Definitely Maybe, a delightful romantic comedy from writer/director Adam Brooks, stars Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz. 

After learning about sex in her health class, eleven-year-old Maya Hayes (Breslin) has loads of questions for her father Will (Reynolds.) For example, how did her soon-to-be-divorced parents start dating and eventually fall in love? Although reluctant to divulge details about his dating practices prior to meeting the woman who became Maya’s mother, Will finally gives in and agrees to tell her about three women from his past, one of whom may be her mom. He opts to sanitize the story and avoids using real names, which leaves Maya puzzled and pre-occupied with uncovering her mother’s true identity.

Will made the difficult decision to leave his long-term girlfriend Emily (Banks) to take what was supposed to be a two-month stint as a paid member of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign in New York City.  Excitement about the position soon gave way to disappointment when his boss refused to read his resume before making him fetch coffee -- plus several rolls of toilet paper. He meets April (Fisher) after his boss asks him to have her make copies of a campaign memo. Will attempts conversation by asking why she supports Clinton and is astonished that she finds politics a total snore. Meanwhile, Will drives himself nuts wondering what’s inside a package Emily insisted he hand deliver to her friend Summer (Weisz) upon arrival in New York. His curiosity gets the better of him when his friend Russell (Derek Luke) persistently urges him to open it. The contents are provocative indeed, but he finally takes the package to Summer. 

After bumping into April at a variety store one evening, Will tells her about his plans to ask Emily to marry him when she visits New York that weekend. But Emily turns him down and April decides to live abroad, so he begins a relationship with Summer.

Which of the woman in Will’s tale turns out to be Maya’s mother? Finding out the answer emerges as part of the fun while watching this enchanting movie.

Reynolds’ performance is flawless here. He dissolves into his character and has terrific chemistry with Breslin. It’s almost as if the two really were father and daughter. I also  enjoyed Fisher’s performance as the feisty and fierce-tempered April. She plays well off  Reynolds. These talented actors engage in rapid-fire delivery during their scenes together.

Filmmaker Brooks claims that Breslin is “really an amazing young actress -- unbelievably focused, tireless and funny...The qualities we were looking for in all the actors, she has as a 10-year-old. There just didn’t seem to be anybody who could touch her in this department.”  I agree wholeheartedly.

Definitely, Maybe succeeds because Brooks allowed his cast to rehearse and improvise extensively, especially when a scene wasn’t working. This helped the actors come across as natural -- and resulted in  Brooks’ script springing to vibrant life on screen.

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated “PG-13” for sexual content, including some frank dialogue, language and smoking.)