REVIEW: Refreshing rom-com

Definitely, Maybe

In a nutshell:
I have been very hateful of last year's romantic comedies, especially that atrocity called No Reservations. So basically, this one is very much a welcome breath of fresh air.

Story
Definitely, Maybe's story is one that goes loop de loop without scaring the viewer because the guy (William Hayes) actually has a really crazy love life. And why would he talk about his love life? Who'd be fascinated by that? Well, it's of course, his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) who hasn't met her mother.

Sounds familiar? Well, it should! And that's because it's almost like How I Met Your Mother- without the Britney!

First, Will Hayes is head-over-heels with Emily, but when he goes to New York in hoping to achieve his political aspirations, he meets other girls. Yes, he's still in love with Emily, but a revelation occurs and they break up. This opens him up to the other girls he has met, and boy there were plenty.

But it all goes to two other girls: Summer, who is an aspiring writer with a college professor as a boyfriend, and April, who is a free spirit who loves Nirvana and wants to travel around the world.

All their lives will interconnect somehow, but you just never know what to expect next!

Cuts to the chase
Will Hayes, in his story, says that he has dated a LOT of girls before settling with Maya's mother, but only 3 became serious girlfriends namely, Emily, Summer and April. So the film does without montages and fades of Will dating various other girls in other places and goes straight to what the viewers really want. It doesn't have to procrastinate, and if there's a sequence that involves only Will Hayes and nothing else, you wouldn't mind at all because there is this weird desire for you to get to know more about its delightful characters.

Knows that it's following formula
Through the always adorable Abigail Breslin's character Maya, she tries to guess together with the audience who her real mother is, and most of the time, she knows the formula, she knows how everything goes, she thinks that her father's life is a corny rom-com, and that's actually pretty funny when you think about it. The film's writers seriously embraced the romantic-comedy formulaic-ness of it all and at times tricks the viewer because of some genuinely unpredictable moments.

Unpredictability? In a rom-com?!
Yes, indeed. There are moments when the viewer is usually caught off-guard because of some really shocking revelations. And though you'd still know who'd end up with who after all is said and done, the film generally knows the viewer and what one would expect in something like this.

Overall
I just gotta say it: the script is surprisingly expertly crafted! Actors give off more-than-adequate characterizations and you'll have to choose who to root for, and who Maya's mother is. So basically, yes, it's a guessing game in which you're invited as well. And I gotta say, it's a damn good one too!

My guilty pleasure so far is this movie. It's so damn refreshing and I like it.

If you're looking for a change or a new reassurance of hope in the deteriorating genre of romantic comedies, look no further than Definitely, Maybe.

Rating: 7.8/10