Written and directed by Michael Jacobs, Maybe I Do is a romantic comedy featuring an award-winning all-star cast of Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey and William H. Macy. The plot of the film is simple and has a hilarious, heartwarming arc that spans generations.
Michelle and Allen have reached a point where one wants to settle down and the other is content with where they are in their relationship. When their families decide to meet, things get seriously complicated when it turns out that the older generations know each other well. Tensions are high and secrets are about to be revealed, so the two couples try to hide their affairs from their children while dealing with their uncertain situation.
Life’s most complex question is never definitively answered, is it ever enough? Through his film, the director tries to answer one of the most frequently asked questions that bother both young and old couples.
Maybe I Do is full of witty jokes and twists with heart in the right places that make you laugh even though you already know what’s going to happen at the end.
In the following article, I explained in detail everything that happened in the movie and how it ended. Spoiler Alert, read at your own discretion.
Maybe I Do (2023) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
The film introduces us to three different couples. The first begins with Sam (played by William H. Macy) watching a sad movie in a theater. With him is Grace (Diane Keaton), who watches Sam tear up a sad scene from the movie. He gets up and sits with her and the two bond instantly.
Impulsively, they decide to go to a nearby motel, but Grace’s morals won’t allow her to do anything “sin” with Sam. Meeting a stranger is a foreign experience for Grace, so the two spend the evening talking and walking around the neighborhood.
Next we see Howard (Richard Gere) and Monica (Sudan Sarandon) in a luxurious hotel room. Monica wants to spend the night with Howard, but he seems very uncomfortable with the idea. He wants to avoid spending the night talking about the same thing as last time, and he doesn’t want to touch Monica. She is upset and wants to understand why he let his existential thoughts ruin what could have been a really interesting night in each other’s arms. They had a one-night stand four years ago and have been seeing each other regularly ever since.
Now Howard is starting to feel guilty and question what they are doing with each other. While Monica wants to keep having fun, Howard isn’t happy with how things are shaping up. So he decides to leave, even after Monica scares him for hurting his feelings.
We are then introduced to a younger couple – Michelle (Emma Roberts).
and Allen (Luke Bracey), who attends his best friend’s wedding. Allen panics when he learns that his recently married best friend’s wife is about to throw a wedding bouquet to Michelle.
She leans over, jumps off the table and grabs the flowers before her lover does. When Michelle realizes Allen doesn’t want to marry her, the two argue at home. Allen is happy with his life with her; however, Michelle always dreamed of marrying him. He gives her 24 hours to decide whether he wants to marry her or not. Otherwise, when making such an important decision in life, he will be separated from it because both of them have different opinions.
Moving on, we see Gracie married to the Howards, and Michelle is their only daughter. On the other hand, Allen is Sam and Monica’s only child, which means trouble will soon be knocking on their door. When Michelle heads to her parents’ house for the night, she explains that things suddenly changed with her partner after he asked her about marriage. This clearly shows that Michelle is unaware of her parents’ estranged relationship. They try to make her understand that when discussing marriage in any relationship, things can get very complicated.
On the other hand, Allen also visits his parents, with whom they have nothing in common. After being married for many years, both of them started resenting each other. However, Sam still has some hope that Monica will change her mind one day.
After hearing what Allen had to say about his girlfriend, his mother asks him why he thinks he’s happy with Michelle now. He feels like the love of his life and the first person to talk to about anything. His mother believes that a person changes completely when he changes his relationship status. Monica seems logical about everything, while Sam is very emotional. Therefore, the advice he will give to his sons when making a life decision is different.
When Sam thinks Monica isn’t giving her son the right advice he needs to hear, he excuses her to get them all coffee. Monica is offended by this, but Sam is mean to her, and after his wife leaves them, he gets a brief moment to share his two cents about his son’s dilemma.
Sam explains to his son that there is no perfect time for anything. And when a person is sure that he is happy and in love with a person, he should devote himself completely to the relationship. There’s no point in asking yourself questions that won’t matter in a few years, because if you love someone, things will never change for you.
