Rusty here. Sorry about the few updates over the last couple of days, but work got the best of all 3 of us. So, considering the fact that I was supposed to have this up on Monday...let's just call it a Mid-Week Bite and politely ignore the lateness. Either way, this is just too good a movie, so please go see it. Or, if you're brave and are willing to venture through my latest lengthy monstrosity, keep reading for my thoughts on one of the best and most romantic movies I've seen in a while...
Review: "(500) Days of Summer"
My Rating: 4 bites [out of 5]
Fair warning: this is about to get pretty mushy; I’m going to shower a lot of love on this wonderful little movie. So, with that, here’s a quick soundbite version before I ramble away: “(500) Days of Summer” is just a pure delight. It’s lovely without being too sweet, honest without being overly “dramatic”, and written, acted, and directed with absolute charm. I’m not giving it a perfect review based on pretty much one minor quibble, but this is a movie that will get heavy rotation on my poor, romance-ingesting DVD player, right alongside “Pride & Prejudice,” “Love Actually”, “When Harry Met Sally”, and (yep, the guilty pleasure that evolved into one of my favorites), “Wimbledon.”
To be upfront, I don’t share the common “guy” opinions on chick flicks. I wouldn’t have to be dragged to see one by someone I’m dating—in fact, I’m guessing it’ll be the other way around. I genuinely love movies about people in relatable, human situations, all presented with a good sense of humor and plenty of heart. That’s not to say that all of them are good—the typical Hollywood rom-com usually involves some gimmick (It’s all a bet! He’s only pretending to be gay!) that destroys any potential that movie would have to be a sweet, memorable romance.
We’re also treated to such familiar staples like the jackass boyfriend who abuses his girl, but for some reason she stays with him…and only in the end decides to finally go with Insert Charming Lead Here. Or, my personal favorite: Matthew McConaughey is some form of shirtless douchebag who must reform his ways and, of course, thus get the attractive blonde chick (who really should know better!) in the end. Not all of these are exactly terrible, but the corny plot mechanics and piled-on sappiness leave many such movies (if not most) cruising by purely on the likeability of its stars (“The Ugly Truth,” which I’ll review later this week, is a perfect example of that).
In terms of predictability, though, I honestly don’t mind movies being formulaic as long as the characters and their relationships are fresh, engaging, and well-written…and, in the end, I’m really a sucker for good, likeable people falling in love. Well, “(500) Days of Summer” meets that basic requirement, but also provides something funnier, and much more touching and relatable in the process.
The movie, as the narrator plainly tells us, is “a story of boy meets girl,” but, he is quick to point out, it’s “not a love story”. That’s a very accurate description: a “love story” would be selling the movie far too short. There are no bets here, no high-concept premises—it’s a simple, common story, one that most (if not all of us) have at one point experienced. This is, in fact, about a “boy,” Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a once promising architect and now greeting-card writer, and him falling head over heels for a “girl”, Summer (the lovely and radiant Zooey Deschanel), his office’s new secretary. It’s a premise we’ve seen a million times before, but, trust me, “(500) Days of Summer” will win you over before you know it.
The movie kicks in at Day 288 (it shuffles through most of the 500 days of their relationship), and, since the trailer already gave it away, Summer has just broken up with Tom. Tom, feeling lower than humanly possible, vows to win her back, because she’s not “any other girl…she’s Summer!” For him, she’s the One, for Tom is the type of guy who sincerely believes that—he’s not going to let his soul-mate go, at least not without a fight. And, from there, the film launches into retracing their relationship, but in a refreshingly loose, non-chronological order. And therein lies the film’s great hook. There’s a reason the movie starts with Tom—it’s his version of their relationship. These are his memories, his analyses, his quirks and pains that we’re experiencing. We’re not actually getting all 500 days, but we’re getting the days that matter to him—for better or for worse—these are the ones that truly stick out.
