definitely, maybe

The nice guy may not always finish last, but it makes it more interesting when-as his 11-year-old daughter puts it-he's a smoker, drinker and man-slut.

Directed by Adam Brooks (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Definitely, Maybe offers a refreshing twist to the stereotypical romantic comedy by telling the tale from the male point of view. Told mostly through '90s flashbacks, the movie's plot centers on the past love life of charismatic Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), an advertisement executive now living in New York City.

The audience meets Will just as he's received his divorce papers-this is a 21st century love story after all-and just as he's about to pick up his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) from her first time at school learning about sex. After nagging on his daughter's part, he decides to tell Maya-in detail-the complicated stories of his three past, serious loves: the blonde, girl-next-door Emily (Elizabeth Banks), the intellectual, brunette Summer (Rachel Weisz) and the quirky, red-head April (Isla Fisher).

It's essentially the birds-and-the-bees talk on steroids.

But what would have been a painfully awkward conversation becomes instead an entertaining mystery of who-did-who-when. The younger Will is an ambitious, University of Wisconsin graduate who heads to the city to work for the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign. He eventually moves up from being just the "toilet paper guy" to a top political consultant in his own right. Along the way, he finds out that politics, perhaps, is easier to understand than women.

As April astutely points out, Will's major flaw is his desire to be liked, and in fact, this is a quality that the entire film shares. Extremely witty to the point of fault, the movie feels, at times, almost a little too forced, especially with the entire premise of an 11-year-old girl serving as her father's relationship counselor.

In the end, though, the sheer likability of the characters wins you over. Will is ultimately a good-hearted, relationship-oriented guy and Breslin steals the show in the role of precocious and perceptive Maya.

The writing is clever and sharp, the setting nostalgically familiar and the plot compelling-even if a bit incredible. After all, the genre isn't exactly known for accurately representing reality anyway, and this is one romantic comedy that will definitely leave you charmed. There's no maybe about it.