Definitely, Maybe

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Kline, Derek Luke

Director: Adam Brooks

A smooth, over-easy New York romance, the movie equivalent of a fried-egg breakfast in Central Park, washed down smoothly with some sweet black coffee.

Heading for a divorce after 10 years of marriage, political PR Will (Reynolds) consoles his daughter (Breslin) by telling her the story of the three main women in his life - asking her to guess which one he married. Is it his college sweetheart (Banks), his confidante at the Clinton campaign of '92 (Fisher) or the free-spirited journalist (Weisz) whom he meets while she's shacked up with a famous philosopher/author (an unbilled Kevin Kline)?

Working out this conundrum probably gives the poor tot more headaches than her current (embarrassing) sex education lessons at school.

Breslin is as charming and natural as ever (although the role hardly stretches her), but Reynolds isn't as personable as he's been in other films, and it's easy to see who he'll end up with. There are some smart one-liners in director Brooks' screenplay, though, some new and some old - 'Are you comfortable? a nurse asks a hospitalised Kline. He shrugs. 'I make a living' - and the whole thing makes for a relaxing and enjoyable, if not especially memorable evening.

Alan Frank

USA 2007. UK Distributor: Universal. Technicolor.
112 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 08 Feb 2008