Now, I can’t take credit for this (since I read it an interview with Gordon-Levitt), but the film’s structure is so true to how we think that many people might not actually notice it. And he’s absolutely right—think about your important relationships, the ones that really mattered—it rarely goes straight to day one, right? By all means, it could, but, if you’re anything like me, the mind jumps around like crazy. You remember the first awkward joke, perhaps a moment later when you genuinely connected, which could then launch your train of thought straight through to the first signs of trouble. This movie (in perhaps a far more coherent manner) is that experience—in turns sweet and funny, and, in perfectly natural segueways, quite poignant and heartbreaking when it needs to be.
But the real clincher for me was the characters. Here, we have two of our most talented and likeable young actors, but in characters that aren’t types—Tom and Summer are real people, with two quite different outlooks on relationships (which may or may not contribute to the developments that take place). Tom, especially, is the guy who’s born to believe that there’s that One Person out there for him. Probably from years of absorbing romantic movies and novels (and come on, he works for a greeting card company—the holy ground of mass-produced sappiness!), he’s been waiting for that one person—the girl of his dreams who will come in and make his life better, who will push and inspire him to be the very best version of himself. How do I know this (or at least think I do)? Because I am Tom, at least in all these respects. We’re both (often clueless) hopeless romantics—it goes with the territory to examine every new girl like your potential future partner for life.
One of the many things this movie gets right is the small character details. Tom, quite handsome and charming, is still rather awkward, with a great tendency to play things kind of safe. As such, his initial flirtation with Deschanel is perfectly awkward and sweet, with just the right degree of humor and believable behavior. This aspect of his personality, in particular, really hit home for me. I don’t want to drive away all you readers with long, sarcastic stories of my ridiculous life experiences, but Tom and I probably share way too many corny wooing tactics. For my favorite example: Tom knows Summer’s a fan of rock band, The Smiths, so he makes sure to play one of their songs loudly—you know, just to get her to come over and talk to him. Brilliant, right (in all its pathetic glory)? And, yep, I did that too—a couple years back, with me crazy about a neighbor of mine, I made sure to play movies that she liked, just so she could pass by and it’ll get her attention. Foolproof, right? (Except for the fool actually doing this) Hell, I liked a girl recently, but when it came time to step up and ask her out properly, I totally chickened out. Instead, I kept pushing for us to play some tennis…and only then would I unleash my awesome asking-her-out skills. Oy… Tom and I have sadly too much in common (although I’d guess his success rate is slightly higher)—not my main reason for liking the film, but definitely some bonus, well-written icing on the cake.
Summer, on the other hand, is, simply put, that Dream Girl (at least she’s mine, so I greatly sympathize with Tom)—she’s challenging, funny, beautiful (but in a believable way), sweet (but doesn’t take crap from people)—she’s the kind of girl who’s cool to hang out with at a bar, but, just the same, she can romance the socks off you with a dance at a wedding. However, there’s one big kicker: she’s not interested in “relationships”—she’s uncomfortable with labels, and repeatedly refers to Tom as her “friend,” albeit an extremely close, boyfriend-ish kind. That’s one of the biggest conflicts in the film; Tom, that earnest believer in “True Love Conquering All” tries to change her, while Summer tries to figure out how she feels in what is obviously something great (though not necessarily perfect).
As for Tom and Summer's actual relationship, in all of its 500 sometimes-messy days, the film, from its clever direction and constantly sharp script (by relatively new duo of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber), refuses to take any easy ways out. Yes, Tom and Summer are extremely compatible—they make each other laugh, their eccentricities match perfectly, their mutual “couple” vibe is infectious, and, really, they just look great together (Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt have an easy, likeable chemistry—I’d love to see them work together again). But perhaps it’s not enough. We know Summer slips away from Tom, and the fact that Tom can’t do anything about it breaks him down completely. There’s thus a real emotional honesty here that’s rarely seen, at least in popular Hollywood films. The film’s smart enough to ask: what happens when one person is completely in love, while the other person…well, really likes the other a lot? I’ve been more-or-less on both sides of that equation, and, to put it as crudely as possible, it sucks either way. Someone’s going to get hurt, and, in this case, Tom goes through an entire journey in understanding why he and Summer can or can’t be together. He comes out a slightly different person, but whether it’s for the best, or how it affects them as a couple…well, you’ll just have to see and find out. I won’t reveal the ending here, but suffice to say that it is happy in its own way, and very right for the characters and their places in life.
