Definitely, Maybe

Plot synopsis:
38-year-old father Will Hayes is in the midst of a divorce. After her first sex-ed class, his 10-year-old daughter Maya insists on hearing the story of how her parents met. Will reluctantly gives in, but decides to change the names and some of the facts relating to the various love affairs of his youth, thereby creating a love mystery; Maya is left guessing which of the women will turn out to be her mother. The story he tells Maya is depicted in flashbacks. From time to time the film switches back to the present, where Maya comments (often critically) and asks questions.
The story begins in 1992 when Will, an idealistic political operative, moves away from Wisconsin and his college sweetheart, Emily, to New York City, where he works on the Clinton campaign. Over the years, Will becomes involved with three women who enter his life, including Summer Hartley, an aspiring journalist, and April the copy girl for the campaign. Will and April have a chance meeting outside work, where Will reveals he is going to propose to Emily. When Will practices his proposal to Emily on April, she is taken aback by Will's wholehearted words, and replies, "Definitely, maybe." They go back to her apartment, where April has multiple copies of Jane Eyre in her collection, explaining that her father gave her a copy with an inscription in the front shortly before he died, and the book was later lost. She has spent years looking through copies of Jane Eyre at secondhand stores hoping to find the copy her father gave her, but she buys any copy she finds that has an inscription. They kiss, but Will abruptly stops and leaves.
Emily comes back to New York where she confesses, just after Will proposes, that she slept with his roommate. She did it on purpose to break up with Will, saying that she is "letting him go" because she does not share his passionate ambitions. After Clinton is elected, Will opens a campaigning business with most of his work colleagues, which enjoys a good amount of success.
Before Will left Wisconsin, Emily asked Will to deliver a package to her former roommate, Summer Hartley, who is living in New York City. Will first meets Summer when he gives her the package, a diary that she wrote when she was a teenager (which, among other things, tells of her brief affair with Emily). He finds she is going out with a famous writer who is old enough to be her father. The writer breaks up with Summer, and Will starts a relationship with her. April quits her job and leaves to travel around the world. When she returns, she plans to tell Will that she loves him, but discovers that he is planning to propose marriage to Summer. April half-heartedly congratulates him instead. Summer writes an offensive article about one of Will's clients. Will cannot forgive this conflict of interest, and he ends his relationship with Summer. As a result of the article, Will loses his business and his dream of a political career ends, with all of his friends abandoning him.
April calls after a long absence and finds that Will has a new job, but is despondent and depressed, feelings further exacerbated when she reveals she has a new boyfriend named Kevin. She throws a birthday party for him, reuniting him with his old colleagues. Will gets drunk and confesses his growing romantic feelings for April, but he starts an argument with her when he implies that she is wasting her life working in a book store. Some time later, Will passes a used book store and finds the copy of Jane Eyre that April has been seeking with the note from her father. Will goes to April's apartment to give her the book, but he decides against it when he meets Kevin, who is now living with her.
Emily moves to New York City, and she and Will rekindle their relationship after a run-in at a party of Summer's they both were attending. Maya correctly guesses that "Emily" is her mother. Maya states that it is unfortunate that the story has a sad ending, but Will explains that the story has a happy ending: Maya.
Will learns that April is single again, and he attempts to give her the copy of Jane Eyre. When she discovers that he has been holding onto the book for years, she grows upset and asks him to leave.
Maya is happy to have figured out the story, but she realizes that her father still loves April: he changed the name of her mother, Sarah, to Emily in the story, and the name of Natasha to Summer, but he did not change April's name. Maya makes Will have an epiphany, realizing that he is miserable without April. On the spur of the moment they take a taxi to go meet April. April does not let them into her apartment. As they walk away, April runs out and asks about the story. Will confesses to April that he held on to the copy of Jane Eyre because it was the only thing he had left of her. April hugs Will and takes them in to hear the story. As Maya passes through the doorway, April jumps into Will's arms and kisses him.

Tags: romantic, cute, storytelling, flashback

Review:
It truly was, as my summary suggests, absolutely wonderful, and that has mostly to do with the performances by the casts' dedication, though the plot and execution of the entire film was remarkable, as well, and the whole atmosphere and the way the movie folds out is incredible.It was so touching and completely entertaining from beginning to end, while being humorous and overall fun at the same time.
