(andPOP) - In his latest attempt at becoming a full-fledged star, Ryan Reynolds almost succeeds.
The film, "Definitely, Maybe," opens today (Valentine's Day) on the premise it is a romance. And to a certain degree it is.
It is actually a four-part love story as we join Will (Reynolds), who is telling his daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), how he met her mother. The catch is his story involves three women, and she will have to guess which one her mother is.
The first woman in Will's life when we go back to 1992 is his college sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks). The two decide to do a long distance romance when he moves for a couple months from Wisconsin to New York to work on Bill Clinton's campaign for president. It is in New York he meets April (Isla Fisher) and Summer (Rachel Weisz). Will floats between the three women as the audience, and Maya, listens intently.
The idea of the film is interesting, and does keep you guessing as to who Maya's mother really is. Reynolds actually does not too bad in a leading role of a romantic comedy, as opposed to the action and screwball comedies he is known for.
The film has some interesting inside jokes as it goes back to the early '90s (introducing Will to Nirvana for one). Another cute tough, though hard to know if it was intentional, was the use of "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" during a segment when Clinton was running for the Democratic party nomination, as I believe that was the actual song he used.
The film is an unusual romantic comedy, but it still uses the clichéd romantic-comedy bits that all films like it have. Fisher was great - and easily broke away from her character in "Wedding Crashers." She was so talented that at first glance, one could almost mistake her for the other redhead burning up the movie scene right now - Amy Adams.
Weisz was an interesting choice - a very different step from the films she is usually in. She pulls off the American accent well though (her character also intertwines with a character hilariously played by Kevin Kline, though it is hard to recognize him at first).
All in all, the film has its moments, and does warm your heart. And that may be the sweetest part of this film. Because while you may go in knowing you are supposed to feel certain ways at certain points, instead of resisting it, you allow the film to take you there. And while the thought of Reynolds as a leading man may be a little bit scary, he pulls it off surprisingly well.
It may not be your typical Valentine's Day film, but it's still worth seeing; if only for the nostalgia of the early '90s.
