Really good movie!
Added 11/25/2009
(THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS NEAR THE END!!!) I saw this on HBO while on a business trip, sort of against my will, as I couldn't find anything else on TV. I was pleasantly surprised, as it's a really good movie (as long as you aren't overly analytical about it).
Ryan Reynolds plays Will, a 30-something dad with a 10 year old daughter, Maya, (played beautifully by Abagail Breslin). Will is on the verge of divorce from his wife/Maya's mother. Maya is clearly upset by the upcoming split, and an ill-timed sex ed class (isn't 10 a little young for Sex Ed? I've forgotten...) triggers lots of questions for her dad about how he met her mother and why he married her. He proceeds to tell Maya the story of the three women he has loved without disclosing which one is her mother.
Disclaimers:
1) You have to suspend your logic while watching this movie, as Breslin is precocious well beyond her years and asks questions and makes insightful observations many adults don't make.
2) This review has a few SPOILERS in it - not anything you can't figure out, but I some folks don't want to know what happens.
I think there are many things to recommend this film:
1) The chemistry between Will and Maya is great... They play the father/daughter combo with aplomb. Breslin is great (as she was in Little Miss Sunshine).
2) Summer (played by Rachel Weisz) and April (played by Isla Fisher) are great as two of Will's loves. Each plays a perfect character that complements Will. You get a real sense of how he could have ended up with either of them (and almost does, or does).
3) Ryan Reynolds is quite effective as a more complex character - it is a real treat to see Van Wilder's deeper side. It's clear from Reynolds' other roles that he has range. He hasn't picked very many vehicles before this that display it. It suits him.
The biggest issue with the film? (Here's a SPOILER!). Ironically, I was least impressed with Emily (Elizabeth Banks), his college sweetheart. She is the woman who is eventually turns out to be Will's wife/Maya's mom. She seemed shallower than the other two characters, and it was difficult for me to figure out why Will would have married her. While Summer lets him down in pursuit of career advancement, and April seems too mercurial to him and their timing just doesn't match, Emily cheats on Will the first time around with his piggish, chauvinistic roommate Charlie (completely far fetched, unless she is a complete idiot), and then reappears with the weak premise that "maybe our timing was off the first time", which Will inexplicably buys hook, line, and sinker. It leaves me momentarily thinking less of Will. You also cringe at times at Will's "full disclosure" to Maya of his romantic/sex life. It is a bit extensive (even if she did just have a sex ed class) with mentions of threesomes and more detail than most fathers would give their 10 (or 30) year old daughters.
All in all, highly recommended. My wife and I liked it so much we bought it.
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Ryan Reynolds break through
Added 11/13/2009
This is the best Ryan Reynolds movie I've seen. It displays his full range of acting ability (which is quite good - he can be extremely funny but also has full dramatic leading man capacity) and the movie is just surprisingly good. I recommend this movie. As a strange aside that just popped into my head, Adam Sandler should step aside from doing movies like Click and Bedtime Stories and hand those roles over to Reynolds - he would have made those movies twice as good.
Anyway it was a good story with nice twists, much less predictable than many romcoms, it was funny and just plain good. Ryan Reynolds is something of a revelation in this role.
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romantic movie
Added 11/13/2009
I love the story line and the entire cast. I especially love Ryan Reynolds and Isla Fisher's characters.
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definitely maybe
Added 11/2/2009
Great movie...well done... put it right up there near Notting Hill and A Lot Like Love... music could've been a little better... bill
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Dynamic Romantic Comedy
Added 10/15/2009
An obvious romantic comedy, but pretty dynamic as the scene is New York. Few good jokes, sweet main characters, especially the child.. Loved Summer's comments, love NY humor!
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Really good movie!
Added 11/25/2009
(THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS NEAR THE END!!!) I saw this on HBO while on a business trip, sort of against my will, as I couldn't find anything else on TV. I was pleasantly surprised, as it's a really good movie (as long as you aren't overly analytical about it).
Ryan Reynolds plays Will, a 30-something dad with a 10 year old daughter, Maya, (played beautifully by Abagail Breslin). Will is on the verge of divorce from his wife/Maya's mother. Maya is clearly upset by the upcoming split, and an ill-timed sex ed class (isn't 10 a little young for Sex Ed? I've forgotten...) triggers lots of questions for her dad about how he met her mother and why he married her. He proceeds to tell Maya the story of the three women he has loved without disclosing which one is her mother.
Disclaimers:
1) You have to suspend your logic while watching this movie, as Breslin is precocious well beyond her years and asks questions and makes insightful observations many adults don't make.
2) This review has a few SPOILERS in it - not anything you can't figure out, but I some folks don't want to know what happens.
I think there are many things to recommend this film:
1) The chemistry between Will and Maya is great... They play the father/daughter combo with aplomb. Breslin is great (as she was in Little Miss Sunshine).
2) Summer (played by Rachel Weisz) and April (played by Isla Fisher) are great as two of Will's loves. Each plays a perfect character that complements Will. You get a real sense of how he could have ended up with either of them (and almost does, or does).
3) Ryan Reynolds is quite effective as a more complex character - it is a real treat to see Van Wilder's deeper side. It's clear from Reynolds' other roles that he has range. He hasn't picked very many vehicles before this that display it. It suits him.
The biggest issue with the film? (Here's a SPOILER!). Ironically, I was least impressed with Emily (Elizabeth Banks), his college sweetheart. She is the woman who is eventually turns out to be Will's wife/Maya's mom. She seemed shallower than the other two characters, and it was difficult for me to figure out why Will would have married her. While Summer lets him down in pursuit of career advancement, and April seems too mercurial to him and their timing just doesn't match, Emily cheats on Will the first time around with his piggish, chauvinistic roommate Charlie (completely far fetched, unless she is a complete idiot), and then reappears with the weak premise that "maybe our timing was off the first time", which Will inexplicably buys hook, line, and sinker. It leaves me momentarily thinking less of Will. You also cringe at times at Will's "full disclosure" to Maya of his romantic/sex life. It is a bit extensive (even if she did just have a sex ed class) with mentions of threesomes and more detail than most fathers would give their 10 (or 30) year old daughters.
All in all, highly recommended. My wife and I liked it so much we bought it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Ryan Reynolds break through
Added 11/13/2009
This is the best Ryan Reynolds movie I've seen. It displays his full range of acting ability (which is quite good - he can be extremely funny but also has full dramatic leading man capacity) and the movie is just surprisingly good. I recommend this movie. As a strange aside that just popped into my head, Adam Sandler should step aside from doing movies like Click and Bedtime Stories and hand those roles over to Reynolds - he would have made those movies twice as good.
Anyway it was a good story with nice twists, much less predictable than many romcoms, it was funny and just plain good. Ryan Reynolds is something of a revelation in this role.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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romantic movie
Added 11/13/2009
I love the story line and the entire cast. I especially love Ryan Reynolds and Isla Fisher's characters.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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