In this day and age it is rare to find a romantic film that has the least bit of originality. It's as if there is no desire to make any attempt at pushing the boundaries of genre conventions. More often, studios are content to toe the line, churning out lame, predictable romantic comedy after lame, predictable romantic comedy. That is what makes Definitely, Maybe a breath of fresh air.

No, it isn't the most original creation, nor is it likely to have any real and lasting mark on the genre, but that does nothing to dampen the enjoyment that can be gleaned from the film. It is even more refreshing in the wake of such "gems" as Over Her Dead Body and 27 Dresses (which was fun, but truly bought into genre clichés).

Definitely, Maybe is not a movie that requires any deep thinking, but at the same time it does not insult the audience. On top of that, I actually found the love story mystery set-up to be rather effective. Perhaps I am getting a little soft in my old age, but this movie really got to me, and I have to admit to getting a little misty as we got towards the climax. I truly did get caught up in the mystery, the loves, and lives of the players involved.

We begin with the introduction of William Hayes (Ryan Reynolds). He is an ad executive whose favorite days of the week are those that he gets to pick up his daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), from school. However, this day is different from all the others. You see, before he can go pick her up, he receives papers that will finalize his pending divorce. The adventure continues when he learns that she received a day of sex ed. This class, combined with his pending divorce, has raised some questions for Maya. She questions the concept of love in her father's life, and believes that if he tells her about how they met, discussing the facts will uncover reasons to keep the marriage alive. So begins the journey into Will's love history, with names changed, forcing Maya to guess who her mother is.

It is a little weird, relating the story of your past loves to your young daughter, but it is a conceit I am willing to go along with, particularly when the end result is as good as this is. Anyway, Maya settles in with her pillows and stuffed animals as Will takes us back in time, all the way to 1992. It was that year that he left his college sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks), behind in Wisconsin to go to New York and work for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. It is in New York that he meets Emily's college roommate, Summer Hartley (Rachel Weisz), and campaign copy girl April Hoffman (Isla Fisher).