Director: Adam Brooks
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Kline, Derek Luke

- Reviewed by Vickie

The folks at Universal made the right call releasing this film on Valentine’s Day: it’s romantic, it’s charming and, like its cast, incredibly lovable.

Affable everyguy Ryan Reynolds tones down his usual smart-alecky schtick to play Will Hayes, a soon-to-be-divorced dad, who spends an evening telling his daughter (Abigail Breslin) the story of how he met and married her mother. That, of course, spins into a trio of interwoven tales involving the three great loves of his life: “Emily” (Elizabeth Banks), his college sweetheart; “Summer” (Rachel Weisz), a free-spirited writer; and “April” (Isla Fisher), a quirky copy girl with strong opinions. The names are all in quotes because Will’s decided to hide each woman’s true identity from his daughter so that she’s forced to guess which one is her mom based solely on the storytelling.

With each new woman, we’re treated to a new side of Will. With Emily, he’s an idealistic young Democrat eager to work on the Clinton campaign and already planning their safe, settled future together. With Summer, he’s an accomplished speech writer who’s head over heels for her, and with whom he actually settles... for a while. And, with April, he’s a screw-up and a mess and someone struggling to get his act together. Problem is, each woman drifts in and out of his life while he’s with the others, so none are every too far out of frame and, like his daughter, the audience is kept guessing as to which one he eventually does marry and have a child.

Nicely paced and cleverly scripted, Definitely, Maybe joins the ranks of many a romantic-comedy before it... only, to me, this one was more of a romantic-comedy-drama. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny and, in fact, has a lovely undercurrent of poignancy since you know from the start of the film that, no matter which woman he’s chosen, their relationship is ending in divorce. It’s a testament to writer-director Adam Brooks that you kind of forget that fact as you’re swept up the characters and the movie... only to have it thrust back upon you by a tearful Breslin when she, too, makes the realization.

Thankfully, the filmmakers wisely decide to make all of the women fabulous. Any one of them would be a fine choice, and at no point do any of them become shrill or shrewish or hateful or awful... so you, as a viewer, can never really rule any of them out. And all three actresses turn in wonderful performances, equally headstrong and determined and relentlessly appealing. Similarly, you can’t help but like Reynolds’ Will Hayes. He’s funny without being grating or smart-assy, and self-deprecating in that perfect way that makes him all the more endearing. Will has no idea what he’s doing and, at times, he’s more of a passenger on his own ride of life than the person steering the ship. But, then, aren’t we all sometimes?

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