'(500) Days of Summer' Fills My Heart With the Season of Love

Release Date: Sundance: January 17, 2009
                         Wide: August 7, 2009

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Chloe Moretz, Geoffrey Arend, Matthew Gray Gubler

Director: Marc Webb

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual material and language

Trailer

Official Movie Website

I have not met anyone who has told me they do not like '(500) Days of Summer.' I am sure the ones who do not like it are out there and if you are one of them, I would love to hear why, in all honesty. :)

The film proclaims in the beginning that "this is not a love story." I beg to differ! I think this is a story about love: Why? Because '500 Days' shows us exactly what a real relationship is, with no strings attached. The only thing that is very unrealistic is the wonderful, random dance number. Love is what we have in real life and it is already a beautiful, and yet messy thing. Why glamourize it in film? Show love for what love is.

Everyone who has had a relationship or been in love can connect to at least one point in the film.

Because of that, I can say this is a realistic, nitty-gritty love story.

'500 Days' follows the story of Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt of 'Inception;' my God, that man is sexy), a writer of greeting cards, and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel of 'Elf' and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'), the new assistant to Tom's boss.

The film goes on a 500 day journey of Tom and Summer's relationship and its many trials and moments of happiness. Their tale is told in the nonlinear storyline, similar to Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' only with less syringes through the heart...well, I guess metaphorically, there are stabs at Tom's heart in '500 Days.'

I think I can connect to Tom's character the most. There are many things that he feels that I have felt in the past. There is a scene that is wonderfully done and I think is my favorite out of the entire film. We see Tom's expectations of a certain situation, but at the same time on the same screen, we see his true reality unfolding.

Everyone can relate to that scene; it does not even have to apply to a relationship. Have there ever been any moments where you keep thinking about a certain day or time and how great it will be...then you live that same day through and it is not what you wanted.

The actors all did wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. There is a chemistry not only with Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt, but also with Chloe Moretz (Tom's younger sister). Geoffrey Arend (who you can see in 'Devil' in theaters tomorrow) and Matthew Gray Gubler play McKenzie and Paul, Tom's best friends. When I watch it, I can actually believe that these men would be friends and I have heard people talk like them before.

This also puts Gordon-Levitt back on the spotlight in Hollywood. His early roles included '10 Things I Hate About You' opposite Heath Ledger, (his look-alike), 'Angels in the Outfield,' and the show '3rd Rock From the Sun.' For a while he's been pushed back from the media, but this film really put him out there. I'm glad it did, he is a wonderful actor and you can also see him in 'Inception.' Oh, and he is also very hot.

On a side note, I hope Christopher Nolan, the director of 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight,' will use good ol' G-L for the role as The Joker...unfortunately, there are rumors that G-L is to play 'The Riddler' in the next Batman installment. Oh well, at least he might be in it. More news about that here.

Zooey Deschanel, God bless her. She seems like a very down-to-earth girl and a good actress. It seems like she never finds the spotlight, but the spotlight finds her. She is known for playing the blonde love interest in 'Elf' and for playing Dorothy in Syfy's own version of 'Wizard of Oz' titled 'Tin Man' (all 3 episodes are on instant play on Netflix).

All in all, I have nothing bad to say about '500 Days.' I cannot think of anything that I did not like about it. I think one thing it does is shove into people's face that this is what it is, but then it also shows, it will be okay.

I believe there are some relationships that can defy the kind that Tom and Summer shared. I do think they are out there, but it does not happen to all of us right away. It's just the way life is. But love is part of life, so many of us just keep on trying.

Rent worthy? YES! If you are a sucker for romantic films, I think you can appreciate this movie. Even if you are not, if you have ever had a messy and/or wonderful relationship or are in one now, please watch this if you have not yet.

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? My sister bought it on DVD from Blockbuster (I'm sorry, Netflix!!!) a few months ago for me. I love it so much. I am keeping that DVD forever on my shelf. I think this is a film that will stand against time because the basic story is something people from every generation can connect to. So, if you ever have children and they become teens and they suffer from their first heartbreak or find their first love, I hope you show them this.

Random Trivia:
Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen are mentioned in '500 Days.' Don't know who they are? Sid Vicious was the bassist of the punk rock group, the Sex Pistols. He had a 23-month relationship with an American girl named Nancy and they did numerous drugs together on several occasions. One drugged-up night around October of 1978, Nancy had died from a single stab wound with a knife. Vicious claims to have found her on the floor after awakening. However, the knife that killed Nancy is owned by him and he even stated once that, "I stabbed her, but I didn't mean to kill her. I loved her, but she treated me like shit." He also changed his story to saying that he does not remember exactly what happened and that Nancy fell onto the knife. There is also a theory that Nancy was killed by drug dealers while Vicious was out cold. Here's something a little special that G-L and Deschanel did together with Marc Webb.

Keep on watchin'

The Little Critic
(22 down, 78 more to go until the end of the year)