IS “Definitely, Maybe” the best romantic comedy released so far this year? Definitely. Should you go see it? Maybe.
If you absolutely have to see an example of this problematic genre in a theater for Valentine’s Day, “Definitely, Maybe” is an infinitely better choice than the brain-dead “Fool’s Gold” and a somewhat better one than silly “27 Dresses.”
On the plus side, “Definitely, Maybe” has an appealing cast, some amusing scenes and at least tries to do something different.
I do have some reservations about the script by writer-director Adam Brooks (who wrote the “Bridget Jones” sequel), which is overly gimmicky and over long.
Ryan Reynolds plays Will, a 30-something New York advertising executive who is being served with divorce papers at work.
That same day, he picks up his 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin of “Little Miss Sunshine”), at elementary school, where she has just had a sex class.
Somehow this leads to a lengthy bedtime story about dad’s love life over the past 15 years, which consists primarily of being dumped repeatedly by the same three women.
Will doesn’t tell Maya which one of the women is her mother, but that’s not very hard to guess. It’s even easier to figure out who will turn out to be Will’s soul-mate, whom he pursues with Maya’s blessing.
If it seems strange to you that a child whose parents have just divorced would be encouraging Dad to date a woman who’s dumped him in the past, you might just want to rent a DVD of “When Harry Met Sally” instead.
“Definitely, Maybe” borrows liberally from that movie, most notably in the early scenes where Ryan is a volunteer working in Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in a sketchily evoked 1992 New York City.
A fidelity pledge to his college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks) back in Wisconsin is tested when he meets her former roommate (and possibly more, Will incredibly tells his daughter) a more worldly aspiring writer named Summer (Rachel Weisz).
And then there’s April, an apolitical and somewhat ditzy campaign worker played by Isla Fisher. She gets most of the movie’s best scenes during April’s on-and-off relationship with Will, whose fortunes in politics wane with Clinton’s (in a movie with political timing that couldn’t be stranger).
The other top scenes belong to Kevin Kline, amusing in an extended cameo as Summer’s drunken mentor, a college professor and writer. He fares better than Derek Luke in the thankless role of Will’s best friend. Reynolds, a handsome actor with a dubious resumé (“Van Wilder,” “The Amityville Horror”), holds his own with the three adult actresses, though he seems uncomfortable in his contrived scenes with Breslin, who in one scene calls him a “slut.”
“Definitely, Maybe” is sponsored by the British rom-com factory Working Title, whose better efforts include “Three Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Love, Actually.”
This isn’t in the same league, but at least they’ve finally given up their increasingly clichéd trademark: the public declaration of love scene. Happy Valentine’s Day.
DEFINITELY, MAYBE
How they dumped your father.
Running time: 111 minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity, sexuality). At the Empire, the Chelsea, the 72nd Street, others.