Definitely, Maybe

This movie could be filed under the heading "Movies I would never think to see if I didn't get in them free." That is quite a heading I know, but it is true. Romantic comedies don't typically make for must see viewing for me, but when you have two hours to kill before work and the opportunity to see a free movie, you take it. I like Ryan Reynolds a lot; He is a funny actor who has taken to taking a wide variety of movie roles, but romantic lead was not one I thought I'd seem him do. Having seen a romantic comedy in December, I wasn't sure I really needed another one so soon, but I saw it anyway.

Will Hayes (Reynolds) works in advertising and is about to get a divorce. His daughter, Mia (Abagail Breslin) sees how unhappy he is and wants to know what happened so she asks her dad to tell her the true story of how he met her mother. She wants more than "We met, fell in love and had you." Hayes is reluctant but eventually agrees under the condition that he will tell her the story of the 3 women of his life and she will have to guess who is who. The story then shoots back to 1990 where Hayes is about to move to New York to work on the Bill Clinton campaign. Emily (Elizabeth Banks) is his college love and she is worried about what will happen to them. In New York Will meets two women, Summer Hartley (Rachel Weisz and April (Isla Fisher). April and Will become fast friends. There doesn't appear to be any romantic spark between them, but Summer is a different story. When things don't work out with Emily, Summer and Will start dating. The story moves through the Clinton presidency and Will now runs his own business running political campaigns, but Summer writes for a magazine looking for dirt on candidates so the conflict of interest gets in the way. Will realizes he loves April but April has moved on. Back in the present, Mia is starting to realize life and love are very complicated, but she just wants her dad to be happy.

There isn't anything too terribly original in the story , except trying to figure out all of the pieces, but at some point it seem obvious who is who in the story, but that didn't matter to me. I do not know if my love for Ryan Reynolds overshadowed any flaws, or if this movie caught me on a day when I was feeling a sense of romance, or maybe, just maybe, it is actually a good movie, but I was buying everything this movie was selling. Reynolds has an absolute command of the screen and his chemistry with all four females in this movie was outstanding. You could feel how much he cared about his daughter and how in love he was with each of the three women. He was probably the best with Rachel Weisz because Rachel is just so good and effortlessly moved through the movie as a career woman who essentially chewed and spit people out. Fisher and Reynolds probably have the most fun chemistry and their flirtatiousness was very adorable and actually quite funny. In fact, a lot of the things in this movie were very funny. All of the stuff in Will's work life was funny, especially his first few days as a Clinton staffer. Watching the Clinton scandals unfold as Will’s life spun further out of control was an interesting parallel to watch as it became an ongoing theme throughout.

Another thing I want to mention is how perfect the opening credits were as a seeming love letter to New York. Will puts on his iPod and Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" comes blaring through his speakers and we see him walking to pick up his daughter and while he probably passes more New York monuments than are necessary, it is very effective in setting the stage as New York as a reactive character in the narrative. It also makes New York feel normal; it feels like any city U.S.A. It gives the story a very personal feel which makes us feel more invested in the story as a whole. I am not saying this movie is for anyone looking for some new wrinkle in the Rom-Com format, but I was laughing when it was funny and I was touched when I was supposed to be touched. I also longed for romance as Will longed for romance and I can not ask much more than that from a movie, can I?