(500) Days of Summer Review

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 07.20.2009

It’s not a love story. But is it a good story?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Tom
Zooey Deschanel: Summer
Geoffrey Arend: McKenzie
Chloe Moretz: Rachel
Matthew Gray Gubler: Paul
Clark Gregg: Vance
Patricia Belcher: Millie
Rachel Boston: Alison

Directed By: Marc Webb
Written By: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Release Date: July 17 (Limited)
Running Time: 95 Minutes



Rated PG-13 for sexual material and language.

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***

In a summer filled with transforming robots, wizards casting spells, and friends losing the groom before the wedding, does (500) Days of Summer have a chance of getting anyone's attention? I'm here to tell you that if you can find it playing at a theater near you, see it. Now, let me get something out of the way. I'm a noted Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan. If you haven't jumped on his bandwagon yet; pick up Brick, Mysterious Skin, The Lookout, Stop-Loss, and/or Havoc. You can thank me later. Saying that, I'm a bit biased when it comes to his performances. It does make me a little perplexed on his Cobra Commander role in G.I. Joe movie, but I'll wait until I see it to cast judgment.

When you hear the term romantic comedy the first thought is likely cliché cookie cutter dribble that has the two meet, fall in love, encounter a manufactured problem, overcome problem in quick fashion, realize they were meant to be, and move on, cue the credits. **YAWN** As the poster says, so accurately, this is not a love story. This is a story about love. The film takes the very ambitious task of presenting a relationship, good, bad, and ugly. It presents us with a film that never insults the intelligence of the audience and it stays with you long after you’ve left the theater. You hear the terms offbeat and quirky tossed around way too often today. But in the case of (500) Days of Summer it fits. Perfectly. It's a "boy meets girl" anti-rom-com that centers on the relationship between Summer (Zooey Deschanel), a secretary, who doesn't believe in true love and Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a could-have-been architect who now writes romantic greeting cards, who might believe a little too much in true love. The number in the title refers to the length of time between the day Tom first sees Summer and the last day he sees her. What happens in-between is all the exhilarating joy, wrenching anguish, laughter, and heartache that being in love brings.

When it comes to love in a relationship, it takes two to tango. Tom certainly is willing to make a go at it. He discovers that he has much in common with Summer. He muses, “We’re compatible like crazy,” and at first glance, it seems like they do. They both love The Smiths, they appreciate the artist Magritte, and by Day 31, things are looking good for the two. From the start, however, Summer makes it clear that she’s not a big believer in committed relationships, and she has doubts that love even exists. She sums up her thoughts pretty clearly when she says, "Relationships are messy and feelings get hurt. Who needs all that? We’re young. We’re in one of the most beautiful cities on earth. I say let’s have as much fun as we can.” Tom, poor Tom, is an emotions-on-the-sleeve type who ignores what Summer says because inside he believes that he’s the one who will be able to change her mind through his own force of love. Tom’s constant allure for love took root from his youth, sitting in his bedroom watching The Graduate and listening to depressing British pop music. Summer’s reluctance to believe can be traced to divorced parents. This film opens up their relationship for dissection and gives the audience a magnifying glass. Many will watch the movie and nod with a solemn understanding of the situations they go through. Tom takes it for granted that she will change. She feels the pressure, knowing he has the feelings that she will never know with him. From defending her from an overly obnoxious guy in the bar to over thinking her moods, Tom is the “every guy” we know, and just wish we could take him aside and tell him everything is going to be all right.

Amazingly, this is Marc Webb’s feature film debut. Even more amazing is the script by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, who also wrote Pink Panther 2. They have penned an artful masterpiece that looks from the male perspective, and forces the audience to question all things pertaining to love. Is it real? Is there someone for everyone? How does love change us? Heavy stuff for an audience to wrestle with, especially with one who is used to movies in the “How to lose a maid of honor in 10 days in Manhattan starring Matthew McConaughey” vein. While they lay things out in an allegorical style, it’s Webb who brings the visual goods and squeezes realistic performances from his players. Webb uses title cards showing which day of the relationship we’re about to witness. In a lesser director’s hand, this gimmick could have been hokey. Here, it’s done in a style that fits the film and takes the audience from a scene-to-scene, day-by-day, be it one of the happy couple together or to a glimpse of a distraught Tom breaking his dishes and being comforted by his younger sister (Chloe Moretz). Webb bases the success or failure of this movie on his two leads. In lesser thespians hands, this movie could have come and gone without notice. Take Day 282, when Tom, leaving Summer’s apartment after their first night together. His emotions obvious, his walk familiar to anyone in his position, feeling on top of the world, high-fiving strangers, and going into a choreographed dance. On paper, it sounds silly, but the direction and acting make this a truly memorable scene.

As much as this movie is about the give and take, it’s also about perspective. The little things we find at the beginning of the courtship to be cute are perceived much differently as we progress…or regress in the relationship. In the movie, Summer has a birthmark that Tom describes as, “cute and heart-shaped” at first. That very same birthmark is referred to as an “ugly cockroach-shaped blotch” after the breakup. It’s all in perspective. The film's visual style take direction from Tom’s view. It reflects his inner self; be it falling in love or fighting to save that love.

What can I say about Gordon-Levitt? He is stellar as the head-in-the-clouds-in-love Tom. Watching him control the moment is a beautiful thing and a welcome respite from the other summer fare we’ve had. Gordon-Levitt makes Tom likable, witty while at the same time needy. However, we never find him annoying or lose compassion for him, and that shows his true talent as an actor. He makes you care about Tom, feel like you know him. Tom characteristically says, "I think the key is for me to figure out what went wrong. Do you ever do this? Go back and think about all the things you did together. Everything that happened. Replay it over again in your mind, looking for the first sign of trouble.” Such a great line that rings true. Every doomed relationship has someone saying this, looking for that one moment that everything crashed down, not realizing that too often it’s many tiny moments that ended it. That’s what this movie succeeds so well at, proving that point. On the flip side, Zooey Deschanel brings her usual brand of humor and skill. She is the ultimate lesson to be learned for men all around the world. That is: Women to whom we find ourselves strangely attracted because they are different and a little crazy are still going to be different and a little crazy down the road. Be it months or years. And not always in a fun way. Deschanel exemplifies this impressively.

It’s hard to find anything wrong about this movie. I went in with high expectations, and darn it, they exceeded them. If you're looking for a problem with the movie, you might be able to make a case for Webb abandoning his date jumping storytelling device and going with a more linear kind of film part way through the movie. That is a very, very minor quibble. I'm sure some will mention the handling of the concept of love. It's true that Webb elevates love to a grand symbolic level, using it metaphorically to showcase the many levels of emotion love creates; from the highest highs to the lowest lows. But to this I counter that anyone who has ever been in love deeply can attest that when you are IN the moment of love, nothing else seems to matter.

The biggest setback this movie has is the limited release. I can only hope that strong word-of-mouth reaches the studio and they do the right thing and get it to as many theaters as possible. Audiences deserve quality films and I cannot think of a better film to share than this one. In a summer that’s loud with the big bangs of special effects, (500) Days of Summer speaks the loudest…to your heart.

The 411: Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer richly deserves all the buzz and accolades it has garnered. Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves he’s a worthy leading man and Zooey Deschanel continues to impress. Both are a delight to watch on-screen and the dialogue stays personal while being honest. Add to it a fantastic soundtrack and you have a movie that balances the laughs and the moments of heartbreak. Just like real life. For years we’ve been trained to expect the happy ending. Thankfully, 500 Days of Summer gives us a real one.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]