Our take
An innocent-fun movie, Always Be My Maybe is a lovely thing to turn your brain off to. Sasha and Marcus are high-school best friends who dated briefly and went their separate ways. 16 years later, they meet again – Sasha is a famous chef, and Marcus is still living with his dad.
What really makes this movie is the writing from Ali Wong and Randall Park, who also play the two leads. The dialogue is sharp, believable and smart – going as far as covering themes of gender and parenting. But also, because a rom-com about two Asians from San Francisco is not exactly a common occurrence, the characters are fresh, the jokes are fresh – everything is fresh.
Watch out for the character who plays Marcus’ dad, he plays the character of an overly honest Korean dad perfectly. And also watch out for Keanu Reeves, he plays a crazy version of himself!
The story
Reunited after 15 years, famous chef Sasha and hometown musician Marcus feel the old sparks of attraction, but struggle to adapt to each other's worlds.
Elsewhere
"It's not new, but it's just as powerful (and, yes, still funny) as it ever was."
— Kate Erbland
"The positive influence of When Harry Met Sally is noticeable in the undercurrents, but this romantic comedy has its own unique identity."
— Courtney Howard
The details
Who picked it
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is based in the US and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
Meh. Keanu Reeves was funny.
I expected a funny light movie that put a smile on my face , but i found it so biring and have nothing spechial or new ..
love story since childhood, break-up, reunion … what do want to tell me about? you didnt even highlight the lovely details of their 18yrs friendship.
i didn’t love it ?
I really enjoyed this film to be quite honest, and if we are giving Booksmart a 9 – then this is easily the same if not at least an 8.5
Not in total agreement with the ole staff on this rating.