He changes the names to keep the surprise of who he eventually married, and he spins a charming story - spanning fifteen years - of loves lost and found and lost again.And found again.Ryan Reynolds (one of my all-time favourite performers) has seldom been better, Abigail Breslin (who appears frequently to comment on the story being told) is as genuinely charming as ever, and all three girlfriends are wonderfully cast.
Given Dakota Fanning's been past her age for such roles (yeah, they disappear come adolescent and may return once they enter young adulthood), Breslin's now having the world fawn over her performances (next up, Nim's Island), and here she has great chemistry with Ryan Reynolds, even if Reynolds might look a little too young to be playing her dad.But Definitely, Maybe's not all about Breslin as it serves more of a romantic comedy with Ryan Reynolds taking on the lead man-boy role as the father who has to satisfy the curiosity of his daughter Maya (Breslin), who's given a headstart in life thanks to a rather candidly explicit sexual education lesson.
In wanting to find out if she's an accident because of her parent's impending divorce, she gets her dad to recount his love life history in a romance- mystery, changing names in order for her to guess who her mom is.And so begins a tale which harks back to college days where most of us have their perennial sweetheart, and from there we follow Will Hayes (Reynolds) as he goes to New York to work on the Democrat ticket for Bill Clinton's election.
Kevin Kline seems to growing gracefully into more senior roles, and Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks and Isla Fisher are all comfortable enough as Reynold's love interests.The script isn't belly-laugh funny but it has it's moments, there's some good use of news footage from the time in which the story is set, and the plot ticks over nicely.
Unexpectedly believable as a dad.The bulk of the movie is him explaining to his daughter, bedtime story style (told entirely in flashbacks) about love and how he met her mother, with her being the proverbial "happy ending".
Anyone who has ever traded a trip on the QEII for a proverbial three hour tour on the S.S. Minnow relationship-wise will totally relate.The fact that Ryan Reynolds sometimes gets so carried away with the story that he forgets he is talking to a little girl leads to a few (ok, so it's a lot) contrived chuckles along with a couple of genuinely funny moments.It's not going to win an Oscar or break a box office record, but if you want a completely enjoyable two hour escape ...
When I first saw the trailer for Definitely, Maybe, it looked like an alright film that was probably just your average Valentine's Day love fest movie.
Ryan Renolds, I love the guy in comedies, I haven't seen him in drama, so I was a little skeptical, but after seeing Definitely, Maybe, he pulled in a good performance that surprised me.
It could've been the script or director, but she pulls a decent enough performance to where the movie works and puts a different twist on the average romantic comedy.Will Hayes has it all, a great paying job, a beautiful daughter, Maya, and a nice home, but unfortunately he is getting divorced.
But he puts a little twist, since he went through a few women before her mom came along, he tells her the whole story, but through three women, Maya has to solve the love story mystery and find out who her mother is.Definitely, Maybe was different than the average romantic comedy and that's what I liked about it, it seemed also like it was just more real and not what women should have expectations about.
Isla Fisher is adorable and sweet but there is nothing much to her character that we have not seen before and Elisabeth Banks is fine with a character that she manages to give some life to despite the fact of how one dimensional she is.The film has a warm heart but it takes quite a lot for it to make the viewer forget how contrived it really is and its loses its focus on what it wants to be and that's not a good thing if you want the viewer to stay interested in it..
We derive a bit of pleasure as a romance plot drags us along the string of "will they or won't they?" even though we know in our hearts what will happen (because if it doesn't happen, our hearts will be broken and the movie will get bad-mouthed)."Definitely, Maybe" does as good a job of any rom-com at doing just that.
Thus begins a long story that begins in 1992, when young(er) Will sets out for New York City to work on the Clinton campaign and leaves his serious girlfriend, whom he refers to as Emily (Elizabeth Banks), behind.The '90s American history backdrop definitely gives the film its own flavor.
He starts the story as a mystery where the daughter has to find her mother among the three...With this line I don't want to talk about the story watch the rest..Coming to the casting part of the movie three love interests of Ryan Reynolds where so good in their roles particularly Isla was outstanding.Ryan has done justice to his role.
