MOVIE NIGHT
DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008)
While the storyline of romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe will immediately make you think of the popular TV series How I Met Your Mother, the film is a warm-hearted and fun chick flick with a convincing cast at its core and a plotline that will keep you guessing until the very end. Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is a thirty-something political consultant and dad who finds himself in the middle of a bitter divorce. His ten-year-old daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) decides it is the perfect time for her father to tell her about his past romances and how her mum and he got together in the first place. This brings back all kinds of memories for Will, starting when he first arrived in New York City in 1992, hoping to work on the Bill Clinton presidential campaign. During his time in New York, he got together with three completely different women: girl-next-door and college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), the best friend with always an ear to listen April (Isla Fisher) and ambitious journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz). In order to keep his daughter guessing, Will changes the names and shares all the tricky and happy parts of falling in love, breaking up, and finding the one you want to spend your life with.
While the storyline has a similar premise to How I Met Your Mother, the concept is perfect for the romantic comedy film genre. Director Adam Brooks wrote the screenplay for the film himself, and he has come up with a captivating and fun film which I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. The actors have been chosen well, with great chemistry between Abigail Breslin and Ryan Reynolds as the father-daughter couple, and three very different actresses (Fisher, Banks, Weisz) playing the three women in the main character's life. I found it difficult not to fall in love with this story, which had me guessing until the end, wondering who Maya's mother is but also who Will eventually ends up with. Definitely, Maybe is a sweet, warm-hearted and genuine film; a rom com that includes all the necessary elements for a perfect girls' night in!
Movie reviewed by Jody Hoekstra