Definitely, Maybe

Ryan Reynolds stars as Will – a dreamer whose life has not worked out the way he had hoped (join the crowd, the line starts to the left). Not quite lucky in love, Will is going through a divorce, but he has a strong relationship with his little girl, Maya (Abigail Breslin). As you can imagine, she is quite distressed by the change happening in her life, so she starts to ask Will questions about how he fell in love with her mother, maybe hoping to rekindle his love for the lady who took the vows and shared a life with him. To make it a more interesting movie, Will tells the story, but it’s a mystery where Maya must pick which of three women in his life is the one who became his wife and her mother, since all three relationships had an impact on the other.

Who is Maya’s mom? Can she reconcile with Will?

Definitely, Maybe might not be the most perfect movie possible, but it makes up for its shortcomings with an appeal to the heart that connects, especially at this time of year. Writer/director Adam Brooks easily lets the audience slide into the mystery as we learn all about Will, how he ended up in New York, what he left behind, and what he found in the future. Before you know it, you are hooked by each flirty, passionate, heartfelt, and angst-ridden conversation backed up by some of the strongest dialogue we have witnessed since the Oscar nominees and Oscar hopefuls were released in late 2007. It easily is 100 times smarter than Fool's Gold, so I hope 100 times more people buy tickets.

Because it is smart, Definitely, Maybe is a movie where you need to pay attention because it leads to more enjoyment. Brooks drops little hints and details throughout the movie that just pop up in the most subtle ways, and he makes each character very real with positive attributes and flaws. Most of all, Brooks knows how to present the most heartbreaking and sweetest of scenes without interfering with the moment, the actors and the audience’s reactions. No silly special effects. No editing tricks. No imposing soundtrack. Just real emotion.

It’s the ensemble that makes all of Brooks’s work pay off. After years of defending him and trying to convince my friends and colleagues he has some potential, Reynolds delivers. He brings a natural performance to the screen making Will a likable guy, even when he starts to do stupid things. Then, Reynolds is surrounded by three of the most talented and attractive actresses around.

Isla Fisher is cuter than cute, brings an infectious life and zeal to her character and gets a chance to emerge from the stereotype of cute towards the end of the movie to make you feel sorry for her character and proud of her when she makes some hard decisions.

Rachel Weisz gets to play the sexy one, and makes a man’s heart go thumpety thump thump thump to the point where some of us in the theater might need medical attention, but also finds a few great moments to show her character’s soft side and vulnerability, when you weren’t sure she had one.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Banks puts in the less flashy and more subtle role as the college sweetheart. Given that she and Reynolds are a few years removed from college age (aren't we all), Banks does a good job giving her character that freshness and wide eyed view of life younger people have, while making you wish you dated her in college.

Brooks drags out the ending of Definitely, Maybe a bit too long as we start to feel some fatigue from the constant rollercoaster of thinking we have solved the mystery and can name the mother, while he also brings back some candidates long after they would have disappeared in real life.

Be careful! Watching Definitely, Maybe could lead to you thinking about the past loves in your life.

Definitely, Maybe is rated PG-13 for sexual content, including some frank dialogue, language and smoking