Saturday, March 22, 2008

Definitely, Definitely

I went to see Definitely, Maybe one night last week. The film had already been open for about five weeks and I my expectations weren't that high.

I like Ryan Reynolds but the fact he was in it, plus the way it was advertised and the fact it opened on Valentine's Day made me expect something a bit cheesy and silly and I was okay with that.

Wow, was I wrong. I loved this movie. The characters were real. The dialogue rang true. And the writer really pulled off the mystery love story thing. As many times as I tried to guess who he'd end up with and the few times I thought I was right, the writer flipped it again and again. Nice to see Reynolds in a more serious role. His boyish charm and wit still showed through, but his character was a devoted single dad and deeply romantic and responsible, as opposed to the perpetual boy type characters he usually tends to play.

And the other performances were really good, too. The only one I wasn't sure about was Elizabeth Banks... but Rachel Weisz and Isla Fisher were both great--you could really understand why he fell in love with both women--as were all the supporting characters. Kevin Kline does an amazing small part in this movie. Really great. But he's almost always great. Another minor character of note was played by Liane Balaban. Her part in this was tiny and not all that interesting, I guess... but so nice to see her in a bigger film. Her debut, in a film called New Waterford Girl was nothing short of astounding to me. Love that movie. If you want a quirky cool rental, try it. Probably won't find it at your corner video store in the US, (it was an independent Canadian film), but at a specialty video store or netflicks should have it. And in case I haven't talked you into seeing New Waterford Girl, yet... Andrew McCarthy is in it. :-) And it's set in the 70's -- so great music... But I'm showing my age with both of those arguments, I guess.

Looking through the writer/director Adam Brooks' list of screenplay credits... I think I have a new hero. And, he's from Toronto. How cool is that? I had no idea going in. He did the second Bridget Jones movie, which was pretty good considering how silly the second book was, and Wimbledon which I thought was so smart for a rom com staring Kirsten Dunst (another low expectations, nice surprise film for me) and The Invisible Circus, (a little seen movie, in spite of Cameron Diaz being in it, but I really liked having read the book), and French Kiss (which might explain how he got Kevin Kline to do a small part in this new movie) and Practical Magic and Beloved.

Very interesting list of screenplay writing credits. All smart films that rose above genre -- or in the case of Beloved, defied genre.

Has anyone else seen Definitely, Maybe? Did it work for you?

6 comments:

The Girl You Used to Know said...

absolutely loved it. it is a must buy for me when it hits DVD. LOVED it.

I knew who he should pick and was certain I was right, but, like you, I felt each woman really had something special about her that made his character fall for him. It was a fab movie all around.

Maureen McGowan said...

I hoped it was her, too... But a few times the writer made me think I was wrong. Love that.

Kimber Chin said...

Haven't seen Definitely
but I did see Awake during yesterday's freebie night at the new AMC.

I think that qualifies for the worst movie I've ever seen. It makes Yor, Hunter From the Future look like high art.

It wasn't scary. It wasn't gross. The actors were trying so hard, I couldn't even laugh.

Yep, so bad, I wanted a refund.

Wylie Kinson said...

I Definitely (Maybe?) want to see it, but here's my reality -- two kids, no family in the area, which means no handy babysitters... so I choose my movies based on whether they need to be a big-screen experience or not.
It'll be a DVD rental for me!

Louisa Edwards said...

I haven't seen it yet, but you've convinced me. As if HOTTIE Ryan Reynolds wasn't enough incentive already. I heart him, big time. All that pretty, plus he's hilarious.

L.A. Mitchell said...

Kimber,
I just saw Awake, too. Not sure why I punished myself getting to the end, but it was brutally awful.

I need to stick close to Maureen's suggestions :)

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