"Definitely, Maybe"

By: Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

“It’s complicated … It’s complicated,” recited Will Hayes to his daughter, Maya, as he recounts his winding journey from attraction to love to marriage—marriage to Maya’s mother. This slumber party storytelling adventure called “Definitely, Maybe” is indeed complicated, and unique, but is it fulfilling?

Disillusioned with the impending divorce of her parents, the precocious Maya (Abigail Breslin) asks her dad to recall the story of how he and his soon-to-be ex-wife met and fell in love. When Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) repeatedly retreats to his mantra of “It’s complicated,” Maya refuses to let her father off the hook. The father and daughter compromise, deciding to turn the story into a love mystery—with names and facts askew, Maya has to figure out which woman in her father’s tangled love story is her mother.

Hayes lives up to his mantra, as he goes from gorgeous woman to gorgeous woman; blonde, brunette, and redhead; feeling all the woes of romantic hardship—mostly self-inflicted. At various points in this story, Maya interjects with her own thoughts, feelings and hopes. She cannot help but root for various characters in her dad’s narrative, hoping both that her mother will be the character she likes best and that her dad will have chosen the woman best suited for him.

In “Definitely, Maybe” writer/director Adam Brooks has given himself the ample of task of forging a connection between the main character and not one woman, but three. This web of love and attraction leaves the viewer wondering where the story is going—which can be a great thing if it does go somewhere, but a terrible thing if it goes nowhere at all.

Although the plot of this movie jumps and stalls like an old car, it does go somewhere, but mostly thanks to an able cast. Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardner”) are as wonderful as ever, and Ryan Reynolds (“Van Wilder”) and Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”) contribute a respectable amount of that charming gooey-glue that holds together every successful chick flick.

Unfortunately, there was not quite enough of that gooey-glue in the movie to hold together the labyrinthine plot and the awkward political setting (Hayes works on a presidential campaign), but I know that plenty of movie-goers will still enjoy this movie. Like me, many people will find “Definitely, Maybe” easy to sit through, but also like me, most people will instantly forget the movie. “Definitely, Maybe” should get some credit for a unique idea and a decent cast, but the praise ends there.

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


Duncan’s Oscar Predictions

The following is a list of my predictions for the 80th Annual Academy Awards, which will air on Sunday, Feb. 24. All nominations are listed in alphabetical order, my predictions are in bold and the nominees I think are most deserving of the award are in italics.

Best Picture: “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Michael Clayton,” “Juno,” and “Atonement.”

Best Actor: George Clooney (“Michael Clayton”), Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”), Johnny Depp (“Sweeney Todd and the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), Tommy Lee Jones (“In the Valley of Elah”), and Viggo Mortenson (“Eastern Promises”).

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Julie Christie (“Away From Her”), Marion Cotillard (“Le Vie en Rose”), Laura Linney (“The Savages”), and Ellen Page (“Juno”).

Best Director: Julian Schnabel (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Jason Reitman (“Juno”), Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”), Joel and Ethan Coen (“No Country for Old Men”), and Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”).