(500) Days of Summer

He Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
"(500) Days of Summer" is a wonderfully refreshing experience, a romantic comedy that doesn't follow the rules of a romantic comedy. It's inventive, intelligent, and engaging, a story of the dualities a young man lives with on a daily basis. On the one hand, there's the duality between falling in love and believing that love doesn't exist; Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) grew up believing in fate bringing soul mates together whereas Summer (Zooey Deschanel) grew up not believing in much of anything, least of all lasting relationships. On the other hand, there's the duality between what one would like to happen and what actually does happen; we often go through life with expectations, even though we know deep down that most will never be met. Tom is in a tug-of-war between his romantic fantasies and the reality that Summer doesn't believe in true love.

Levitt's performance is a revelation. He plays Tom with sincerity. Tom is approachable and good natured, highly confident yet not...

500 Days of Summer
The film's opening makes it clear: This is not a love story. It is a story about love. Told in a non chronological fashion, we see 500 days in the relationship of Tom (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel). For those who have seen 10 Things I Hate About You, this is an evolution of that story told in a more realistic fashion. While Joseph Gordon-Levitt pretty much plays the same character, he adds gravitas to the ups and downs of relationships which all men go through at some point. Zooey Deschanel brings her playful carefree attitude to Summer, which the movie itself is quick to point out has a very strong effect over men. While most people expect this to be a love story, it's not. It's a carefully crafted story about relationships and the highs and lows we all experience and how we focus on the highs more than the lows. The quirky humor and the wittiness brought out in the film covers the very introspective dissection of a relationship. While the ending is somewhat...

Still thinking about this movie a month later
I hate romantic comedies. If they actually have some comedy in there, they are watchable but the relationships are often based some some kind of ridiculous premise that doesn't resonate at all with me. To call this a romantic comedy seems quite misleading. This movie was funny at times. Well directed, at times...A little gimmicky at others. Very well acted by the two leads. The thing that I loved about this movie is that it is completely true to life. It wasn't like "The Break-up" where you have to suffer through the couple arguing through the entire movie. They show (in a very clever way) the highs and the lows of Tom and Summer's relationship. I find myself still thinking about the two leads as if I was in their shoes (We probably all have been on one side or the other in our lives). What do I think of them? What do I wish she would have done differently? What could he have done differently? I don't know. One of those movies that I can't stop thinking about.

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