Maybe "review" is a little bit of a strong word. But at any rate, last night Eric and I had our first date night in ages, and we went to see Definitely, Maybe. I hadn't seen any of the previews, and knew nothing about it, but Eric chose it because of Valentine's Day, and I trusted his decision.
Wow. The last time I remember enjoying a movie this much, based just on the conversation between characters, was when I was a freshman at Western Kentucky and there was a free screening of Before Sunrise with Ethan Hawke. I loved this movie! Here are the basics:
Definitely, Maybe is about this little 8-9 year old girl who is distraught because her parents are getting a divorce. It is her dad's night to keep her, and the little girl asks the dad to "tell her the story of how he fell in love." In the beginning, the little girl thinks that if her daddy will just revisit his love story with her mom, then he can resurrect the old feelings again and prevent the divorce.
What surprised everyone, (the audience included)however, was that this guy's love story was much more complicated than that, as sometimes people manage to end up very far from where they had expected to be.
OK, maybe not the most romantic "committed marriage" movie out there, but what I found to be so endearing was the fact that the characters were complicated, real, and more than just casually entangled. Real, believably developed characters are hard to find in romantic comedies anymore! There were true love stories interwoven in the plot, and then some attractions that fizzled as quickly as they began.
Most noteworthy, though, is the fact that this movie asks the timeless question again, "Is there just one right person for everyone, or are there several people for whom we each may be suited?" I used to argue my answer to that question endlessly with my Papaw. He would have enjoyed this movie. We sure did.
*Bonus fun feature: The main character is a political speechwriter. When we first meet him, he's working on the Clinton campaign in '92. The movie is full of fun "Clintonisms," ie, defining "is," etc.
