Customer Reviews

Definitely Maybe (Full Screen)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

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 fact- that 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 love- and perhaps how real love begins. This is not about winning or losing at love- rather it is about how our character is what makes love possible- or 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.

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.

I loved this picture! What a great movie to watch with your best friend, mom, daughter, or even husband!

I bought the film after overhearing a 10 year old girl describe it to another 10 year old in the aisle at Walmart. Sounded like a good movie to watch with my 10 year old too. And it was, for we both enjoyed it, including mom too. Very good film for the middle school age family to watch together.

"Once upon a time, before e-mail and cell phones and TV reality shows"
- Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) in DEFINITELY MAYBE

Once upon a time we all fell in love and we know and remember how good it felt. All of our senses were piqued and we thought that this love or even any of our loves would last forever. For some of us that was true and we were the lucky ones and for others...well let us say that they were not so lucky; but most of them kept looking, hoping to find their soul mate or what they wanted to believe was the "real thing".

In the sweet romantic comedy DEFINITELY MAYBE, Albert Brooks has directed and written a winner. The movie sends a message to children of divorce which is heart felt; yet I don't believe that the movie is necessarily one for children. Maybe it is one for our grown up children, now adults, or others who may have gone through a divorce in their family and still somehow are trying to cope with the loss.

Brooks has quite a few films like BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON, WIMBLETON, AND FRENCH KISS. But this little gem is different and an intelligent study into the history of love (for better or for worse).

While watching the film, I wondered how would you ever tell your daughter a historic rendition of your love life or tell her a bit about all of your leading ladies in your life if you were a father of a 10 year old girl (Maya Hayes) who in this movie is played by Abigail Breslin . This is exactly what happened. For those of you not familiar with the young Ms. Breslin, she played a role in the movie LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.

When one thinks of the prospect of relating such a history, the viewer has to feel a bit of trepidation for Will Hayes because along with this narrative will be revealed all of the bewildering aspects of life which are part of being in love. And you have to love our tormented father, because he tells the story in such a way so as not to destroy his daughter's belief in the power of love, and not to deprive her of a happy ending. He does not want her not to believe that there is a soul mate out there or at least even a not so perfect spouse who is in every sense still just right for her.

One thing Will tried to not do was to shatter her dreams by relating all of the ugly truths that are part of life; but some of those fell out along the way. One of Maya's revelations was when she said, "Dad, I can't believe you smoked, you drank, and you were a slut." Some of us might think that this is quite the language for a nice 10-year-old girl and some might think it was funny. But this sort of language and some of the other innuendoes may make this not a film for your children; but you have to be the judge.

There is a lot of flashback in the movie and one has to believe that these present day characters were about 10 - 15 years younger at the time. It is a stretch but when you watch a movie you are always drawn into this kind of make believe so you are easily strung along. Will (Ryan Reynolds) goes though his litany of failed or uncompleted loves and one has to wonder how he managed to afford the tokens of love which he produced. It is all in good fun and in the right spirit and is an intelligent probing of why folks fall in love and with whom and at what time in their lives.

Emily, Summer, April or any other names that mark the passages of love in one's life would be appropriate for all of us; and these names could be interchanged with male ones if a woman and the story would still be anyone's story. Any one of us could probably tell similar tales which we have buried somewhere deep in our psyche; what makes this movie nice is that it puts it all out there for you to be able to let go of what might have been and seize the moment of what is.

Like our protagonist says, " Once upon a time.....

Recommend: B-

Bentley/2008

'Definitely Maybe' is sweet, funny, and surprisingly honest. As a father with daughters, I really felt like the movie captured the dynamic of a good father-daughter relationship well. I knew I was really into it when I actually got mad at the main character (Ryan Reynolds) for not doing something, and then realized I knew exactly why he did it the way he did it, and I might even have done the same...foolish as it was.

Its not really a complex story, but full of the little complexities that make life interesting. The ups and downs of relationships, the random chances that turn into life-altering decisions, and the choices people make for themselves and for those around them -- they're all here, somewhat condensed and simplified of course, to make them more digestible in the short span of time the movie takes. It takes a lifetime to really explore some of these things, but 'Definitely Maybe' does a fine job in the time it has.

The little girl is charming and wonderful and surprised me more than once, the lead actor shows surprising depth, and each of the three women add extra dimension to the story. Rachel Weisz is particularly good in her role, and stunning as always.

For dads and daughters, for a little romance, for a good laugh, for an honest look at life and relationships...'Definitely Maybe' is a great little movie, for many reasons.

This is a little bit more than the basic 'How I met your mother' movie. The basic set up has soon to be divorced Will, explaining the story of how he met his 10 year old daughter, Maya's, mother. The start of Will's tale is from just before his big life jump off point just after college, where he moved to NYC to work on the 92 Clinton campaign.

The story moves along using the big relationship points of Will's 3 biggest girl friend relationships. Starting with his college sweetheart, Emily, to his coworker April and intellectual partner Summer. But to keep Maya guessing, all the names are changed and she has to keep guessing as to how it all happened.

Maya works as part narrator, part character to keep the story moving with interjections and running commentary. The other women here keep things moving when Will gets bogged down as each one drops out and pops back up at several points in his life. Once Maya finally discovers who her mother is in the story, it takes a fast paced turn back to the state of Will's current love life. Will and Maya then go try and find the one woman from his past who they both think will make him, in the end, happy again.

As a guy, I have high demands for my chick flicks. Something like the predictable tripe that was 27 Dresses makes me want to retreat into a self-induced coma. However, films like Love, Actually and Notting Hill were exceptionally well written and real. Definitely, Maybe follows in the same tradition of quality, if not pattern. I found alot of myself in the character portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, who as an actor, I have always been on the fence concering his acting range. Not anymore. He gives a truly emotional and grounded performance here. The female leads are pitch-perfect as well. To me, Isla Fisher is a standout. You can't help but fall in love with her.

If you like your chick flicks to have a little substance, and a dash of realistic characters, check this one out. It is NOT a LIFETIME movie of the week, thank God!

This is such an excellent movie. This is a must see for any divorced parent with children. Five stars due to a great plot and humorous coverage of a very serious situation. The casting is excellent and I am impressed that the film makers have taken a sad thing like divorce and shown that something good can come out of it. If you liked Love Actually than you will want to own this movie too.