Definitely, Maybe
Review
by Sean Lynch
You
know when you
go to a local hamburger joint (where they cook with real mince
&
vegetables bought from the market earlier in the day) and it just blows
you away when you compare it to a McDonald's burger?
Definitely, Maybe (and, pretty much anything else from
Working Title's back catalogue for that matter) is that Local
Joint burger. Extremely familiar, but substantially more flavoursome
& unique than the factory line of Big Macs.
Ryan
Reynolds stars here as Will Hayes, a 30-something Manhattan dad in the
midst of a divorce who is soon questioned by his 10 year-old daughter
(Abigail Breslin) about the birds and the bees. Questions begin to
flow, and soon Will finds himself in the position of revealing to his
daughter about his life & loves before marriage. But, as we all
know - and Breslin's character soon finds out - love isn't as straight
forward as it is in fairytales.
While certainly not the strongest of the Working Title rom-coms (they
are the folk behind Bridget
Jones, Love Actually, Wimbledon, etc), Definitely Maybe
is still clever enough to distinguish itself from the slew of junk that
hits cinemas every other week (I'm looking at you Queen Latifah
&
Kate Hudson!).
Director Adam Brooks (who steps up to the directors plate after
contributing to the aforementioned Wimbeldon
and Bridget Jones)
delivers a unique take on the classic rom-com formula, fusing it with a
tad of mystery and a good dose of ironic nostalgia (it's amazing how
ignorant we all were about American politicians less than 15 years ago).
Brooks
has also gathered together a top notch cast - which again - is why the
Working Title films trancend the genre they work within. Abigail
Breslin, Kevin Kline & Rachel Weisz all deliver the goods here
-
each giving the flick much needed flair. Having said that, you have to
wonder if they are simply great performances or they are just breaths
of fresh air from the mundane & shallow performance of lead
Ryan
Reynolds.
I've been a huge fan of Reynolds since he first
started out as a "Guy" in a "Pizza Place" - a youthful Jim Carrey you
might say. But he really is the only thing stopping Definitely Maybe
from entering the realm of truly classic rom-coms. It seems
the
only talents that he brings to the table is either over-act, or play
dead. And it simply doesn't work. We
need to find Will just as charming as the girls in the movie find him -
and while he often comes close - Reynolds just seems to lack the warmth
and reality the part needed. As hard as it is to say, but the guy just
comes off as a complete and utter phoney.
The real star of the film, surprisingly, is Aussie gal Isla Fischer.
The former Home
& Away
strawberry blonde has quickly risen the ranks of Hollywood (thanks
largely to being knocked up by "Borat") and delivers such an immensely
warm, endearing, cute, sexy & likable character that you can
see
that she may very well be on her way to the A-List.
While the
film runs 20 minutes to long, there is still plenty to adore about this
film. The killer early 90s soundtrack works a treat (props to Brooks
for including a Badly
Drawn Boy
tune in there as well), the film looks wonderful (but is there really
anyway to shoot New York badly?) and most importantly - it's a fresh
take on a well worn genre.
By no means as worthwhile as a healthy & individually
remarkable tasty good restaurant meal (Juno), but as far
as familiar & cheesy takeaway food goes (anything with Hugh
Grant), this is one enjoyable hamburger!
3 out
of 5
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Definitely,
Maybe
Australian release: 14th February, 2008
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Ryan Reynolds, Isla
Fisher, Rachel Weisz
Director: Adam Brooks
Movie Website: Official
Website
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