(500) Days of Summer is a movie all about love and fate and how those two things do not always mix for a perfect, happy ending. It is a fantastic film that takes on a whole new perspective of love and how it is, rather than your typical movie about love and it’s happily ever after’s. It is a story about love, not a love story.
(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy directed by Marc Webb about a greeting-card writer, Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls head over heels for his bosses new secretary, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). Unfortunately, Summer does not believe in love and seems to think it is only something found in fairy tales, while Tom believes that he has found the girl of his dreams and is determined to convince her that soul mates do exist. With all that they have in common, such as their love for The Smith’s and surrealist artist Magritte, it is hard to believe that they wouldn’t end up together. The movie shows the duration of their relationship, but it is presented out of order flipping the days back and forth, for example from day 9 to 165. It is a story about how love can be confusing, exciting, asymmetrical, and how love does not always work out as we had hoped, showing the difference between our expectations and reality.
(500) Days of Summer is unlike most films you will see these days, taking on a whole new spin on love and what it is like. Unlike “The Notebook” or “A Walk to Remember”, it is not a love story and shows how love can fail. It is something that most people can relate to, such as your first love where everything feels perfect, but for one reason or another it does not work out. Zooey Deschanel does a wonderful job of playing Tom’s cute, slightly spacey, and alluring crush such as her roles in “Elf” and “Yes Man.” While Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes on a much different persona in this movie rather than his roles in “The Dark Knight Rises”, “Inception” and “50/50,” but still seems to have his crooked smile, nice physique, and deep voice. These two appealing characters make the perfect, ideally matched, semi-hipster couple, while still showing the struggles of relationships and why sometimes they fall apart.
I would recommend (500) Days of Summer to anyone who is looking for a romantic comedy, but wants a more realistic viewpoint of what love really can be like. This film does a great job of keeping it’s audience intrigued and making you want to know what happens next in Tom and Summer’s inconsistent relationship. If you are looking for a good laugh, an interesting romance, or just want to see something original and fresh this is the perfect movie for you. (500) Days of Summer is a story about love, not a love story, and thats what makes it so refreshingly charming and original.
by: Olivia VanDenBerge.
Source:
http://www.lshscurrent.com/retro-movie-review-500-days-of-summer/