MAYBE I DO: Maybe I Don’t

Billed as a romantic comedy, Michael Jacobs‘ Maybe I Do appeal to the idea of a comedy of errors, two couples cheating with one another revealed during the potential nuptials of their children. The idea was tantalizing and intriguing, packed to the brim with a star-studded cast. And while it may have some shining moments of heart and hilarity, Maybe I Do settles firmly on a don’t.

A first act that never ends

The opening is predictable, introducing its central quartet, Grrace (Diane Keaton) and Sam (William H. Macy) shown first meeting in a movie theater. As their evening of talking escalates into desire, viewers are also introduced to Howard (Richard Gere) and Monica (Susan Sarandon) in a hotel room, their seemingly romantic setting disrupted by the ending of a relationship. The film wants us to know these characters are or may be cheating, subsequently showing the use of the intended comedy within them each cheating with the other’s spouse. It is an effective opening that not only introduces us to the first half of the film’s comedic conflict but also introduces the personality traits of each character.

Weaving in an out of their stories, viewers are also introduced to their children – the second half of the comedic conflict. First at a wedding and later at their apartment, they have reached a crossroads in their relationship, Michelle (Emma Roberts) wanting an intention for marriage while Allen (Luke Bracey) is happy to keep the relationship where it is. With a tighter script and editing, this opening would have been the perfect set-up to what viewers will expect is the reveal that not only are the cheating spouses’ children potentially marrying but the actual reveal of the adultery and with whom. Yet, where this opening truly flounders is in the fact it never stays an opening. Honestly, it never stays within the first act, taking over a majority of the film.

Maybe.. stick to the formula

Subverting audience expectation has its moments of success within romantic comedies, unfortunately, Maybe I Do not being one of them. Romantic comedies have a formula, an element of predictability that audience members embrace for the warm flooded feels and humor they can deliver. There is the need to move forward to the meat of the romance and heart of the humor within the film, to watch these various conflicts converge and create the chaos that will allow the humor to unfold. May I Do holds off, hoping each couple in their own capacity can deliver these moments on their own – the actual meeting of the families not occurring until almost an hour into the film.

As it progresses to its inevitable moment of meeting, Maybe I Do feel as though it wants to be something more, something deeper. Especially in the introductions and interactions of its characters. Instead, it delivers a lackluster attempt that feels contrived and empty, dragged out in avoidance of the humor and romance its billing has promised. And as the film feels stuck in the mud, Maybe I Do deliver characters that are all too often unlikeable and leaning into stereotypical portrayals. From opening to character development, Maybe I Do struggles to recover.

This is not to say that it doesn’t have its moments. When the film finally pushes everyone together, it delivers what audiences would expect, giving the film its most amusing moments – however brief. And while there is an unlikability with its menagerie of characters, Macy‘s Sam proves his character to not only be the film’s heart but inevitably its soul. Spoken of as the nicest man on the planet at one point in the film, Macy delivers the film’s purest moment in monologue form, speaking a deeply moving truth surrounding the definition and life form of love.

Conclusion

Maybe I Do delivers an intriguing comedy of errors concept, yet fails immediately in its construction and subsequent execution. Unable to truly lean into its moments and potential for humor and heart, Maybe I Do is a big don’t.

Maybe I Do will be released on January 27, 2023!

Watch Maybe I Do