Though released on Valentine's Day and definitely maybe about romance, the film takes great pains to stay out of syrupy cliché territory. Sure, in real life there are those magical meetings that take off and work even to the happily ever after. But, then there are the relationships that are a little more, to quite a bit more, complicated. In this picture, a recently divorced father tries to explain to his relentlessly inquisitive daughter the complicated manner in which he and her mother came to meet.

Though, Abigail Breslin of Little Miss Sunshine is highlighted in the film's advertisements, her role in the movie itself is rather limited. Picture the fairytale film in which the adult reads a book to a youngster only as a lead-in and frame of the actual story. That's what mostly happens here. That said, don't expect a family film, rather be ready for something more akin to the TV show Friends.

Though a bit slow in the get-go, I was rather antsy during the first half hour, it picks up momentum and engages from there to the end. Sweet, crisp sharp dialogue, well-acted and likely more realistic than any other recent romance film (I did not like Atonement), Definitely, Maybe is definitely, maybe a film to see with your honey.

This film screened at a Krikorian Theatre.

-- Book Contest --