Definitely, Maybe Review

It's a distinct irony that the title afforded Working Title's latest love-in should so succinctly surmise the film's strengths and weaknesses. On paper a 'love story mystery' is 'definitely' a refreshing idea, and 'maybe', just 'maybe', this film pulls it off.

Things however get off to a shaky start as Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), an impossibly smug Ad-Executive, goes strutting down Manhattan, lost in the beat of his perfect play list. The cheese is layered on thick here. But, after such an inauspicious start, things look up when Will picks up his daughter from school. Maya (Abigail Breslin) is a precocious little sprite and encourages her dad to tell her the story of how he and her mum first met and fell in love, the wife and mother who has now, incidentally, filed for divorce. Will, of course, relents and weaves a yarn for his daughter of how she came to be….except he changes the names of the principal cast and omits one or two key facts. And there are three contenders vying for the position of 'mom'. First up is Emily (Elizabeth Banks), Will's college sweetheart, the dependable and loving kind who backs Will when he leaves for the Big City to pursue a career as a big-time politico in the Clinton campaign of '92. Their tale is a familiar one, Will moves away and the long distance takes its toll on their relationship but hope comes in the form of a diary. Summer's diary to be precise. Summer (Rachel Weisz), a fiery and passionate aspiring journalist manages to challenge Will in every possible way at a time when his PR Consultation firm is taking off. Things look promising on the 'mummy' front for Summer but the presence of a randy professor (Kevin Kline) and Summer's own ambitions seemingly doom the relationship to failure. But through the thick and thin there's April (Isla Fisher), the free-spirited best friend who's always their to inspire and encourage Will when he's at his lowest. So the stage is set, for Maya at least, to guess which one of the three candidates is her mom.

The idea of a 'love story mystery' is certainly a strong enough concept to ensure that this film's failing stay in check. "Definitely, Maybe" has a slightly Jekyll and Hyde-ish quality to it - the exchanges between Reynolds and Breslin are just a little too schmaltzy for comfort yet Will's back story seems fresh and interesting by comparison as if writer/director Adam Brook's inspiration was on rotating shifts during the drafting of the story. Reynolds' puts in another fine comic display as Will - his Alpha Nice Guy routine keeping "Definitely, Maybe" firmly in the realms of 'watchable'. The three leading ladies inject some spark to enlighten proceedings but the accolades will surely go to Little Miss Abigail Breslin once again, here demonstrating a focus and comic timing that should be beyond her tender years. At the end of the day, despite the Working Title-ness creeping in there, this is a nice change of pace for the rom-com ~ a rom-com with book smarts.