And in all my rambling, I still haven’t gotten to the many other great things about this film. For starters, there’s the superb all-around character work. Kudos to the writing and the casting, but every minor character feels like a believable person in this world. Best of all, Tom’s friends actually act and sound like real friends—they don’t deliver punch lines and plot points, but rather try their best to support their friend in what is obviously the greatest (and soon-to-be most heartbreaking) thing that ever happened to him. There’s also a charming relationship between Tom and his very wise, very supportive 12-year-old sister. He comes to her for advice, and she delivers it—honest-to-goodness great advice, unhampered by our “adult” habits of sugarcoating the truth to make the other person feel better. It’s a lovely touch, amidst a film filled with many of them.
I mentioned the actors briefly in the beginning, but Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel again demonstrate why they’re some of our best young actors. Gordon-Levitt, especially, has been doing solid character work for years (if you haven’t already, check out his knockout performance in “The Lookout”), but, here, he’s relaxed and very loveable—the character might very well be a grown-up, slightly more rounded version of his character in “10 Things I Hate About You". I can’t wait to see him as the villain in this weekend’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”.
Deschanel does fine work here as well. It’s hard not be smitten with Summer—that smile, that quick wit, and, man, oh, man, those eyes. In “Almost Famous,” I remember Cameron Crowe just did a full-on, loving camera zoom on her face, and I don’t blame him. Those eyes are so expressive, so alluring, so full of unspoken feelings—it works beautifully for Summer, who, unlike Tom, doesn’t give out her heart for a lifetime commitment…at least not right away.
If I have any complaint with the film, it’s that Summer is actually a little less developed than I would have liked. The writing is still strong, and Deschanel is a capable enough actress to make even the silent moments resonate, but, in the end, her character remains slightly a mystery—her motivations not always clear. Remember how this movie is pretty much Tom’s perspective? That could very well be why Summer is somewhat elusive. It is all Tom’s impressions, and Tom never understood a few very crucial things about Summer. Would it cheapen the movie if Deschanel had a clear perspective as well? To give her a more concrete point of view? I honestly don’t know, but that’s the one area of the movie where I felt it was lacking. It could be a complaint that will minimize the more I see this, but, as of now, Summer was the sole element of the film that I wanted more of.
First-time feature director Marc Webb (currently circling a “Jesus Christ Superstar” remake), who has a long and pretty distinguished track record in directing music videos for the likes of Green Day and others, makes an assured debut here. A lot of former music-video directors tend to play down substance with as much style and flash as possible, but Webb shows a pretty admirable restraint. That’s actually saying something in a movie as stylized as this one—among many things, we have an impromptu musical number and split-screen “expectations” versus “reality” footage (when Tom expected to sweep Summer off her feet, but ended up failing miserably)—but all that flash works perfectly for the story and the feelings expressed. Webb’s added touches all feel organic to the emotions at play, from the euphoria of love in its early stages to the downright depression when all of Tom’s hopes and dreams and great visions of love fall apart. Webb also works very well with his actors, especially noticed by the nice underplaying of Tom’s friends, who are obviously meant to be comic relief, but never come off as overbearing or annoying. I think he’s got a very interesting career ahead of him, and, after this, I’m incredibly curious to see how he’ll take on my favorite rock opera.
This was another way-too-long long review, but I can’t stress enough that this is a wonderful film. It’s infinitely better than your “average” date film—it digs deeper, and comes out far more truthful and enjoyable. Go see it—you won’t be disappointed. Or, if you’re anything like me, just buy it on DVD—you’ll probably end up seeing it repeatedly anyway, savoring each experience. True, I’ve only seen it once, so I can’t be sure...but it feels like a keeper. My “Love Actually” and “Pride & Prejudice” DVDs...you officially have competition.
Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight.
Review: "(500) Days of Summer"
My Rating: 4 bites [out of 5]
Fair warning: this is about to get pretty mushy; I’m going to shower a lot of love on this wonderful little movie. So, with that, here’s a quick soundbite version before I ramble away: “(500) Days of Summer” is just a pure delight. It’s lovely without being too sweet, honest without being overly “dramatic”, and written, acted, and directed with absolute charm. I’m not giving it a perfect review based on pretty much one minor quibble, but this is a movie that will get heavy rotation on my poor, romance-ingesting DVD player, right alongside “Pride & Prejudice,” “Love Actually”, “When Harry Met Sally”, and (yep, the guilty pleasure that evolved into one of my favorites), “Wimbledon.”
To be upfront, I don’t share the common “guy” opinions on chick flicks. I wouldn’t have to be dragged to see one by someone I’m dating—in fact, I’m guessing it’ll be the other way around. I genuinely love movies about people in relatable, human situations, all presented with a good sense of humor and plenty of heart. That’s not to say that all of them are good—the typical Hollywood rom-com usually involves some gimmick (It’s all a bet! He’s only pretending to be gay!) that destroys any potential that movie would have to be a sweet, memorable romance.
We’re also treated to such familiar staples like the jackass boyfriend who abuses his girl, but for some reason she stays with him…and only in the end decides to finally go with Insert Charming Lead Here. Or, my personal favorite: Matthew McConaughey is some form of shirtless douchebag who must reform his ways and, of course, thus get the attractive blonde chick (who really should know better!) in the end. Not all of these are exactly terrible, but the corny plot mechanics and piled-on sappiness leave many such movies (if not most) cruising by purely on the likeability of its stars (“The Ugly Truth,” which I’ll review later this week, is a perfect example of that).
In terms of predictability, though, I honestly don’t mind movies being formulaic as long as the characters and their relationships are fresh, engaging, and well-written…and, in the end, I’m really a sucker for good, likeable people falling in love. Well, “(500) Days of Summer” meets that basic requirement, but also provides something funnier, and much more touching and relatable in the process.
The movie, as the narrator plainly tells us, is “a story of boy meets girl,” but, he is quick to point out, it’s “not a love story”. That’s a very accurate description: a “love story” would be selling the movie far too short. There are no bets here, no high-concept premises—it’s a simple, common story, one that most (if not all of us) have at one point experienced. This is, in fact, about a “boy,” Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a once promising architect and now greeting-card writer, and him falling head over heels for a “girl”, Summer (the lovely and radiant Zooey Deschanel), his office’s new secretary. It’s a premise we’ve seen a million times before, but, trust me, “(500) Days of Summer” will win you over before you know it.
The movie kicks in at Day 288 (it shuffles through most of the 500 days of their relationship), and, since the trailer already gave it away, Summer has just broken up with Tom. Tom, feeling lower than humanly possible, vows to win her back, because she’s not “any other girl…she’s Summer!” For him, she’s the One, for Tom is the type of guy who sincerely believes that—he’s not going to let his soul-mate go, at least not without a fight. And, from there, the film launches into retracing their relationship, but in a refreshingly loose, non-chronological order. And therein lies the film’s great hook. There’s a reason the movie starts with Tom—it’s his version of their relationship. These are his memories, his analyses, his quirks and pains that we’re experiencing. We’re not actually getting all 500 days, but we’re getting the days that matter to him—for better or for worse—these are the ones that truly stick out.
Now, I can’t take credit for this (since I read it an interview with Gordon-Levitt), but the film’s structure is so true to how we think that many people might not actually notice it. And he’s absolutely right—think about your important relationships, the ones that really mattered—it rarely goes straight to day one, right? By all means, it could, but, if you’re anything like me, the mind jumps around like crazy. You remember the first awkward joke, perhaps a moment later when you genuinely connected, which could then launch your train of thought straight through to the first signs of trouble. This movie (in perhaps a far more coherent manner) is that experience—in turns sweet and funny, and, in perfectly natural segueways, quite poignant and heartbreaking when it needs to be.
