Although he’s been steadily moving toward more mature roles, it’s still hard to imagine Ryan Reynolds as anything other than smirking, crass slacker Van Wilder. It doesn’t help that he still has the same baby face and vaguely sarcastic mode of speaking, whether he’s fighting vampires in Blade: Trinity or responsibly parenting a 10-year-old in the limp new romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe.
It’s not that Reynolds can’t pull off romance, or at least the kind of silly, juvenile romance that involves some poor woman accepting Reynolds’ character despite his numerous flaws, but he’s entirely unable to convey the heartbreak, world-weariness and ideological passion required at various times of his character, political consultant-turned-ad exec Will Hayes. The film’s strained gimmick is that Will, about to get a divorce from his unseen wife, recounts the story of their romance to his curious daughter, Maya (Breslin, admirably restrained), who has somehow gone all of her 10 years of life without ever learning how her parents met or where they lived or what they did before she was born.
Maya’s bizarre ignorance is the only way that Will can recall his courtships with three different women while keeping his daughter (and the audience) in the dark as to which one he eventually ended up with. He flashes back to his post-college days, fresh off the bus from Wisconsin and working for the Bill Clinton campaign in New York City. Over the next few years, Will variously seems ready to commit to college sweetheart Emily (Banks); free-spirited writer Summer (Weisz); and cynical campaign co-worker April (Fisher). Since none of them can be knocked out of the running right away, the movie equivocates on each, never tipping the sympathy too far toward one particular object of affection, and the result is three movies’ worth of rom-com clichés stuffed into one.
Writer-director Brooks anchors the flashbacks to the career of Bill Clinton for some inexplicable reason, but rather than offer period authenticity it just makes the story seem dated. Will’s political idealism and eventual disillusionment are equally unconvincing, and his love life is only marginally more believable. By the time Will reveals to Maya who her mother is (and who’s really the love of his life), he’s made a tragically convincing case for his being dumped by three beautiful, successful women.
Definitely, Maybe
**
Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin
Directed by Adam Brooks
Rated PG-13
Now playing