Tuesday, August 11, 2009

(500) Days of Summer

Forget everything you think you know about romantic comedies. Not only will (500) Days of Summer completely surprise and delight you, it will change your expectations of the genre forever.The movie follows two unique souls: Summer (Zooey Deschanel, Almost Famous) and Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 10 Things I Hate About You) through 500 days of their sweet (and sometimes sour) relationship. The film jumps between days, so you are constantly flashing backwards and forwards to get a unique deconstruction of their relationship. Summer is a free spirited girl who doesn't want to be tied down or worry about labeling feelings, while Tom is a hopeless romantic who dreams of spending his life with Summer (occasionally overlooking her commitment flaws).

The film works because of an imaginative script from screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (don't be surprised if these two become Oscar contenders for Best Original Screenplay in 2010). (500) Days of Summer is fresh, funny, and sentimental, but it's also real, which is what makes the movie work. It also works because of strong performances by Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt, who have a real chemistry (which is often so commercial and formulaic to your typical romantic comedies).

The supporting cast is wonderful, the soundtrack is a great compliment to the film (look for a terrific song/dance scene to Hall & Oates) and the costumes are perfect expressions of the characters who are wearing them. (Trust me ladies, you are going to love Summer's wardrobe, which is full of unique vintage pieces)!


Please, please, please do yourself a favor, and go see (500) Days of Summer; already a contender for my favorite film of the year. Happy viewing!

5 comments:

dada said...

I loved it too, but enjoyed it even more the 2nd time around. I could totally relate to his character, which is why I felt sad the first time through. A+

Ann Marie said...

Ok... This is my weekend movie!
I heard great things about Julie and Julia.. but I will see this one first!

Wish I could have seen it with you!

Love ya Meg! XO

Lindsay Duerden said...

Megan, thanks so much for your review. I love all of them so much! I really thought that this movie had a lot of really cool new things in it. I loved the reality vs. expectation and all of the day changes (especially how the pic changed with the feeling of the day). I loved the moral of the movie but my only problem was that I had a hard time connecting and really loving Zooey Deschanel's character Summer.I felt as though she was too unrealistic and not enough charismatic. But all in all I thought it was a good movie, definitely worth watching though. Thanks again!

Englishfam said...

I may have to make this my date movie with James while we are in Denver this weekend! I am sure I will love it if you did. :)Yay for good chick flicks!! haha

Natalie Harris said...

Boy...I CAN NOT keep from thinking about this show...the way the writer reversed the male/female roles was BRILLANT!!! And to Lindsay...I think she played it perfectly and ON PURPOSE like that...STILL GOING BACK TO THE GUY VS GAL thing...we don't expect that much of a connection with HIM...but her...its HER JOB to make the magic happen...in this one it got to be HIM!Gonna see it again...THANKS For the referral!!!