Definitely, Maybe – DVD Review

Hollywood is always looking for fresh ideas. The same 5 or 6 movies seem to get made over and over again each year with just some variations on cast, location, and other minor plot details. It’s hard to stand out from the crowd. But sometimes screenwriters are able to trick movie companies into believing that they have a fresh idea when they really don’t. You can’t judge a book by its cover and the same can be said of certain scripts, especially when it’s a romantic comedy. Definitely, Maybe looked to be an interesting and fresh take on this genre of film, but is it really?

In Definitely, Maybe, Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is a 30-something Manhattan dad in the midst of a divorce when his 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), starts to question him about his life before marriage. Maya wants to know absolutely everything about how her parents met and fell in love. Will’s story begins in 1992, as a young, starry-eyed aspiring politician who moves to New York from Wisconsin in order to work on the Clinton campaign. For Maya, Will relives his past as a idealistic young man learning the ins and outs of big city politics, and recounts the history of his romantic relationships with three very different women. On the campaign, Will’s best buddy is Russell McCormack (Derek Luke). They not only have similar political aspirations, they share the same type of girl problems, too. Will hopelessly attempts a “PG” version of his story for his daughter and changes the names so Maya has to guess who he finally married. Is her mother Will’s college sweetheart, the dependable girl next-door Emily (Elizabeth Banks)? Is she his longtime best friend and confidante, he apolitical April (Isla Fisher)? Or is she the free-spirited but ambitious journalist, Summer (Rachel Weisz)? As Maya puts together the pieces of her dad’s romantic puzzle, she begins to understand that love is not so simple or easy. And as Will tells her his tale, Maya helps him to understand that it’s definitely never too late to go back and maybe even possible to find a happy ending.

Ryan Reynolds proves to be a very capable lead here and his supporting cast of ladies, played by Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, and Rachel Weisz, all do a good job as well. They all play very different women, and they all have surprisingly good chemistry with Ryan. But for the experienced rom-com viewer, it’s still not hard to pick out which characters will end up together in the end. The most underused actress is Abigail Breslin, though. She is given very little, which is a shame since she has proven to be very good in previous films.

The story sounds like an interesting one. This is certainly an unique idea for a plot, and it mostly works if you can suspend disbelief a little bit. There are so many details in this “bedtime story” called “The Movie”, that the little girl has to keep track of, it’s sometimes hard to believe she can keep track of everything going on to pick who her mother is in the end. But that being said, this is a clever twist on the usual formulaic “romantic comedy” script. We see a love story from the guy’s point-of-view. Still there are still plenty of things that will remind that this is a romantic comedy. The twists and turns are somewhat obvious, and as mentioned before the ending is not a total surprise if you pay attention. The comedy is a little stronger than most films in this genre, but romance comes first here.

Definitely, Maybe could have been just another romantic comedy. There are definitely plenty of elements of your typical romantic comedy scattered throughout like the somewhat predictable ending and the emphasis more on romance than comedy. But overall this is an unique idea for film that at least makes Definitely, Maybe seem fresh. That’s mostly due to the strong acting throughout, but you have to credit the writers as well. Even strong romantic comedy haters might want to check this film out to see something different.

The video is given in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen color. This is your standard video for a new release DVD. No major problems at all, but nothing too impressive either.

The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French as well. The music and dialogue come out loud and clear, so no major problems here either.

Audio Commentary –
This is a full-length commentary with the director, Adam Brooks, and star, Ryan Reynolds. It is not as funny as it could have been. There is some good information here, though, but it could have been a lot more entertaining.

“Creating A Romance” Featurette –
This runs 12 minutes and it’s your standard “making of” featurette. We get comments from the cast and crew as they “pump” up the film. Nothing that special.

“The Changing Times of Definitely, Maybe” Featurette –
This runs 5 minutes and it’s all about how the film incorporates music and production design to help audiences feel like they are in each time period. This is definitely more interesting, but short.

Deleted Scenes –
There is 6 minutes worth of scenes that didn’t make the final cut of the movie. Nothing you should seek out, but there is some fun stuff in here.

Ryan Reynolds fans or fans of any of the three leading ladies will want to watch this for sure, and most likely want to purchase this. Everyone, including romantic comedy haters should give this film a chance, and it’s likely that hardcore fans of romantic comedies will decide to purchase this as well.

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Universal Studios presents Definitely, Maybe. Written and Directed by Adam Brooks. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Derek Luke, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, and Rachel Weisz. Running time: 111 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Released on DVD: June 24, 2008. Available at Amazon.com