Definitely, Maybe (Widescreen)
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 Great Film for Dads and Pre-teen Daughters to Watch Together I bought the film after overhearing a 10 year old girl describe it to another 10 year old in the aisle at Walmart. Sounded like a good movie to watch with my 10 year old too. And it was, for we both enjoyed it, including mom too. Very good film for the middle school age family to watch together.  Funniest Lines Came From Maya This was billed as a romantic comedy but I didn't find it anywhere near a comedy. Maya delivers the best comedic, if not the only, comedic lines. That being said, it was a nice family film. Will is reluctant to talk about his past because it's "complicated" and Maya is tired of hearing "it's complicated". Finally, the two make a truce and Will shares his life's story--romance wise--with as much innocence as he can muster up. But as the story unfolds, it's not Maya that gets a lesson in life, but Will. Some consider the character of Will to be rather dull, but you have to remember that he's supposed to be depressed. He'd gotten burned so many times in his relationships--his best friend, his girlfriends, his job--that he's all but given up on finding true happiness. When his daughter tells him he needs to get happy again, he tries to tell her that he is--that he has her, but wise beyond her years, she sets him straight. She loves that he feels she's the best thing that ever happened to him, but she knows he needs more, he deserves more. If you spend your life doing everything for your children and find that you aren't as happy as you'd like to be and worry that doing things for you--to make you happy--could hurt your children's happiness, then you must take a queue from Maya and find happiness because when you are happy, so are your children. Once Upon a Time..... "Once upon a time, before e-mail and cell phones and TV reality shows" - Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) in DEFINITELY MAYBE Once upon a time we all fell in love and we know and remember how good it felt. All of our senses were piqued and we thought that this love or even any of our loves would last forever. For some of us that was true and we were the lucky ones and for others...well let us say that they were not so lucky; but most of them kept looking, hoping to find their soul mate or what they wanted to believe was the "real thing". In the sweet romantic comedy DEFINITELY MAYBE, Albert Brooks has directed and written a winner. The movie sends a message to children of divorce which is heart felt; yet I don't believe that the movie is necessarily one for children. Maybe it is one for our grown up children, now adults, or others who may have gone through a divorce in their family and still somehow are trying to cope with the loss. Brooks has quite a few films like BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON, WIMBLETON, AND FRENCH KISS. But this little gem is different and an intelligent study into the history of love (for better or for worse). While watching the film, I wondered how would you ever tell your daughter a historic rendition of your love life or tell her a bit about all of your leading ladies in your life if you were a father of a 10 year old girl (Maya Hayes) who in this movie is played by Abigail Breslin . This is exactly what happened. For those of you not familiar with the young Ms. Breslin, she played a role in the movie LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. When one thinks of the prospect of relating such a history, the viewer has to feel a bit of trepidation for Will Hayes because along with this narrative will be revealed all of the bewildering aspects of life which are part of being in love. And you have to love our tormented father, because he tells the story in such a way so as not to destroy his daughter's belief in the power of love, and not to deprive her of a happy ending. He does not want her not to believe that there is a soul mate out there or at least even a not so perfect spouse who is in every sense still just right for her. One thing Will tried to not do was to shatter her dreams by relating all of the ugly truths that are part of life; but some of those fell out along the way. One of Maya's revelations was when she said, "Dad, I can't believe you smoked, you drank, and you were a slut." Some of us might think that this is quite the language for a nice 10-year-old girl and some might think it was funny. But this sort of language and some of the other innuendoes may make this not a film for your children; but you have to be the judge. There is a lot of flashback in the movie and one has to believe that these present day characters were about 10 - 15 years younger at the time. It is a stretch but when you watch a movie you are always drawn into this kind of make believe so you are easily strung along. Will (Ryan Reynolds) goes though his litany of failed or uncompleted loves and one has to wonder how he managed to afford the tokens of love which he produced. It is all in good fun and in the right spirit and is an intelligent probing of why folks fall in love and with whom and at what time in their lives. Emily, Summer, April or any other names that mark the passages of love in one's life would be appropriate for all of us; and these names could be interchanged with male ones if a woman and the story would still be anyone's story. Any one of us could probably tell similar tales which we have buried somewhere deep in our psyche; what makes this movie nice is that it puts it all out there for you to be able to let go of what might have been and seize the moment of what is. Like our protagonist says, " Once upon a time..... Recommend: B- Bentley/2008 I just finished watching it.... Wow, what a great movie. I havent seen such a heart-felt romantic comedy in so many years and this really jumpstarted that romantic side of heart that's been dying to see a good romantic comedy. This movie is simply superb in execution and performance... touching and funny in all the right places and I never once felt bored despite its seemingly long duration. I thought of doing some internet surfing but couldnt bear to tear my eyes away and miss those good moments, and there are many. I would rate this on the top of my list for romantic comedies. I hope we see more of Ryan Reynolds because I liked him a lot in 2 guys and a girl and a pizza joint. The actresses were all memorable and amazing (especially Isla Fisher). Anyways, you cant go wrong with this one when you want to make your heart warm a little. | |||||||||||||
