500 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer

Comedy (Drama)
2009
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 95 minutes
Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chloe Grace Moretz, Clark Gregg, Geoffrey Arrend
Directed By: Marc Webb
Rating: 7 out of 10

Outline

A boy follows his heart and reaches for the love of his life with a girl who may or may not be so willing to go down that road.

Review

I put off watching this film for the longest time because of the title. 500 days seemed like too long of a time commitment for another weak romantic comedy. Of course I found out quite quickly that this is not your typical romantic comedy in any way, shape, or form. It is actually not even a romantic comedy at all, more of a romance with comedy. We find ourselves following the not so love story of Tom and Summer. Tom is falling for Summer and is all about finding his soul mate in another. Summer is seeing Tom as a close friend but she is more of a free spirit and seems disenchanted in the whole aspect of love and the so called right one.  

 Films usually take linear paths in terms of development and storyline but not so with this one. The viewer is graced with random days from Tom and Summer’s courtship. So while one minute you are following them a couple months into their relationship walking through an IKEA holding hands. The next minute they are a year in and you find them fighting at a bar. Then back to when they first met, and so on and so forth. This jumping of timelines was a fresh and interesting look at their relationship. Although Tom seems way too serious and overly dependent he never the less is very relatable. His obsession with Summer is bordering on the creepy but most of us have been in the position of unrequited love before so it is still within reason. Summer on the other hand seems like the cutest person on the planet sometimes and at other times a cold bitch but she does it in an upfront manner. Her wild changes of attitude come across as believable and frustrating.  

 Tom is played by the kind of nerdy but I am sure girls love Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Levitt takes this quiet unassuming character and makes you want to like him. You want him to win in life and always end on a happy note. He does a very good job of making you side with him even though he is partially in the wrong. Summer played by Zooey Deschanel also does a really good job with her character. She can be sweet and then bitchy at the drop of a hat. The two of them together are a perfect and not so perfect fit and that is pretty much the point of this film. It is also why the film worked so well is that you can easily see parts of your personality in both characters. They are helped along in the story by many supporting people. Chloe Grace Moretz playing Rachel, the older than she is sister to Tom, and actor Geoffrey Arend as Tom’s drunk/crazy/coworker/friend McKenzie were the standouts.

 All in all this film is just quirky. You find yourself at times laughing out loud at a random comment and at other times feeling sad that the relationship is not working. Even a musical number that has Tom dancing on the street which should have been ridiculous was fun and not out of place. The characters make this film though and teach us life sometimes doesn’t always go as planned when Matthew McConaughey is not leading the way. Some people might find this film a little dark and depressing at times, I just found it real world.

This was Director Marc Webb’s first full length feature and he did a great job with this movie. Although the lead characters obviously are the selling point to this film he none the less guides them in the right direction. The film shot in the non linear style was neat and new and whenever the story edged to the boring side a well placed joke picked it right back up. He took a non-traditional love story and made you love and hate the characters at the same time which is hard to do. I say well done Mr. Webb for making such a surprisingly enjoyable film.

 I give this movie a big recommendation to romantic comedy fans and to guys having to compromise on something to watch for her. It is a real world look into a one sided relationship that will make you laugh all along the way.

 T Factor + If you are fans of romantic comedy than this could score higher on the rating scale.

 T Factor – If you do not like unorthodox storylines than this could score lower on the rating scale.

 If you liked this film reel recommendations: Garden State, Love Actually.