Reviews by Matt

The things I do for this paper.

Each week I write at least two movie reviews and put them in the paper so that the pages in my section are not blank.

I have been to good movies, bad movies, and some really really bad movies (I’m talking to you “The Invisible”).

I have seen action, drama, comedy, moving performances, slap stick routines, truth, fiction and even ‘based on true events” movies.

Never have I gone to see a romantic comedy.

I did it was for a couple reasons, one was because the previous week I had taken part in the first “Editor Showdown” and had
just watched two sappy romantic comedies.

I also thought the movie in question looked good and different then all the other romantic comedies I had seen and I actually liked just about everyone in the cast.

I saw “Definitely, Maybe” because it was about damn time I reviewed a romantic comedy.



Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is an advertising executive in New York City. His life is not what he wanted it to be, he is going through a divorce, but the one good thing in his life is his daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin). One night she asks Will to tell her the story of how he met her mother. Will is reluctant at first, but gives in. He changes the name and Maya has to figure out which one his mother is.

The three candidates are Emily (Elizabeth Banks), the girlfriend Will leaves for a chance to work for the Bill Clinton campaign in New York City, April (Isla Fisher), a woman he meets while working at the campaign and Summer (Rachel Weisz), Emily’s former college roommate who Will is told to deliver a package to.

I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. I have gone on the record and in The Record (get it?) proclaiming my distaste for the genre. This movie might have turned that around.

I actually really liked the movie.

Believe me, I am still coming to terms with that.

It was a good story and something not seen in the genre.

The idea of telling a love story this way made it that much better.

It is not a question of when he is going to end up with the girl, it is a question of which of them is Maya’s mother.

That is what I liked. It is, as Maya says, “a love story mystery.”

One of the strengths is Breslin. She may have a small part since the majority of the movie is devoted to the story, but she makes the most of her screen time.

Breslin made her debut in last year’s independent hit “Little Miss Sunshine,” a role that earned her an Oscar nomination.

She may not get a nomination for this, but she is still pretty damn good. She brings a smart attitude to Maya. She is a girl who may be young, but she knows how to deal with her dad.

They play off one another very well and the chemistry between them shows when they are on screen.

I was taken completely by surprise by this movie. It was one of the better films I have seen in a while. Even I was surprised by my reaction to it. I was hoping that this would prove my dislike of romantic comedies was warranted, but sadly I may be mistaken, and that does not happen often

8 our of 10
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, including some frank dialogue, language and smoking.
112 min