Charm effuses from this quirky love story in which fate, coincidence, dreams, expectations and reality are chaotically intertwined.

A little spoiler alert is in place here, so read on only if you dare.

I really liked this film. The dialogue felt real, as did the characters. The script contains a lot of pretentious and impressive twists that all feel real. The film made me feel that the clichés and the little things that made the characters happy and sad are what mattered. That everyday feeling, together with the constant anachronistic jumping in time and the "supernatural" sequences (e.g. where Tom turns a walk to work into a musical daydream with drawn birds and a big band), the brilliant soundtrack (with Morrissey regalia to boot, imagine that) and a lot of desire turned this film into a great experience for me. Very cute, calm, American (I feel, as a non-American) and recommendable.

I wanted to love this movie. Alas, I only liked it.

In a strange way, then, this review mirrors the substance of the film itself. Narration at the beginning of the film prepares us for the fact that this boy meets girl story does not have a happy ending. The boy (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is looking for The One that he will love. And he thinks he has found her (in the character Summer Finn, played by
Zooey Deschanel).

We zig-zag back and forth through the 500 days of their friendship – catching the highs, the lows, the funny stops along the way – and ultimately see it all unravel, in a realistic way, in a way that’s actually quite for the best of boy and girl. So *(500) Days of Summer *earns points for being different and for being smart. But just as there are reasons why you didn’t marry that guy/girl that you only liked, it’s tough to love this movie through and through.

It does have its charms. The light experimental elements in the film sometimes work big-time (the biggest laughs in the film occur during an over-the-top dance sequence as our protagonist basks in his satisfied
“next-morning” glow). Other times, the quirky elements fall a little flat.

If you’re into indie music, you’ll be drawn to this film by the sequence they (smartly) show at the beginning of the trailer http://www.yeahrightblog.com/yeah_right/2009/07/i-heart-zooey.html;

Every misunderstood music freak with a crush on the cute girl wishes that she’d “get” his music (and implicitly, get him). Early on, Zooey sings along with the sad-sack Smiths song that he’s listening to on his iPod, leaving him slackjawed in an elevator. But as this film accurately portrays, similar music tastes are a weak foundation for a relationship. It’s also a weak reason to like a movie, so while there are some good’uns on the soundtrack here, it can’t take the film beyond a moderately enjoyable level. *(500) Days of Summer* is worth seeing, and maybe now that I've damped down your expectations, you'll like it lots. But I think this one merits a B+ and nothing more.

While it might be unjust to call the "love" story at the heart of (500) Days of Summer conventional, you'd never it know it with the multitude of brilliant inventions heightening this tale of chasing dreams and fateful fantasy. From clever juxtapositions of events and the seamless integration of classic films, traditional animation, and a morose narrator, to unique editing and a visual calendar of fledgling love and tragic heartache, "Summer" transcends the romantic comedy genre to become an engagingly mature, yet whimsical look at that ever-so-fragile emotion and its effects both glorious and dispiriting.

(500) Days of Summer chronicles the relationship of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel), two employees at a greeting card company with very different ideologies on love. Traveling back and forth in time throughout their 500 days together, pieces of their journey are steadily revealed to create a portrait of love at once wonderfully triumphant and agonizingly heartbreaking.

The narrator tells us that this is a "boy meets girl" story, but that it is not about love. Perhaps it's the power of coincidence, the ideals of destiny, the wonders of fate, the harsh contradictions between expectations and reality, or real love in disguise. The film may use a well-known storytelling idea, but there's nothing ordinary about its execution. (500) Days of Summer portrays a "typical" modern romance with extraordinary methods, including split screens, slow-motion, characters talking to the camera, a full-blown dance sequence, and an impressionistic, foreign, artsy, black-and-white experimental tidbit (among many other fascinatingly inventive techniques).

Tom holds movies, songs, and even greeting cards responsible for preventing people from saying what they really feel and for the corruption of emotions, causing them (especially love) to be completely indefinable. It's a fantasy that can only be recognized by or compared to peers who believe they've attained it. During his evolving perception of love, we see a spectrum as diverse as the special effects and soundtrack that compliment the imagery.

Using his younger sister as a rational, intellectual source for advice on love further fuels the deconstruction of maturity which otherwise might serve as an indication of education on the subject; here it is as contrasting as the editing that cuts back and forth between Tom's utmost happiness and bitter despair. Summer is the "dude," looking for casual, no-pressure romance, taking the role of the stereotypical, uncaring guy and not the relationship-demanding, over-affectionate girl. She's against the grain, not commonplace; she's Sid, not Nancy. And because of these opposing variances to the romantic dramedy formula, (500) Days of Summer is fresh, different and entirely worthwhile.

- The Massie Twins

While watching '500 Days of Summer', directed by Marc Webb, at a film festival, I was slouching in my chair, with disgustingly stale popcorn, at a theatre that desperately needed a gutting, watching the Hampton-Type, Brown University and NYFA students parading around with their tote bags and blackberries, perusing the leafleat of films for the weekend, when I pondered, for a moment, after listening to this art-house, latte drinking stiff behind me, how Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was born in Newport (which btw he certainly was not) to his two Jeannene Garofalo looking friends, how simply stunning JGL is. Not just appearance wise, but how the camera, captured radiantly by Eric Steelberg (who certainly has a keen eye towards close-up emotions) seems to nail every subtle nuance of emotion and flare of his face, however understanding the humor and often dark side of love; but his (Levitt's) pure, raw talent of the characters he portrays and the very intense subject matter and films he chooses to delve into. (I mean Mysterious Skin, are you $#@^ kidding me, how often do you see that much thrown into a role, brilliant)

Wheeew, sorry love run-ons and stream of consciousness when I'm running with something...

So many decent actors take awful roles with really horrible scripts and they may or may not recover, but they are working and a paycheck is a paycheck. Ok some people do this for employment, and they are really bad at it, but others are born to become other people on the screen. When I define pinnacle acting, I think of Sir Laurence Olivier, Emma Thompson, Mike York, Sam Elliott, Robin Williams, Stockard Channing, etc....so the question I pondered, while pondering why I was in a theatre on a glorious day in Newport RI, was when will the film world see how talented this guy is??!

500 days of summer was a shocker; the wonderfully charismatic girl I brought with me, was dumbfounded at the end as well: to summarize, we both had no idea it was going to be that good. Cliche statement? Sure, but ya know what, that's about all I can muster at this moment. A sure whacky romance for the next generation of love. It is unique, different, hints of Python type humor in it, with a very grande soundtrack to boot, and amazing chemistry between Levitt and Deschanel.

There was just the right amount of romance, humor and editing fun, to remind us that movies can still be amazing from an acting standpoint, and knowing how brutal love can be for a guy questioning, 'why just friends?', I am sure it will set hearts a glow and whisk us away into a better time, when the pure, unrefined world of romance started to make sense. Or maybe not.

ken

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 expected, it serves as the movies last laugh. A must see for romantics, indie film appreciators and mainstream audiences alike, this movie is the guide to growing up all boys need to become men. Especially, once they see the Plate scene. Check it out!