No "Maybe" about it

Sweet, funny romantic comedy could be turning point for lead actor

By Mary Houlihan on February 14, 2008

Ryan Reynolds has always shown promise. The young actor proved he had a comedic spark in the mediocre television series Two Guys and a Girl, as well as forgettable movies like Van Wilder, Waiting ... and Just Friends. Unfortunately, that spark never quite ignited bigger things.



Appealing to the frat-boy crowd, Reynolds always went for the big laughs, the over-the-top joke that was pretty much a turnoff and often made him look like an imbecile. Now it seems he’s finally decided to grow up. He’s hitting his mark in more mature roles that will undoubtedly take him into a new phase of his career. Who knew that crazy Van Wilder guy could act?



As the lead in director Adam Brooks’ bittersweet romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, he finally steps into a character that perfectly fits his comedic talents. Reynolds’ low-key demeanor and perfect comic timing are a joy to watch in what just may be his breakthrough performance. Could he be walking in the footsteps of Tom Hanks?



Will Hayes (Reynolds) is a thirty-something advertising whiz in the final stages of a divorce. In a particularly funny scene, the story gets underway when Will picks up his 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), who, after her first sex-ed lesson, is full of embarrassing questions. She insists he tell her about the women he went out with before her mom.



Will reluctantly agrees to tell her about his past loves, but he changes their names, and Maya must guess which one is her mother. Maya refers to it as a “love story/mystery.” Is her mom Will’s college sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks)? Or is she April (Isla Fisher), his apolitical best friend? Or perhaps Summer (Rachel Weisz), a free-spirited, ambitious journalist?



In flashbacks stretching over 15 years, Will re-examines his past and hopes for the future. The flashbacks begin in 1992, as Will leaves Madison, Wis., for New York to work on the Clinton presidential campaign. Brooks uses these witty sequences as a backdrop to Will’s life. (Kevin Kline has fun in a role as an outspoken political analyst.)



The three women come and go and seem to cause more angst than joy. At one point, Maya scolds her dad as he recounts his romances: “I can’t believe you smoked and drank and were such a slut. But I still love you.”



Breslin is a luminous actress whose sweet demeanor could have presented a saccharine-laced problem in an adult love story. But the director keeps her at bay, wisely letting the adult actors fill out the story.



Reynolds is charming, vulnerable and completely at home in the comedic moments, but his dramatic range pales compared to the talents of the three actresses who play against him. That said, it’s pretty great to see the potential he demonstrates here as he allows himself to morph into a sensitive, likable guy of romantic comedy.



At one point, Will admits his goal is “to be a real man instead of the boy-man that I seem to be.” It seems to be a statement coming from Ryan Reynolds, the actor, as well.

Definitely, Maybe

★★★

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz

Director: Adam Brooks

Rated: PG-13 for sexual content including some frank dialogue, language and smoking