Always Be My Maybe

Always Be My Maybe casts Randall Park and Ali Wong as Marcus and Sasha, a pair of childhood friends who find themselves forced to reevaluate their relationship in the wake of failed romantic dalliances. First-time filmmaker Nahnatchka Khan, working from a script by Park, Wong, and Michael Golamco, delivers an unapologetically by-the-book romantic comedy containing many of the conventions one expects from the genre, including, in a fairly welcome return, a surprise declaration of love in a public space, and yet Always Be My Maybe remains surprisingly engaging for the majority of its briskly-paced 101 minutes – with the picture benefiting substantially from the almost unreasonably charismatic work of its two stars. (And this is to say nothing of Keanu Reeves’ completely magnetic turn as a short-lived boyfriend for Wong’s character.) It’s clear, too, that Khan’s penchant for peppering the narrative with thoroughly appealing elements (eg Marcus’ performances with his rap group, Michelle Buteau‘s amusing turn as Sasha’s friend Veronica, etc) perpetuates the often irresistibly affable atmosphere, while the incredibly satisfying (and heartfelt) climactic stretch ensures that the whole thing ends on as positive a note as one could envision – which ultimately confirms Always Be My Maybe‘s place as a seriously winning piece of work and one of the decade’s very best romcoms.

***1/2 out of ****