Definitely, Maybe

A fun romantic-comedy. Not among the best but we all know how hard it is to make a fresh romantic comedy. This had a few twists, though, such as having much of the action take place during Bill Clinton’s first Presidential campaign, providing at least an interesting background story. The conceit of the mystery of the identity of Ryan Reynold’s character’s true love was OK, though a bit clunky as a plot device. Still, Adam Brooks, the writer and director, (previous credits as writer include Practical Magic and Wimbledon), did a nice job of keeping the mystery going and keeping the true lovers apart until the end. Occasionally a little over-directed, particularly in the flashy beginning, and the music was heavy-handed at times (but very nice use of Otis Redding at one point).

Ryan Reynolds very effective here; like Paul Rudd, when he sticks to what he’s best at (comedy) he is excellent. Few can do sarcasm as well (again, Paul Rudd comes to mind, as well as Matthew Perry), but in this film, his sarcasm is held in check for the most part, unfortunately, making his character more likable but less funny.

It looked like we weren’t going to get the requisite KISS but at the last moment we got it – sexy, too, with Isla Fisher straddling him with her legs. They have nice chemistry, these two. I’d like to see them in another comedy.

Brooks recycles (or “borrows”) the idea of a book having sentimental value from Serendipity and that lack of originality kept the book and what it represents from having the emotional punch it could have.