But the real clincher for me was the characters. Here, we have two of our most talented and likeable young actors, but in characters that aren’t types—Tom and Summer are real people, with two quite different outlooks on relationships (which may or may not contribute to the developments that take place). Tom, especially, is the guy who’s born to believe that there’s that One Person out there for him. Probably from years of absorbing romantic movies and novels (and come on, he works for a greeting card company—the holy ground of mass-produced sappiness!), he’s been waiting for that one person—the girl of his dreams who will come in and make his life better, who will push and inspire him to be the very best version of himself. How do I know this (or at least think I do)? Because I am Tom, at least in all these respects. We’re both (often clueless) hopeless romantics—it goes with the territory to examine every new girl like your potential future partner for life.
One of the many things this movie gets right is the small character details. Tom, quite handsome and charming, is still rather awkward, with a great tendency to play things kind of safe. As such, his initial flirtation with Deschanel is perfectly awkward and sweet, with just the right degree of humor and believable behavior. This aspect of his personality, in particular, really hit home for me. I don’t want to drive away all you readers with long, sarcastic stories of my ridiculous life experiences, but Tom and I probably share way too many corny wooing tactics. For my favorite example: Tom knows Summer’s a fan of rock band, The Smiths, so he makes sure to play one of their songs loudly—you know, just to get her to come over and talk to him. Brilliant, right (in all its pathetic glory)? And, yep, I did that too—a couple years back, with me crazy about a neighbor of mine, I made sure to play movies that she liked, just so she could pass by and it’ll get her attention. Foolproof, right? (Except for the fool actually doing this) Hell, I liked a girl recently, but when it came time to step up and ask her out properly, I totally chickened out. Instead, I kept pushing for us to play some tennis…and only then would I unleash my awesome asking-her-out skills. Oy… Tom and I have sadly too much in common (although I’d guess his success rate is slightly higher)—not my main reason for liking the film, but definitely some bonus, well-written icing on the cake.
Summer, on the other hand, is, simply put, that Dream Girl (at least she’s mine, so I greatly sympathize with Tom)—she’s challenging, funny, beautiful (but in a believable way), sweet (but doesn’t take crap from people)—she’s the kind of girl who’s cool to hang out with at a bar, but, just the same, she can romance the socks off you with a dance at a wedding. However, there’s one big kicker: she’s not interested in “relationships”—she’s uncomfortable with labels, and repeatedly refers to Tom as her “friend,” albeit an extremely close, boyfriend-ish kind. That’s one of the biggest conflicts in the film; Tom, that earnest believer in “True Love Conquering All” tries to change her, while Summer tries to figure out how she feels in what is obviously something great (though not necessarily perfect).
As for Tom and Summer's actual relationship, in all of its 500 sometimes-messy days, the film, from its clever direction and constantly sharp script (by relatively new duo of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber), refuses to take any easy ways out. Yes, Tom and Summer are extremely compatible—they make each other laugh, their eccentricities match perfectly, their mutual “couple” vibe is infectious, and, really, they just look great together (Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt have an easy, likeable chemistry—I’d love to see them work together again). But perhaps it’s not enough. We know Summer slips away from Tom, and the fact that Tom can’t do anything about it breaks him down completely. There’s thus a real emotional honesty here that’s rarely seen, at least in popular Hollywood films. The film’s smart enough to ask: what happens when one person is completely in love, while the other person…well, really likes the other a lot? I’ve been more-or-less on both sides of that equation, and, to put it as crudely as possible, it sucks either way. Someone’s going to get hurt, and, in this case, Tom goes through an entire journey in understanding why he and Summer can or can’t be together. He comes out a slightly different person, but whether it’s for the best, or how it affects them as a couple…well, you’ll just have to see and find out. I won’t reveal the ending here, but suffice to say that it is happy in its own way, and very right for the characters and their places in life.
