johnlink ranks DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008)
So our honeymoon cruise brought one day of seasickness which brought one afternoon in bed watching the in-room movie. I was going to take a nap, but the movie sucked me in (unexpectedly) after listening for the first five or so minutes. On a side note, the word ‘definitely’ is my nemesis. I will never remember how to spell it correctly. Ever. I have tried everything. And it would not suck nearly as much if I didn’t use it so prominently in writing. Anyway…
DEFINITELY, MAYBE is about a recently divorced father (Ryan Reynolds) telling the story of his lovelife to his young daughter (Abigail Breslin).
I watched DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2008) aboard the MSS Norwegian Dawn on 6.6.09. It was my first viewing of the film.
NOTE: THIS RANKING UTILIZES THIS SITE’S ORIGINAL SYSTEMIC ARTICLE WRITING METHOD. THE METHOD BY WHICH THE RANKINGS WERE ARRIVED AT, HOWEVER, REMAINS THE SAME.
FILM
Actually, this movie is somewhat unique. It is a sort of love story/mystery with the father not revealing to his daughter which of his lovers is her mother until the end. I thought that was cool. Also, and damn, I didn’t think a spoiler alert would be neccessary for a romantic comedy but, SPOILER ALERT, the movie actually has some nice things to say about how happily ever after can come after a divorce. As a piece of filmic showmanship, however, it is nothing new. SCORE: 5
MOVIE
True ringing endorsement of the day: Watching this movie is better than taking a nap! But seriously, it has many less laughs than your typical romcom, but it actually has more heart (reminded me of STORY OF US in that way). I found this to be a fun movie to watch once. SCORE: 6
ACTING
This is a nicely acted piece. The women (especially Isla Fisher who is wonderfully playful in this) are allowed to be whole individuals, which sometimes gets lost in a movie where a guy is choosing between several potential mates. There are points where you could see all of them being perfect for him, and all of them being terrible for him. Also, a fun supporting role by Kevin Kline, who could make me laugh all day. SCORE: 7
WRITING:
As previously mentioned, I give this movie credit for mixing mystery with romantic comedy. Would like it better if a major character didn’t say, in the first five minutes, ‘Oh, so it’s like a romantic mystery.’ Yeah. I got it already. But thanks for the hint Captain Obvious. Maybe next time you could mention the page number the script is on in casual conversation so I could know how much movie is left.
But, I did like a lot of the dialogue. The situations are fun, and not forced, and the women are written very well. It’s an above average script, but not by a lot. SCORE: 6
FINAL TALLY
FILM: 5; MOVIE: 6; ACTING: 7; WRITING: 6
5+6+7+6+0=24
FINAL SCORE: 6
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