Definitely, Maybe (Widescreen)

This is a little bit more than the basic 'How I met your mother' movie. The basic set up has soon to be divorced Will, explaining the story of how he met his 10 year old daughter, Maya's, mother. The start of Will's tale is from just before his big life jump off point just after college, where he moved to NYC to work on the 92 Clinton campaign.

The story moves along using the big relationship points of Will's 3 biggest girl friend relationships. Starting with his college sweetheart, Emily, to his coworker April and intellectual partner Summer. But to keep Maya guessing, all the names are changed and she has to keep guessing as to how it all happened.

Maya works as part narrator, part character to keep the story moving with interjections and running commentary. The other women here keep things moving when Will gets bogged down as each one drops out and pops back up at several points in his life. Once Maya finally discovers who her mother is in the story, it takes a fast paced turn back to the state of Will's current love life. Will and Maya then go try and find the one woman from his past who they both think will make him, in the end, happy again.

The '08 release `Definitely, Maybe' is a delightful and charming tale tailor made for the boyish wit and vulnerability of Ryan Reynolds in the role of Will Hayes, the soon to be divorced Father of ten year old Maya (Abigail Breslin).Little Maya talks her Dad into sharing the story of how he met her Mother one evening and with the telling of his story the storyline unfolds.

Maya soon discovers that life and romance can be a complicated matter and love can be cyclic and unpredictable. More than one woman has caught the attention of Will Hayes and since he has cleverly changed the names of the women in his confessional account May has to wait and see which one turns out to be her Mom. As she listens intently she can only hope that there will be a happy ending to look forward to.

While the mere presence of Ryan Reynolds in the cast of any film is always a set in the right direction he is not the only standout in this production. The cast includes another personal favorite, Kevin Kline, along with numerous talented and attractive performers. With so talented a cast complimented by a superior script and some sharp and clever dialogue you have a can't miss evening of viewing ahead.

As a guy, I have high demands for my chick flicks. Something like the predictable tripe that was 27 Dresses makes me want to retreat into a self-induced coma. However, films like Love, Actually and Notting Hill were exceptionally well written and real. Definitely, Maybe follows in the same tradition of quality, if not pattern. I found alot of myself in the character portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, who as an actor, I have always been on the fence concering his acting range. Not anymore. He gives a truly emotional and grounded performance here. The female leads are pitch-perfect as well. To me, Isla Fisher is a standout. You can't help but fall in love with her.

If you like your chick flicks to have a little substance, and a dash of realistic characters, check this one out. It is NOT a LIFETIME movie of the week, thank God!

Is Ryan Reynolds capable of making a bad movie? I am sure he must have somewhere, but I have yet to see one. And this film may be the best one yet. All three of the leading ladies were good, with Isla Fisher pitch perfect. And young Abigail Breslin will surely be a gem for decades to come.

A good comedy shows us things about human nature and truth. It is no accident that the only great writer who appears in any of Plato's Dialogues is Aristophanes [in the Symposion]. Even the ancient Greeks understood this simple fact- that comedy can teach the deeper truths about humanity far better than drama. This comedy goes far beyond the usual cheap Hollywood formula to truly explore what happens as people fall into and out of love- and perhaps how real love begins. This is not about winning or losing at love- rather it is about how our character is what makes love possible- or impossible. In short, this film really explores that part of human nature that is entertwined with romance. Aristophanes would have approved.

So this actually is a romantic comedy that does not follow the standard formula. Yet, despite the premise, it DOES have a happy ending.

...as much as I love Notting Hill and Love Actually but I found the pace of the movie slow and found myself not caring about the characters as I had in other films. I hope we get to see more of Ryan Reynolds as he is a solid actor but the plot just didn't move me.