My Review: 500 Days of Summer (8/10)

(8/10) 500 Days of Summer is this year`s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This is not your typical romantic comedy. This movie feels very fresh and original despite dealing with issues we are already familiar with. Love stories can be very cliche and numbing, but in 500 Days of Summer the way the romantic story is presented feels like this is something that hasn`t been captured on film before. The relationship between Summer and Tom feels very authentic, the way they meet then how they start a friendship, it just has a realistic take on love. I loved the way the film was presented with flashbacks jumping from day one to two hundred and eight and so forth. From the opening scene you knew this was not your typical love story and that you were in for a new experience. From the beggining you know that the relationship is not going to work, but you are still intrigued with what the outcome will be. First time film director, Marc Webb known better for his direction in music videos, does a great job at intrigating so many different techniques, styles, and a great variety of music into this movie. This is one of the better romantic comedies out in the last few years (along with Definitely, Maybe).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt goes back to what he does best, romantic comedies (it has been ten years since his latest romantic flick, Ten Things I Hate About You). He does a good job playing Tom, a young man working as a greeting card writer with a frustrated dream of being an architect. He is a firm believer in love and destiny and when he meets the new assistant at his office he finally thinks he has found the love of his life. The assistant is Summer, played by the beautiful Zooey Deschanel, she is a very modern girl who does not believe in relationships and wants to have a casual relationship with Tom. Her character has several flaws, but it is so hard to hate someone like Summer, she just seems to be so sweet and naive and this is what works best in the film, that just like guys when they fall in love with a girl they dont seem to see the flaws that person has untill it is too late, Tom cannot see her faults and pick up on the signs that she is just not that interested in him as he is in her. You have to give credit to Zooey for giving such a great performance because if this was just any other actress we would probably hate her character and wouldnt be able to connect with her. This film works because many guys can identify with falling in love with someone like Summer. Chloe Moretz played a supporting role, but she stole every scene she was in. She played Tom`s little sister who always gave him such great advice on love as if she were an expert even though she was only around twelve. Her scenes were probably the funniest ones in the movie.

Webb had a great story to work with along with a talented cast, but the way he presented this film was what made the movie so much better. He used different techniques such as the split screen and even musical numbers and combined it with a good soundtrack and non-linear action. I loved the split screen near the end of the movie that compared Tom`s expectation when he met Summer with what was really going on. That was probably one of the most brilliant scenes I have seen this year although it might put off other people that would rather see a less complicated film. But I think this approach was very accurate and really told a story we have heard or seen a million times before and gave it a nice spin, a fresh look, and something we could relate too. I really enjoyed this movie and would watch it again anytime.