{"id":4772,"date":"2016-06-01T06:35:35","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T01:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772"},"modified":"2016-06-01T06:35:35","modified_gmt":"2016-06-01T01:05:35","slug":"netflix-always-be-my-maybe-review-ambition-romance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=4772","title":{"rendered":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

W<\/span>ithin the canon of rom-coms, the grand declaration \u2013 a speech that arises out of a moment of epiphany, sincerity, and apology \u2013 has always been the epitome of <\/p>romantic gestures<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>\n\nIt has traditionally also been a device for wish fulfillment: a confused man finally realising the extent of his feelings and rushing to express them to the woman of his dreams before it\u2019s too late. These <\/span>proposals<\/span><\/a> play out at the most public places \u2013 \u00a0the airport, train station, at a party, or on the road \u2013 deriving much of their appeal from the deepest desire a hopeless romantic holds dear in their hearts: validation. In that moment, someone you fancy isn\u2019t merely expressing their feelings for you, they\u2019re also performing it in front of the world, invariably putting your existence on a pedestal. It\u2019s why more often that not, the grand declaration is effective emotional embellishment, yet rarely much more. But in Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s <\/span>Always Be My Maybe<\/span><\/i> \u2013 now streaming on Netflix \u2013 the grand declaration is its strongest statement.<\/span>\n\nAs per convention, the moment plays out at a glitzy public red carpet, thronged by celebrities dressed in their latest designer-friendly OOTDs.<\/span> Sasha Tran (a fantastic Ali Wong), an attractive, independent, intelligent, and successful celebrity chef, flashes a smile before stepping in front of the prying cameras. In a few seconds, she is interrupted mid-answer by Marcus Kim (Randall Park), her childhood <\/span>best friend<\/span><\/a> and potential soulmate who delivers a saccharine monologue about love and companionship to win her back. The outcome of the lovingly-rendered speech, is predictable: Marcus and Sasha kiss and make up. <\/span>\n\nOn paper, it is a sequence that ticks all the checkboxes of what makes larger-than-life onscreen proposals so inimitable. Yet, what makes it more than just another culmination of a happily-ever-after, is the fact that it plays out in Sasha\u2019s professional world. Seconds after they make up, Marcus walks hand-in-hand and accompanies Sasha to her work event. Effectively, <\/span>Always Be My Maybe<\/span><\/i> allows Sasha a rare work-love balance, a detail that acquires additional significance in the universe of a rom-com, where romance and ambition rarely coalesce for a <\/span>female lead<\/span><\/a>. The romance in <\/span>When<\/span><\/i> Harry Met Sally<\/span><\/i>, for instance, didn\u2019t depend on Sally\u2019s career. Back in the day, it also didn\u2019t need to; rom-coms weren\u2019t expected to stick to reality. <\/span>\n

Always Be My Maybe takes care to not pit one lover\u2019s success against the other\u2019s failure.<\/blockquote>\nOver the years, this complete erasure of a woman\u2019s professional identity that has contributed to the growing aversion to the rom-com genre in the modern day and age, where love isn\u2019t always the only solution. Irrespective of their enduring appeal, it\u2019s impossible to sit through a rom-com in 2019 that sees its actress\u2019 search for love as her only ambition. And in the last few years, Netflix\u2019s aggressive efforts to resuscitate the rom-com has been steered toward addressing that very inadequacy, giving the genre a more progressive spin. It\u2019s a move that has achieved varying degrees of success: On the one hand, if <\/span>Set It Up<\/span><\/i> brilliantly etched out a rom-com in the backdrop of a demanding millennial <\/span>workplace<\/span><\/a>, then on the other,<\/span> I Feel Pretty<\/span><\/i> used its female lead\u2019s \u201ccareer\u201d to serve her love life. <\/span>\n\nIn that sense,<\/span> Always Be My Maybe <\/span><\/i>\u2013<\/span> co-written by Wong, Park, and Michael Golamco \u2013 seems like a game-changer, for it refuses to view its Sasha\u2019s romantic future in a vacuum. Instead, the happily-ever-after arrives only when it is in tandem with her professional ambition. Like<\/span> Set It Up<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>I Feel Pretty<\/span><\/i>, the film features an ambitious and gifted woman, who is good at what she does. But, it doesn\u2019t just stop at gifting her a career or making her ambition a sub-plot. It is the rare film that comes the closest to responding to the times by making Sasha\u2019s professional identity the <\/span>sexiest<\/span><\/a> thing about her. <\/span>\n\nOriginating out of Wong and Park\u2019s desire to make an Asian version of <\/span>When Harry Met Sally<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Always Be My Maybe<\/span><\/i> follows Sasha and Marcus, two childhood best friends who lose their virginity to each other. But then drift apart for the next 16 years. Marcus, secretly still grieving the untimely death of his <\/span>mother<\/span><\/a>, leads a stitled adult life devoid of aggressive ambition despite being a talented musician. Sasha is on the opposite end of the spectrum: She is a celebrity chef, creating modern Vietnamise cuisine and overseeing the launch of multiple restaurants in different cities. <\/span>\n\nYet, when they reconnect again, they\u2019re on equal footing: <\/span>Always Be My Maybe<\/span><\/i> takes care to not pit one lover\u2019s success against the other\u2019s failure. Instead, it ekes out Marcus and Sasha\u2019s respective strengths and weaknesses in front of them. The film focuses not on their differing ideas of ambition, but on their shared talent. So even when the conflict between Marcus and Sasha is rooted in his aversion to the showiness of her <\/span>career<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s never directed at her ambition. Neither does the film punish her for prioritising her career over her love life, nor does Marus force her to give it up. <\/span>Always be My Maybe<\/span><\/i> might not be perfect, but it does put its weight behind a flawless romantic theory: Love after all, is a delicate dance of compromise, just not of a woman\u2019s career.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":4773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[8438,8439,5736,8440,1341,8441,7889,8442],"class_list":["post-4772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-ali-wong","tag-always-be-my-maybe","tag-lovers","tag-michael-golamco","tag-netflix","tag-randall-park","tag-rom-com","tag-when-harry-met-sally"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-01T01:05:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"headline\":\"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-01T01:05:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772\"},\"wordCount\":913,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1559920495.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ali Wong\",\"always be my maybe\",\"lovers\",\"Michael Golamco\",\"Netflix\",\"Randall Park\",\"rom-com\",\"When Harry Met Sally\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pop Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772\",\"name\":\"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1559920495.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-01T01:05:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"description\":\"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1559920495.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1559920495.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=4772#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\",\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Poulomi Das\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=103\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance","description":"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance","og_description":"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-06-01T01:05:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":850,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Poulomi Das","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance","twitter_description":"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Poulomi Das","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772"},"author":{"name":"Poulomi Das","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"headline":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance","datePublished":"2016-06-01T01:05:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772"},"wordCount":913,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg","keywords":["Ali Wong","always be my maybe","lovers","Michael Golamco","Netflix","Randall Park","rom-com","When Harry Met Sally"],"articleSection":["Pop Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772","name":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-01T01:05:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"description":"Nahnatchka Khan\u2019s Always Be My Maybe isn\u2019t perfect but it is that rare rom-com that comes the closest to responding to the modern times by making its lead actress\u2019s professional identity the sexiest thing about her. In the movie, love involves compromise, just not that of a woman\u2019s career.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4772#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Netflix\u2019s Always Be My Maybe Balances Ambition with Romance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679","name":"Poulomi Das","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Poulomi Das"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=103"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1559920495.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}