Meanwhile, the next day, Michelle’s mother wants to meet Allen’s parents. Michelle calls Allen and invites the three of them to dinner at her place. Monica isn’t happy about the idea, but Sam is excited and thinks it’s the right thing to do.
What happens when Michelle and Allen’s parents meet each other?
At this point in the film – Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and William H. Macy did a fantastic job as their characters came out strong with their performances. The off-screen chemistry between all the actors clearly brings out the on-screen chemistry, making it interesting to watch them as they try to figure out how to resolve their ongoing situations.
Somehow, the last half hour of the movie reminded me of the scene from Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) where the parents are already in a relationship. For some reason, the screenplay and performance seemed more justified if they were shot on stage instead of in the movie.
Things get awkward and silly when everyone gets together for dinner. Monica comes to visit, feeling tired, so she’s already on her best behavior and interested in meeting Howard, who is shocked to see her.
Sam hears Grace’s voice and recognizes her immediately and runs out of the house, fearing that seeing her will ruin everyone’s night. While the others are outside looking for Sam, Monica scares Howard and calls the night one of her most exciting nights.
Soon, we see Sam knocking on the door and Grace is furious to see him. Michelle introduces everyone and calls for drinks.
Again, we are shown three different conversations happening at the same time. First, we see Sam and Grace talking about how nice it is that they met and spent the entire evening just talking. Sam loves Grace but is loyal to her husband because –
a. Grace is a religious person who watches weekly episodes of pastors preaching on television. and b. Although she never got the attention her husband thought she deserved, she is deeply devoted to him and hopes that he will see her the way he once saw her.
On the other hand, we see Sam share his true feelings about his wife to Grace. He says he hates his wife and her guts and thinks Monica hates him because she never leaves him alone or has a moment where they can agree with each other.
Then we see Michelle eager to hear what Allen has to say about getting married. Allen shares that he has long been unwilling to get married as he has seen his parents’ marriage slowly fall apart. He doesn’t want the same things to happen in his wonderful relationship with Michelle.
At the same time, Michelle has the highest respect for her parents’ marriage and sees it as the main goal of any relationship.
They lie down together and Allen asks her if she thinks they’ll spend the rest of their lives like her parents. Because of her parents’ marriage, she thinks there will be a point in their lives where they will stop loving each other because they got married and are now attached. He doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him.
It turns out that he is not afraid of marrying her, but he is afraid of losing his beautiful years with her, thinking that marriage changes everything. Michelle leaves the room saying that this is none of their business.
Are Michelle and Allen aware of their parents’ extramarital affair?
When everyone gathers in the lounge with their drinks, Michelle walks up to Allen and tells him that she wants to try one last time, because if she doesn’t and assumes she’s dating someone else, she’ll never be happy or satisfied with life.
Although Michelle is sure of the kind of life she wants to live with Allen, she also fears that things will change drastically with each milestone. He assures her that everything will stay the same as long as these two are together. He can’t make any promises that he won’t go crazy later, because love is, after all, a crazy emotion.
This emotional moment saddens Michelle, who breaks down and Allen follows her into the other room.
Seeing all this, Grace says that babies are born very helpless and are taken when the parents can’t do anything. But now that the children have grown up and feel helpless, parents can do nothing to save them from their misery. It turns out it’s all a kind of learning for parents so they can look back and feel like they did their best.
Sipping her martini, Monica stands up and demands to talk about last night. Sam and the Howards say they have nothing together. It shocks everyone who slowly learns what happened between them.
Although Grace can’t imagine Howard doing this to her, Monica is shocked to learn that Sam even intended to cheat on her in the first place. However, the four reconcile as they forgive each other.
Then we see Allen and Michelle married with their parents as their pillars of support.
The film ends with the parents kissing each other as the bride and groom walk down the aisle after a minimalist wedding ceremony.