Always Be My Maybe

So I don't know if I'm the only one who has been seeing the advertisements for this movie all over Netflix. Ads for this film have been freaking everywhere to the point where I just decided, screw it, I'm having a Rom Com night and checking out this movie that seems so by the numbers, the trailers pretty much said, "THIS IS A STEREOTYPICAL ROM COM BUT ITS WITH ASIAN ACTORS SO IT'S COOL".

I should note, I actually enjoyed this film quite a bit and I like the fact that this story centered on an Asian American cast, but does the predictability take away from the overall effect of the movie?

Always Be My Maybe centers on a boy named Marcus (played as an adult by Randal Park) and a girl named Sasha (played by Ali Wong, both actors were writers for the film too) who grew up as next door neighbors. The first 5-10 minutes of the film centers on their friendship from a very young age. Sasha's parents work a lot so she became very much a part of Marcus's family and the two were very close growing up.

Right before college, the friendship is broken when the two have sex and don't really know how to process the change in the dynamic. The two drift apart and don't see each other for 16 years. Since, Sasha has become a world famous chef and Marcus is taking care of his dad, working as air conditioner repairmen.

The two eventually reconnect when Sasha moves back to San Francisco for a little bit and while there are initially some harsh feelings based on the way things ended between the two of them, the two become friends again pretty quickly. And this was something that I actually kind of liked about the film. The friendship that is built between the two of them outside of any kind of sexual relationship.

Both while they're growing up and when they reconnect, Marcus and Sasha build a friendship that makes sense. It never feels gimicky or based off of convoluted rationale, like they both like an obscure movie, the two both act and are written in a way that it makes sense that these two would be friends. They goof off, they have the same sense of humor, and they are able to connect with the struggles the other one has.

Sasha has trouble connecting with her family or really anyone else besides her close friend Veronica (played by Michelle Buteau) because she grew up taking care of herself or implanting herself into Marcus's family. She also can't seem to stay in one place for a long time or in a relationship that is healthy.

 Marcus has suffered some losses in his life, so he has a hard time excelling and moving out of the bubble of comfort he has created for himself so he shuts himself in.

These are the situations and dynamics that I really enjoyed between these two. Of course, it falls into the predictable conventions that you'd see in any romantic comedy. These two obviously seem like they're made for one another, but there is of course conventions getting in the way. There's bad communication that prevents them from fulfilling a happy and sustainable relationship, but there of course is a heart felt reconciliation and the answer to the will they won't they question is answered.

Now you might be aware of it, but there is one thing that sets this movie apart from other romantic comedies (minus the more diverse cast) and that is the fantastic cameo of Keanu Reeves.

It's not really a surprise because its in the trailer and been a meme along with the rest of what has been a hilarious surge of interest in the career and just stellar upright behavior of Keanu Reeves.

And oh boy, does he just steal the show. I don't think this show absolutely needed this cameo because I really enjoyed the writing and the character relationships, but the small portion of the film Reeves is in the film is just hilarious and not overplayed at all.

They're able to create a hilarious caricature of Keanu while still upholding this just straight up good guy persona that has been built up around him over the past few months.

Taking this off on a small tangent, I've been very interested in why Keanu Reeves is suddenly picking up a lot of steam lately. I think a lot of it is due to the fact that not a lot is known about him and the things that are known are overly positive or sympathetic. He has these stories about him about his philanthropic endeavors, his tragic backstory, or him just being a good guy. I think with other people I've been hesitant to really jump on the bandwagon because I question why people create the bandwagon for starters, but I also worry that we'll all be disappointed later on. But with Keanu, I can't help but be charmed by this guy and I just want him to succeed and I think jumping behind him is a good choice for the pop culture zeitgeist.

But back to what I thought of the movie.

Always Be My Maybe is a little bit of a tough egg to crack because there are a lot of elements that I liked and there were a lot of elements that felt more formulaic than I would have preferred. I think if I had to narrow it down, I'd say the first two acts of this film are pretty great. Everything after the Keanu cameo isn't horrible, it just becomes too familiar.

Overall, for me it works because I like Randall Park and Ali Wong's characters. While the relationship drama becomes less real and more like the script called for it because its the third act and there needs to be a conflict, I did feel like their realness carried me through till the end.

It falls to the typical romantic comedy conventions that could easily be fixed by the two sitting down for a conversation but instead it gets dragged out to create the conflict for literally the last 30 minutes where everyone is sad because of a disagreement but it all works out in the end.

I think the rest of the cast works out pretty well in the movies favor as well. These two character's families and friends are pretty awesome with a specific shout out to James Saito who plays Marcus's father and Karan Soni (the taxi driver from Deadpool) who plays Marcu's friend and fellow band member.

I think if you're looking for an above the median romantic comedy, Always Be My Maybe isn't a bad choice. Besides a diverse cast and some funny writing and performances from Randall Park and Ali Wong, you're not getting too much new but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and those elements could be enough.

It didn't blow my mind away, but it also gave me a smile at multiple moments, especially when Keanu Reeves starts walking into the restaurant to AWOLNATION's Sail for no other reason other than they were able to capitalize on the Keanussaince happening at the moment.

Always Be My Maybe is a good date movie but can also be enjoyed if you're a 26 or something year old man watching it alone, and don't worry, its not as sad as it sounds.

But those are my thoughts on Always Be My Maybe. What did you think? What do you think of the Keanussaince? Is it about time? An internet thing? Try and explain the Keanussaince to me please.  Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

Thanks for reading!