And in all my rambling, I still haven’t gotten to the many other great things about this film. For starters, there’s the superb all-around character work. Kudos to the writing and the casting, but every minor character feels like a believable person in this world. Best of all, Tom’s friends actually act and sound like real friends—they don’t deliver punch lines and plot points, but rather try their best to support their friend in what is obviously the greatest (and soon-to-be most heartbreaking) thing that ever happened to him. There’s also a charming relationship between Tom and his very wise, very supportive 12-year-old sister. He comes to her for advice, and she delivers it—honest-to-goodness great advice, unhampered by our “adult” habits of sugarcoating the truth to make the other person feel better. It’s a lovely touch, amidst a film filled with many of them.
I mentioned the actors briefly in the beginning, but Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel again demonstrate why they’re some of our best young actors. Gordon-Levitt, especially, has been doing solid character work for years (if you haven’t already, check out his knockout performance in “The Lookout”), but, here, he’s relaxed and very loveable—the character might very well be a grown-up, slightly more rounded version of his character in “10 Things I Hate About You". I can’t wait to see him as the villain in this weekend’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”.
Deschanel does fine work here as well. It’s hard not be smitten with Summer—that smile, that quick wit, and, man, oh, man, those eyes. In “Almost Famous,” I remember Cameron Crowe just did a full-on, loving camera zoom on her face, and I don’t blame him. Those eyes are so expressive, so alluring, so full of unspoken feelings—it works beautifully for Summer, who, unlike Tom, doesn’t give out her heart for a lifetime commitment…at least not right away.
If I have any complaint with the film, it’s that Summer is actually a little less developed than I would have liked. The writing is still strong, and Deschanel is a capable enough actress to make even the silent moments resonate, but, in the end, her character remains slightly a mystery—her motivations not always clear. Remember how this movie is pretty much Tom’s perspective? That could very well be why Summer is somewhat elusive. It is all Tom’s impressions, and Tom never understood a few very crucial things about Summer. Would it cheapen the movie if Deschanel had a clear perspective as well? To give her a more concrete point of view? I honestly don’t know, but that’s the one area of the movie where I felt it was lacking. It could be a complaint that will minimize the more I see this, but, as of now, Summer was the sole element of the film that I wanted more of.
First-time feature director Marc Webb (currently circling a “Jesus Christ Superstar” remake), who has a long and pretty distinguished track record in directing music videos for the likes of Green Day and others, makes an assured debut here. A lot of former music-video directors tend to play down substance with as much style and flash as possible, but Webb shows a pretty admirable restraint. That’s actually saying something in a movie as stylized as this one—among many things, we have an impromptu musical number and split-screen “expectations” versus “reality” footage (when Tom expected to sweep Summer off her feet, but ended up failing miserably)—but all that flash works perfectly for the story and the feelings expressed. Webb’s added touches all feel organic to the emotions at play, from the euphoria of love in its early stages to the downright depression when all of Tom’s hopes and dreams and great visions of love fall apart. Webb also works very well with his actors, especially noticed by the nice underplaying of Tom’s friends, who are obviously meant to be comic relief, but never come off as overbearing or annoying. I think he’s got a very interesting career ahead of him, and, after this, I’m incredibly curious to see how he’ll take on my favorite rock opera.
This was another way-too-long long review, but I can’t stress enough that this is a wonderful film. It’s infinitely better than your “average” date film—it digs deeper, and comes out far more truthful and enjoyable. Go see it—you won’t be disappointed. Or, if you’re anything like me, just buy it on DVD—you’ll probably end up seeing it repeatedly anyway, savoring each experience. True, I’ve only seen it once, so I can’t be sure...but it feels like a keeper. My “Love Actually” and “Pride & Prejudice” DVDs...you officially have competition.
Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight.
Oh, but come on...it was better than "Love Actually" and "Pride and Prejudice," haha.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is much, much better than "Love Actually" or "P&P". I wanted to see more of Tom's sister...
ReplyDelete