world characters and complexities – then you should definitely, not maybe, see this.