Movie · 2008 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 52m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 3.8/10 (321.8K ratings)
Three relationships. Three disasters. One last chance.
Overview
When Will decides to tell his daughter the story of how he met her mother, he discovers that a second look at the past might also give him a second chance at the future.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.8/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.33/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Metacritic: 59
TMDB: 6.9/10
Director
Adam Brooks
Production
Ringerike Erste Filmproduktion, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, Scion Films
Cast
Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline, Derek Luke, Liane Balaban, Annie Parisse, Nestor Serrano, Kevin Corrigan, An Nguyen, Adam Brooks, Emily Wickersham, Daniel Eric Gold, Adam Ferrara, Matthew Mason, Rick Derby, Sakina Jaffrey, Bob Wiltfong
Curator Review
Verdict
A warm, lightly wistful rom-com that balances a clever framing device with genuine emotional payoff. It’s especially appealing if you like relationship puzzles, ensemble chemistry, and a nostalgic early-2000s New York feel.
Best for
fans of smart, sentimental romantic comedies
viewers who like stories told through flashbacks and multiple love interests
people who enjoy bittersweet father-daughter dynamics
audiences looking for an easy comfort watch with some emotional bite
Skip if
you want a very original or high-concept romance
you dislike narration-heavy storytelling
you prefer rom-coms with sharper comedy or more modern pacing
you’re not interested in family framing devices or past-tense relationship retrospectives
Overview
Definitely, Maybe is the kind of rom-com that knows its own tricks and still lands them. The framing story gives the movie a pleasing puzzle-box structure, while the central question of who ends up with whom is handled with enough charm to keep the emotional stakes alive. It’s polished, easy to watch, and more thoughtful than its breezy setup suggests.
Worth noting
Ryan Reynolds plays the role with a mix of self-deprecation and sincerity that keeps the movie from feeling too slick. The supporting women are written as distinct possibilities rather than interchangeable types, which helps the film feel like a genuine memory piece instead of a mechanical dating-game comedy. The result is a movie that works both as a romantic guessing game and as a reflection on how people revise their own pasts.
Bottom line
It’s not a radical reinvention of the genre, but it has enough warmth, structure, and emotional honesty to earn its place as a comfort watch. If you like your romances with a little melancholy under the sweetness, this one is easy to recommend.
Top Letterboxd reviews
daisy (3★) · 1550 likes
will telling maya she’s the happy ending...yea we cried, we cried
Emma (4★) · 1525 likes
this is the kind of GARBAGE that makes the BLOOD PUMP IN MY VEINS
eve 🍭 (3★) · 1224 likes
isla fisher i lov u bitch. i aint gon never stop lovin u ..... biiitch
clownhead (3★) · 1065 likes
none of y’all TOLD ME that elizabeth banks and rachel weisz HAVE CANONICALLY DATED IN THIS MOVIE. is that not the KIND OF INFORMATION I SHOULD KNOW
Aliza (3.5★) · 775 likes
the most unrealistic part of this movie is that the kid didn't want rachel weisz to be her mom. baffling
A warm, urban romantic comedy with family pressure, chemistry, and a lived-in city feel.
Topics
romantic comedy, ensemble romance, flashback structure, nostalgic, bittersweet, comfort watch, father-daughter relationship, early 2000s, New York City, relationship drama