Definitely, Maybe, for sure! What a charming, terrifically enchanting film from the makers of Notting Hill and Love Actually. Rarely is it the maker of the film that draws me in first, but Notting Hill and later, Love Actually were such outstanding movies that I picked this up without knowing the first thing about the plot, the actors or anything else about the movie and am I glad that I did!
The Story
There is so much to say about this movie that I really don’t know where to start, so let me just hit some highlights. Ryan Reynolds plays Will, he’s a dad who’s just received his divorce papers, but he’s an amiable guy trying to keep everything in perspective. He’s a man in his mid to late thirties, a little disillusioned with the world and working at a marketing firm. But that’s not the bright spot in his life, the bright spot is every Tuesday and Friday when he takes off early from work to pick up his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin in scene stealing role).
When Will arrives to pick up his daughter from school, he finds everything in chaos and when he asks another parent what is going on, they ask him if he knew the school was going to be giving a sex education class. “Aren’t they a little young?” Will asks, aghast and you see his understanding at the various parental reactions going on around him. Enter young Breslin who’s acquired some technical language for the acts, but no real context for them and she puts Dad on the spot with a lot of questions.
Fairy Tales
Maya is still struggling with the fact that her parents are getting divorced. She also wants to know how people can make babies without meaning to. But most of all, she wants to know if she was an accident and if her parents really loved each other, why were they getting divorced? The best line is when she asks her Will why he loved her mom and he says, because she was beautiful, smart and funny to which Maya retorts, does that make her ugly, stupid and boring now?
Good question.
The conversation presses on, because Maya wants to know. She wants to know how her parents met and what drew them together. Will is really on the spot here, he doesn’t necessarily want to have this conversation with his elementary aged daughter. She won’t let it go and he finally concedes. What follows is a tale that takes us back to 1992 and to the three women that left a lasting impression on Will’s life. His college sweetheart ‘Emily’(Elizabeth Banks), her friend ‘Summer ’ (Rachel Weisz), and the irascible ‘April’(Isla Fisher) – a copy girl that Will meets at the political office he works in.
The Beauty of the Story
At no point does Will make himself the star of his own story. His descriptions of the women he’s loved and their flaws which drew him in the first place are remarkable. As with Love Actually, this is an ensemble piece that’s made all the stronger for the cast it features. The relationship between Breslin and Reynolds clearly shines in their scenes. Breslin clearly understands Maya’s struggle to reconcile loving both of her parents and their loving her and each other with their divorce. She also wants them to be happy and sometimes her maturity is scary, but it’s also really touching in this film.
Ultimately, as with all fairy tales, Will assures Maya that his love story did have a happy ending. She says they are getting divorced, how could it have a happy ending?
A Happy Ending
Maya is Will’s happy ending. His love for his daughter is so real in that scene, I wanted to cry. This really is a movie that is worth watching, again and again and again. Parents, be warned there is a lot of ‘graphic’ language, but no graphic actions. Even the couples who wake up together in bed have some clothing on. It’s more the opening parts with the sex education and it’s definitely jarring to hear the kids saying some of the words (but it’s all in context).
This is definitely a good romantic watcher for couples or for ladies, definitely a chick flick night.