Saturday, July 25, 2009

(500) Days of Summer Review


From the moment “(500) Days of Summer” began I knew I was going to love it. Marc Webb’s first feature length film dazzled audiences at Sundance and is sure to be this year’s “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Juno.”
The story is of a greeting card writer Tom, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“3rd Rock From the Sun”) a firm believer in the idea of soul mates, true love, and fate, who falls in love with Summer, Zooey Deschanel (“Elf”). However, Summer doesn’t exactly share his romantic views. From the very beginning the movie tells you that “this is not a love story,” and it’s true. It’s a story about love, life, and the reality of what you encounter during both.
The movie is a mix of pre-breakup and post-breakup scenes that show Tom trying to get over Summer but only being able to remember the good times they shared. This blend of material keeps the audience interested, and through Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel’s captivating chemistry, you never want to look away.
While the chemistry among the actors was important, Webb’s directing brought a refreshing new look to romantic comedies, if you would even call it a romantic comedy. An interesting concept Webb used was a split screen that showed Tom’s expectation versus the reality of his date. No words were needed for this portion -- the visual alone said much more than any words ever could have achieved.
One of the best parts of the movie was a Bollywood-like dance scene that shows Tom meeting multiple people on his way to work including an animated blue bird. The pre-breakup dance scene ends with him smiling while the elevator closes and when the elevator opens we are back with post-breakup Tom, who looks like he just got out of a bar fight. This again shows Webb’s ability to create new and interesting concepts for this genre of film.
While the acting and directing were both superb, the wit and humor from the writers were a driving force behind the movies comedic charm. It laid the foundation for the actors and director to build on. Joke after joke, kept the audience laughing.
With this triple threat of acting, directing, and writing, this film is sure to be a summer hit. I highly recommend this movie to all for there is a little something for everyone to relate to. My advice, stimulate the economy this July by taking a chance on “(500) Days of Summer.” You won’t be disappointed.

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