500 Days of Summer

Review By: Tom Herrmann
TomHerrmann@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: A-

Sometimes it seems like romantic comedies serve one purpose and one purpose only, to breakdown the spirits of boyfriends. That may seem harsh but anyone who has seen something along the lines of Little Black Book recently should know exactly what all that means. Every once in a while a unique type of romantic comedy surfaces, one with intellect and whit, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. These films give dignity to what is otherwise a genre filled with over dramatized situations and purely sensational humor.

The title, 500 Days of Summer refers to the five hundred days of interest our incredibly alternative protagonist Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) spent in love with Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The film runs through all the aspects of their relationship from their first encounters in the workplace to their first date, first kiss and all the other firsts that lead to the awkward relationship of highs and lows. Tom is a hopeless romantic with the idea that there is one person out there for him, while Summer doesn’t believe in love.

If someone broke that last part down for me the way I just did I wouldn’t be interested either guys, but don’t worry it’s not a typical chick flick. I would go as far to say that in this particular romantic comedy, the target audience may be more male then female; with our male protagonist facing issues that most people see throughout their lives. Along with his nerdy style and even nerdier friends, it gives the movie a boyfriend friendly appeal that will help guys out when it’s their girlfriends turn to pick the movie.

More specifically, guys that are into the ‘emo’ or ‘indie’ music scenes will get an extra kick out of the film. Tom’s character revolves mostly around the fact that he is an emotional and artistic person which is also the grounds of those musical styles. Not to mention references to many bands in those fields like The Smiths. Also the editing and cinematography are very representative of those styles.

Don’t let that turn away anyone who isn’t interested in either of those genres. The film itself is meant to be emotional, so it being reminiscent of emotional music is something to be expected. There are some nice touches added to the film, like when his world seems to be coming down around Tom everything turns into a drawing outline and then gets erased, leaving him with nothing but a white background.

With the exception of this and an outrageous montage turned musical number after Tom and Summer’s first sexual encounter that somehow managed to fit the motif of the film perfectly, the rest of the events are all real to life. The trials and tribulations of their relationship all seem to resemble ones that have happened to me or someone close to me. The way that the timeline skips so drastically back and forth helps by ...