Friday, April 11, 2008

Definitely, Maybe


This romantic comedy creates a twist in the genre by having not one, but three, leading ladies. Some more charming than others, the most interesting of the three comes in the form of Weisz's character who, with a meatier subplot than her counterparts, steals the screen. But that's only about a third of the movie. Generally slow and a little too 'talky', the manipulation of time is not always clear, and Breslin's character is not fully explored. Which is a shame considering the actress in question. Amusing 90s references to everything from cell phones and the Internet to Bill and Monica keep the movie afloat, while the climax and ending remain far too cliché, and not to mention a long time coming! And altogether confusing--a "twist" that never really quite pans out. To be fair, Reynolds as a leading man is strangely comforting, boyishly handsome with a unique sense of humor harking back to his pizza days.
High point: The soundtrack and score which, though seemingly unlikely, is composed by none other than Clint Mansell of Requiem fame.

Score: 1 out of 3 leading ladies

Endearing Exchanges:
"What's a threesome?"
"It's a game, that adults play sometimes... When they're bored."

Adam Brooks took a trip down memory lane, Ryan Reynolds swept several women off their feet, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz & Elizabeth Banks stole his heart and Abigail Breslin was a curious cat.

1 comment:

epetridis said...

i am really happy you're doing this - its exciting and useful! Although, if you're interested, there are somethings you could tighten up when using the phrase "genre" - like there may be three females in this film but i guarantee none of them are a leading lady - romantic comedies USUALLY center around men getting a girl, screwing it up, and getting her back - now i haven't seen this film to be fair, but the screenwriter in me tells me there probably on one real love interest and the other two are character foils - i know the whole idea of this site is not get into this stuff, but if you're gonna use the word genre...
elia