I heard about this movie almost a year before it came out. I'm a big Ryan Reynolds fan. I wondered if the movie would ever come out and then I heard it was going to be released on V-day. "YES!" I thought "finally". Then the girl I went to see the movie with was five minutes late so that meant that I missed the set up to the movie. But the movie was utterly enjoyable just the same.

I like the idea of mysterious romantic comedy. Where we don't quite know who the mother is. But it is pretty clear who he wants to be with. And you know that's enough. The story was well crafted, the players were phenomenal, and the experience unforgettable. I really enjoyed this movie because, well, it's the guys point of view. All "chick flicks" are from the woman's point of view, it degrades the man in most cases except for "the one" that the girl is meant to be with but he does something to tick her off so therefore all men are scum. In this, yes we address the issue of men are scum, but we move into the unfamiliar territory of men and their emotions. We don't want women to know that we have a side like that but it is there just the same.

Oh! Whoops! I loved the interplay between Ryan and his on-screen daughter. Where he would go off into something that he should be changing and then realizes it is much to late to go back, so he does what any normal parent would do. He lies. He lies his butt off to dig himself out of the hole he is burying himself in.

The end of the movie is good to... but I won't go into that here. See the movie when you can. I think you'll enjoy it.

Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) is an ad exec about to get divorced. After a particularly in depth discussion about sex in her school, he is harassed by his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) to talk about her mother. He finally relents but explains he's going to change the names and some of the facts. It becomes a story of "How He Met Her Mother" as he recounts past girlfriends Emily (Elizabeth Banks), April (Isla Fisher), and Summer (Rachel Weisz).

It's a different kind of rom-com. There's the question of who the eventual girl in the equation is. The thing is all 3 ladies are absolutely charming actresses. So there isn't a bad choice in the bunch. It's more a cute device to keep interest in the story. Adam Brooks has written an unique rom-com. It also helps to have the charming Ryan Reynolds with the ever cute Abigail Breslin.

The set-up for this film is that a father is divorcing and his daughter, Maya, is asking him about how he met her mother. The guy then talks about a variety of women he dated and slept with as the child makes occasional commentary to interrupt the story. Some of her clever and charming remarks are calling one lady a B$%&@ and later, her father a slut. Later, when you learn which one of them is her mother, she announces that she 'just learned all about sexual intercourse in school'. Later, the child gives her now to be divorced father dating advice. Charming....NOT!

I did not like this film, though the acting was very, very nice. As a retired psychotherapist, I thought that the boundaries between the child (who seemed way too old for her years) and her father were blurred. The adult here was not him, that's for sure. Additionally, there are a lot of political elements in the film (because he's a political operative)--not a bad thing in a drama, but not exactly something I want to see in a romantic film. Nothing destroys romance like politics!!

Overall, I'd say 'nice try but no cigar'. This is a film that too flawed to be worth rushing out to see. It's strange father-daughter situation aside, the story just seemed way too with-it and hip in its parenting style for my tastes. To me, romance should be romantic...and this really wasn't. Additionally, the child seemed like a child as written by someone who's never even seen a child or talked with one!

The DVD for "Definitely, Maybe" starts off very badly--and this might only be with the Netflix version. It forces you to watch a LONG preview for "Mama Mia!"--whether you want to or not. I dunno about you, but this definitely makes me MUCH more inclined NEVER to watch a film they force you to preview...never.