Lets's face it, the rom-com has not been the most original of genres in recent years, so it comes as something of a breath of fresh air when a film arrives with something more of a fresh approach. Definitely, Maybe starts with Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) about to sign divorce papers and telling his young daughter the story of his romantic history with the names changed and seeing if she can work out which one of three candidates is actually her mum.
Reynolds shows again that he's a far more talented performer than most of the material he's had to work with and makes a very entertaining and watchable leading man. The three women in his life are all good in different ways - Elizabeth Banks as childhood sweetheart Emily, Rachel Weisz as good as you'd expect as aspiring journalist Summer, but the real standout is from Isla Fisher (Wedding Daze, Wedding Crashers) giving us another of the cute oddballs she's coming to specialise in. There's an unusual depth to the cast for a rom-com as well - Kevin Kline comes close to stealing the whole movie whenever he's on screen as the drunken writer Hampton Roth. It also doesn't hurt that the daughter in question is Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin.
Its not totally original - there's a whole book inscription thing which is lifted from Serendipity (but if you're going to steal, steal from the best). And the audience will work out long before Will does who he's supposed to be with (but then, as his 11 year old also does, this in kind of the point). And along the way there are a few twists and turns and red herrings that keep things interesting.
Overall - 3.5/5 Its that little bit more orginal, smarter and funnier than the average rom-com, which makes it well-worth watching for some undemanding, but worthwhile entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment