Definitely, Maybe

Definitely, Maybe

Directed by Adam Brooks (PG)

A father turns his dating years into a bedtime story for his 10-year-old daughter.

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Definitely, Maybe definitely works as a romantic comedy but aspires to be something more, said A.O. Scott in The New York Times. Unlike most works in this genre, Adam Brooks’ film dares to “navigate the choppy waters of modern courtship with commendable, understated honesty.” Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is a soon-to-be-divorced father whose 10-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), begins asking some big questions after attending sex-education class. So he gives her “a slightly edited, PG-13 version” of his romantic history and leaves her to guess which woman would become her mother. The film unfolds as an extended flashback, which takes us back to a “simpler time,” known as the 1990s, said Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon.com. Using the Clinton presidency as a backdrop, Definitely, Maybe becomes the “first midlife crisis movie for Generation X.” As Will struggles to find love, he transforms from “a Nirvana-listening, Clinton-campaign-working idealist” to a jaded, divorced ad exec. The film ultimately turns into “an elegy for idealism, both political and personal,” said Christopher Kelly in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Heady and full of heartbreak, it acknowledges the anguish necessary to find love and forge a sense of self.