"Definitely, Maybe" is a near-miss in terms of a "love definitely, maybe conquers all" genre vehicle. I blame the casting of Ryan Reynolds for some of the problems with the film's premise (Reynolds plays William, who relates to his daughter Maya the story of how he met her mother of his child in the face of divorce, while turning it into a mystery to engage his daughter's curiousity). Reynolds just seems a little out of his depth to deal with this material, and it's apparent as he is surrounded by a nice cast (Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, and Kevin Kline) that makes his performance stick out like a sore thumb in spots. After recounting the relationships that led up to Maya being born, the film takes much too long to wrap it up than it should have, which lends itself to a fatigueing finish, and undermines the script's momentum it built up for the first 3/4 of the film. But, even though the film is probably 10 minutes too long, it's not a bad film, just not a film that's going to sweep you off your feet in terms of its romantic dramedy premise.
I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.
I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.
