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Lingo - Bingo

7.02.2009

Definitely, Maybe: Mysteriously Romantic

Every romantic comedy has the 'meet cute' where boy first connects with girl; Definitely, Maybe has the 'meet cute,' but it also has all the things that can come after -- the uncomfortable moments, the comforts of sadness, the ugly partings, the hard-won reconciliations. In the real world, after all, people split-up, sleep around and fall in love too soon, too late or too often. But this is more than a romantic comedy as the director succeeds in integrating the charms of 90’s with the screenplay. It has a razor-sharp political satire with Bill Clinton’s fortunes serving Ryan as a barometer and incorporates the evolution of Mobile phones, Internet. The big thing, which made me associate with this film, was it's from the guy’s point of view. This film journeys into the unfamiliar territory of men and their emotions. Any guy doesn’t want women to know that they have a side like that but the script mostly doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. It doesn't paint the hero as some perfect, hapless man undone by random chance; he makes mistakes, and he pays for them, and he tries to set things right.



It begins with the divorcing dad Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), cajoled by his young daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) into telling her the story of how he met and fell in love with her mother. He tells her a bed-time, slightly edited, PG-13 version of the story of his life which is more than the story of how he met her mother; it’s also the story of his life. Like any parent Will wants to tell his daughter the truth without subjecting her to unnecessary cynicism and so he shields names and details that she can't figure out which of the three women (Emily, Summer or April) came to be her mother.



I was capitulated to the idea of mysterious romantic comedy where we don't quite know who the mother is. As Hayes explains the winding road of what happened with subtle humor, I’m caught up with it as the plot thickens, it also took little twists which were good as well and there's also a bit of guessing for the audience too, like the little girl, keen to know who among the three will be her mother. I loved the interplay between Ryan and his on-screen daughter. Her charming chemistry with Ryan, in between “awe cute” moments, is what drives the movie. The script isn't belly-laugh funny but it has its moments. Ryan Reynolds is a solid enough lead, with enough comic talent to keep things ticking over. He is normally light and pleasant enough on the screen; his charming smile brings out inner feelings.



The film’s female cast members- Elizabeth Banks as Emily, the polite, perennial college sweetheart; Rachel Weisz as Summer, Emily’s friend, the stimulating, slightly dangerous intellectual who's into much older men and Isla Fisher (April), the photocopy girl who bickers and banters with him at the New York campaign headquarters of Bill Clinton are pitch perfect. Each women persona is unique and they bring out something different into Will. The people change and they have their worst moments, but our mind doesn’t trade the B word at them. I loved Fisher’s character more as she grows from someone who is completely devoid of any direction or purpose into a real woman, complete with self-esteem was a nice touch. Kevin Kline as Hampton was an absolute delight for Weisz’s older lover character, a booze hound man of letters.




But the little girl scores bigger than all the characters as she brought a lot to this movie, without her this would not have been a good movie. She was fabulous and was normal, just a kid, not going overboard in thoughts that we look in Indian films. Few of her one-liners like "everybody knows the girlfriend at the beginning of the story gets dumped" evoke laughter and "Wait, stop, What if I don't like my mom?" brings heartrending feel. A lot of credit goes to Writer/Director Adam Brooks for perfect casting and smart script, surprising viewers with a mix of good humor and melodrama. The end of the movie is too good but I won't go into that here. See the movie and I think you'll enjoy it.




The film is not free from flaws as I was interested to know the reasons for Ryan’s divorce, if that information had come in the form of few lines. It is not a perfect film or having a stand at Oscars, but you want a complete, clean entertainer, keeps you enjoyable for two hours, see this movie. Those who had been in and out of some significant relationships, this will hit close to home, in a positive way. Mail me if u need the torrent!!



Mr. Critic 5-Star: ****



Thanks!! Keep Visiting!!

9 Droplets:

Arc said...

You seem to be very kind when you review movies:P Nice one, this:) ven't watched this one thou:)

Karthik said...

Am not kind Arc, but the problem is I'm seeing too much of good films and I cannot collect a word other than RUBBISH for the bad films!! :)

Karthik said...

thanks karthik.. gonna watch this week end.. am alone anyway.. :)

Unknown said...

Good review!! :) What more you wanna me say?? :P

Priya Joyce said...

Brain shakin :P:P review lol

vinny said...

hmmmm...now gotta watch this!!

thanks for this comprehensive review :)

kanagu said...

Will see it soon.. its in my PC :)

@ ARC

if you want to see the thrashing reviews of him.. go and read his tamil blog :)

except Ayan nothing will be in good books :)

Karthik said...

@ Karthik, Ajai, PJ, Vinnie, Kanagu:

Thanks!! Keep Dropping!!

Unknown said...

Im gonna watch this movie too..