Review: Chaos Theory

So far statistics predict, with a huge margin of error, that a romantic comedy released in 2008 with a probability motif will star Ryan Reynolds. Much better in “Maybe, Definitely,” he plays Frank here, a motivational speaker and author of “The Five Minute Efficiency Trainer.” “Those who cannot control whim are destined to be controlled by it,” is one of his truisms. Marcos Siega plainly directs a bland screenplay by Daniel Taplitz with rather little chaos or theory. “So who wants to be my husband?” asked Susan (Emily Mortimer) when partying with friends. She’d marry the guy who had “the best nickname for his dick.” Frank won her hand with his handle. Later he learns he is one hundred percent sterile. His wife had suspected him of fathering the baby of a total stranger—he gave a woman in labor a ride to the emergency room—and got tested to prove his innocence. So who fathered Susan’s seven-year-old daughter? Knocked for a loop, Frank lets whim into his world in a big way. He grows a beard and rides a red Harley without a helmet, but decides not to kill anyone. Years later, before walking his daughter down the aisle, he gives a motivational talk to his future son-in-law on forgiving infidelity. Forgiving the annoying tunes by Alex Dezen is asking too much, however. 87m. (Bill Stamets)