Maybe I Do

The first 2023 movie of the year was Maybe I Do, a film we went into thinking that we were going to be watching a rom com. What we ended up watching was a deconstruction of marriage and relationships. Thematically it very much felt like the stage play it was adapted from and that was both good and bad for the film itself. With an iconic cast and the cinematography of a classic rom com, Maybe I Do held so much more for its audience than a meet cute and an act 3 misunderstanding.

One thing I will say is that everything that the trailer revealed took place within the first 10-15 minutes of the movie. That said the trailer is also what marketed the film as a rom com something that ended up being wildly misleading. Instead of a fun flirty film about a marriage ultimatum we got to confront our feelings about love, relationships and commitment.

The iconic cast made for some incredible acting, unfortunately it also set up the younger cast members for failure. Susan Surandon, William H Macy, Richard Gere, and Diane Keaton all played off of each other phenomenally well. The chemistry and experience between the four of them made for a very entertaining viewing experience. That said Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey were highlighted as the babies of the cast. With that much talent around you it is very difficult to rise to the occasion and they simply did not. Luckily all of the parents had more screen time but it was very evident that we maybe spent all of our production budget on big names for the older cast members and spent no time at all casting the younger ones.

Though the story was heavier than anticipated, the film was shot like a classic rom com which I think accented the complexity of the content. We got to see relationships in vastly different states and phases. Allen and Michelle are at a crossroads in their relationship and need to figure out their future together and the only roadmap they have is their parents. Allen’s are unhappy, bitter and not shy about expressing that, Michelle’s are unhappy and idealistic, and very much keep their reality to themselves. This film confronts a lot of very universal feelings about marriage and relationships, and the fear of committing to someone forever. It very much feels like the source material it was adapted from which thematically is a good thing. I think that themes, and ideas taken from stage plays offer a greater insight to the human condition than we are used to seeing on the big screen. That said, plays and screenplays have a drastically different structure and there are different expectations for a film then there are for a play; and this playwright/screenwriter didn’t seem to understand that concept. In stage plays, monologues and soliloquies are quite common, and necessary for the audience to understand the internal thoughts and feelings of the characters. In film that same insight is given to us through both verbal and non-verbal character interactions. Though most of the film was great, there was just one too many monologues from Michelle and that really took away from what the story could have been.

Overall I’d give the film a 6/10, it wasn’t a bad movie but it wasn’t groundbreaking or brilliant either. I think that though re-watchable it does take a specific mood to want to re-watch something like this. And last but not least I don’t see this being the kind of film people talk about for months on end. It's memorable but not life changing.