Once again I am here to give a review, and this time it is Definitely, Maybe, a movie that I in the beginning wasn't sure of, some of you may know I am not a huge Ryan Reynolds fan, but I got to be honest, with the movies that he has been in over the last years I have slowly began to grow fund of his acting, this is one of those movies, one that surprises me.It is in a way a hybrid of "How I Met Your Mother" yeah I know they don't have anything to do with each other, but the story in this movie is something like it, just one girl asking her father about it, and of course not an entire series, three women, who is the mother, three women who is his love really?
Storyline 10/10 – The storyline is definitely the stuff that makes this movie flourishes, the story is simple in a way, and it is about a daughter who after having had sex class at an early age asks her father about how he met her mother, that's actually it.The thing that steals the movie is of course your own idea of who her mother is, in the movie the daughter is wondering, but you the viewer is as well are trying to find out in your mind who is the real mother and who is his real love, in the beginning of the movie we find out he is divorced.I am not going to ruin anything for you in this review, I will however say this watch the movie for the story, it may be a little simple but as the story goes on it gets complicated haha.Definitely, Maybe Is also a hidden message for you, that's all I am going to give you, a hidden message that you should keep in mind when watching it, because that will be the clue, I felt that was a really cool idea!
Actors 9/10 – Some of the actors are hit and miss, but those that steal the show is surely the three women the daughter and yes of course Ryan Reynolds, and since I have already stated before I am not really a fan of him I will have to almost retract my opinion, because he is beginning to win me over with his acting.There is not that many actors in this movie, and most of them don't really have that much of an impact, those that does are those that I have already mentioned and they steal the story which is also the point of the movie, stay focused on them, I guarantee a new experience.Soundtrack 8/9 – I got to be frank I am not that fund of the same music in many movies, yes there were some great ones but those that you will remember will be "Nirvana" and Frank Sinatra, the other part of the soundtrack is made just for the soundtrack.And they are all played out well, some of them don't really have a big impact but they all try to set the mood of the movie and in some way they all do, I especially liked the music played in the ending of the movie, no not a song with voice and no not at the credits a little before, when you see this movie you will know what I am talking about.When I watch these movies I always try to listen to the music, some of them can be so ripping, some of them can be so wonderfully done, and much of the music done directly for this movie do set the mood and are ripping Special Effects N/A – Didn't really notice any, yes of course the obvious camera angels and other places where the camera might have been held or moved differently but they aren't really special effects or anything they are just to give the movie a different feel, so basically it really has no effects and if it does then I haven't seen it.Overall 9-10 – I can give this a big nine basically because of the complicated story done so simple, and the actors play their parts so well, the music is also a lot better then what I expected, I don't really look for reviews when watching a movie, I don't care, we all have different opinions on movies, some will like it some wont.You will just have to try it out, give it a try and just basically merge yourself into this simplistic story that can at sometimes feel so complicated, maybe you are wrong when you wonder who will be the woman who is the mother and maybe you are wrong in knowing who is the love of his life, but no matter what give it a try.This movie is much better than your average love flick; it challenges your preconceptions in a way, well thank you for reading another review done from me!.
This film brings it's own sense of style, grace and beauty to a genre mired down by bad and very bland romantic Comedies, this film brings the genre out of the dark ages and gives it some great possibilities for the future.Definitely, Maybe was a good film for three reasons and three reasons only, 1.) It tells a story, a good story, and it sticks to it not trying to side step the plot that has already been set up.
None the less Definitely, Maybe is a love story that can't be ignored, or missed for that matter It's also a movie that will become a classic as time goes on, and it will go down as one of the best Romantic Comedies of all time.
Specially, when William Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) practices to propose his then girlfriend on her and she says, "Definitely, Maybe..." My rating, 9 out of 10, it's a good romantic movie that I think, most of the guys would like to watch, and many couples will enjoy...!
In a great twist to explain the divorce, he decides to tell her the story of three important loves in his life starting with his college sweetheart, a smart adventurous woman he met while working for the Clinton campaign in 1992 and a beautiful grad school journalist.
Realistic and not dramatic, it seems like a real father would talk to his child from the heart.The script develops gracefully and the twist on it feels completely believable, a major point in a story that deals with three different love relationships, many screenwriters could have screwed this up.All the cast performs well, the pace is just right (not a funny moment at the wrong time, and not an inadequate sad one either); so you can be sure you will be enjoying the film during and not only after.If you're not a romance buff, stay calm.
