#89: Always Be My Maybe

Release Date: May 31st, 2019

Format: Streaming (Netflix)

Written by: Michael Golamco, Randall Park, and Ali Wong

Directed by: Nahnatchka Khan

3.5 Stars

It was fun watching Always Be My Maybe back-to-back with Crazy, Stupid, Love.. Although they exist in the same genre, they couldn’t be more different, really:

• Always Be My Maybe stars a stand up comic and a host of actors that most viewers either won’t know or that fall into the, “Is that the lady that was in…?” category. The stars of Crazy, Stupid, Love have three Academy Award wins and fourteen nominations between them.

• Always Be My Maybe played to a handful of theaters in major markets two days before it was added to Netflix. Crazy, Stupid, Love. got a wide release across thousands of US theaters, with the full power of Warner Bros. marketing behind it. 

• Always Be My Maybe looks like a frugal production. I’m sure the on-location shooting in San Francisco wasn’t cheap, but the digital photography looks sitcom-esque and the lack of stars surely saved millions. Crazy, Stupid, Love was shot on 35mm and there are stars galore. The budget came in at $50 million. 

• Always Be My Maybe’s story idea came about organically from the platonic relationship between Ali Wong and Randall Park, who’ve known each other since the ‘90s in the Bay Area and have supported each other through their career ups and downs. Crazy, Stupid, Love. was a spec script from a writer in the industry, with industry support and development from the page to the screen.

It’s this last comparison that means the most. Although I would categorize both movies as “good romantic comedies,” there is more heart in Always Be My Maybe. There is an authenticity that feels nice.

Sure, the photography is cheap, and Ali Wong joins an esteemed list of comedians who basically have to play themselves because of their lack of range (Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Tim Allen, Ricky Gervais, Chris Tucker, Norm MacDonald…it’s a long list). 

But this movie fits squarely into the “comfort food” lane of movies. It’s just a nice hang. The early 2000s Bay Area hip hop, the irreverent humor, the modest charm of its stars. You can tell that the people involved have a personal stake in telling this story and enjoyed the process of making it. 

I liked it a lot.