Definitely, maybe is about a divorced man Will Hayes (Ryan Renolds) whose daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), is interested in his life before his marriage and pushes him to tell her about how he and her mother met.
The intriguing premise in "Definitely, Maybe" surrounds Ryan Reynolds's Will Hayes recounting the story to his 11 year-old daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) about how he met her Mom. Will's divorce is impending, and Maya wants to know how he and her Mom hooked up.
In a heart felt moment Will tells Maya, "I forgot to tell you the happy ending to the storyYou." Beneath it all, "Definitely, Maybe" is about the things that really matter in life.As Will's story begins, it is 1992 and University of Wisconsin graduate Will is heading to New York to work at the Bill Clinton Campaign Headquarters.
man, im going to get my mates to watch this.Definitely one of the worst films ever, maybe the worst of all time.I thought better of Rachel Weiss as well, and although Isla Fisher is cute and I think has a nice rom-com future in front of her, i wish they had both stayed well clear of this work!.
I know what every romantic comedy looks like these days: they're sappy and corny and, although they're "feel good", they're generally not that funny and the acting and writing makes you want to gag.This movie, despite what you, and I, may have thought going into the theater, isn't that at all.
It becomes a story of "How He Met Her Mother" as he recounts past girlfriends Emily (Elizabeth Banks), April (Isla Fisher), and Summer (Rachel Weisz).It's a different kind of rom-com.
Finally, a romantic comedy that breaks the boundaries of clichéd romantic flicks and has enjoyable characters, a plot that is exciting, mysterious and funny and with plenty of twists to justify the genre that is often slated for it's predictability.Ryan Reynolds (Just Friends) stars as Will Hayes, a middle aged man who is coming close to a divorce and when his daughter asks about her mother, Will takes a look back at the past years of his life.Don't judge the film by the trailer because there is so much more on offer.
Though the trailer for the film would give a sense of predictability and humour, the film was a delightful surprise with its great precise dialogue and dramatic scenarios, giving an account of true realism, of real life and its complications with married people, and couples.The plot is consistent with excellent twists and turns as Will dives deep into his relationship past, and there is always that great creativity about who it could be.Unlike a lot of other rom-coms, this 2008 film actually invites the audience into it, trying to make them guess and wonder who Will may end up with, and who the mother of Mai could be, which makes the film very unique and rather not the same old "Will he get it together with her?" There are a few clichés there, but still it maintains a more realistic drama approach to differ it which made me enjoy it.There are a few great one liners and a few chucklesome moments, not as funny as other romantic comedies, but that isn't the point of this film.
While I had read that it was "accused" of trying too much to be Love Actually/About a Boy, I think this remark misses the point, which is that all three are fundamentally feel-good movies and that supersedes any such feeling of similarity - which, to my mind, is surely there, but does not harm the experience whatsoever."Definitely, Maybe" is about a dad (Will) who is getting divorced, his young daughter (Maya) and three of the girls Will had cared about in the past (code-named Summer, April and Emily).
The supporting cast are brilliant, especially Abigail Breslin and Isla Fisher.I really enjoyed this movie, it's definitely better than most romantic comedies I've seen in the past year and it's not clichéd.
This mixed with genuine amounts of humor separates Definitely, Maybe from the rest of the films in this genre that are usually so generic.Set in present time, father Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) tells the story of the three women he loved in his life to his daughter, Maya Hayes (Abigail Breslin), while she tries to uncover which one of them is her mum.
This movie is about Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), a 38 year old father who is in the middle of getting a divorce, when his 10 year old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin) asks him about how he and her mother met.
The movie weaves an intricate and pretty realistic set of scenarios (although all of them together seems a bit far-fetched) on how men and women decide to enter and eventually exit relationships.As the story moves its way through the film, the viewer is introduced to a myriad of attractive and unique female supporting cast members, played by Elizabeth Banks (Emily/Sarah), Rachel Weisz (Summer/Natasha) and the eventual owner of Will's heart, the immensely sexy Isla Fisher (April).The writing and directing of Adam Brooks sucks the viewer into the narration just as much as young Maya.
He is played by Ryan Reynolds, most famous for his role as Van Wilder, but surprisingly good as a romantic lead, and the movie is about him telling the story of how he met his wife (from whom he is getting a divorce) to his young daughter (Abigail Breslin).