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Movie Review- (500) Days of Summer

By Pam@IW 9 Comments

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Written by Jennie

To call (500) Days of Summer a romantic comedy may be slightly misleading; after all, very early in the film, the narrator warns the viewer: “This is not a love story.” Though that in itself is not exactly true; it is the story of how Tom falls in love with Summer, but Summer doesn’t love him back, at least not enough, and breaks up with him, breaking his heart.

(500) Days of Summer could perhaps better be termed a coming-of-age tale. Tom Hansen is young(ish), good-looking and funny, but some unspecified lack of confidence finds him floating a bit, not using his degree in architecture but instead working for a greeting card company. There he meets Summer Finn, and instantly falls hard. Tom is one of those old-fashioned souls who believes in True Love and soulmates. It’s unfortunate then, that in this respect, Tom and Summer are not well matched: Summer does not believe in love, commitment or permanency. Nevertheless, Tom and Summer do get together, and find themselves well-suited in a lot of other ways. At first it’s all bliss and joy and acting silly in Ikea, but then, as with many an impermanent love story, things start to go south. Tom, fervently believing that Summer is The One, does not even consider giving up, but Summer, who likens their relationship to that of Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy (but has to clarify for him that she is Sid in this scenario), sees no reason to hold onto a relationship that is not making either of them happy.

This was a pretty interesting film; it could be seen as a cynical take on the typical rom-com, where love conquers all, but I prefer to think of it as a more realistic version. Tom is hurt and heartbroken and angry after being dumped, but as a blind date points out to him, Summer never lied to him. Sure, she’s screwed up (by her parents’ divorce, apparently), but Tom is too – he falls in “love” with Summer without even knowing her. Though the story is told from Tom’s point of view, and thus at times Summer does seem callous, by the end it’s clear that there are no heroes or villains – just ordinary people struggling to reconcile reality with their expectations (this in fact is cleverly illustrated by a split-screen scene of Tom’s imaginary take on his joyous reunion with Summer when she impulsively invites him to a party she’s throwing, and the way the party actually goes).

What I liked best about (500) Days of Summer, besides the excellent performances by the leads, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Zooey Deschanel, was its unusual structure and a few quirky storytelling flourishes (such as the above-mentioned scene). The story is more or less linear, but sometimes does jump backward or forward, preceded by a title card indicating that it’s, say, “Day 351”.

The film ends on a hopeful note, though in retrospect, it occurred to me that it could be interpreted more than one way – on the one hand, Tom does seem to grow a bit and makes some choices to move forward in his life. On the other hand, there’s the suggestion that he may not have learned his lesson when it comes to love. I guess your take on the movie will depend on whether you’re more of a Tom or a Summer in your outlook on true and lasting love. Either way, I do recommend (500) Days of Summer.

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Filed Under: Entertainment, Movies Tagged With: (500) Days of Summer, film, Movie Review

Comments

  1. Pam says

    August 8, 2009 at 9:31 pm

    I have to confess, I really am out of it this summer. I had never even heard of this movie.

    This is a great review. I really get the feel for exactly what the movie is about and this would be a movie I would want to watch. I am pretty sure I won’t see it in the theatre but I will make sure I place it on my Netflix list when it is available.

    Reply
  2. Ann@IW says

    August 9, 2009 at 8:41 am

    Thanks, Jennie. Great review. It sounds more interesting than the usual romantic-comedy.

    I’ll add it to my movie list, but I rarely go to the theater anymore. It’s a lot of money for a pleasure I can get much cheaper by waiting a bit.

    Reply
  3. Samantha@IW says

    August 10, 2009 at 8:49 am

    I love Zooey and Joseph. I’ve only seen a few previews for this movie but your review makes me want to see it.
    Ann- do you ever use redbox? Love it!

    Reply
  4. Anya@IW says

    August 13, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    I saw it. Better than average, interesting and entertaining movie.

    I am not (usually) a chick-flick type of girl, specifically because I feel like I am seeing the same story over and over. This was unique.

    A note to parents of teenagers, we went with my 17-year-old and she enjoyed it too.

    Reply
  5. Hope Williams says

    August 24, 2009 at 6:30 am

    I really ended up not liking this film. I thought Summer was a tease and sent mixed messages – especially at the end where she goes to the wedding without her soon-to-be fiancee and leads Tom on. I thought Summer was not a good person. But then again, maybe that was the point. Did Tom ever really know Summer? She was “attractive” and spacy but other than that what else was there to her? Also, Summer said one thing but did another. If she did not believe in relationships and commitment, then why was she in such a hurry to get married? Summer made no sense to me except that she had no career ambitions, played with one guy’s heart but then married another (perhaps to have someone pay her bills because she had left her job?). What happened to the women’s movement? Isn’t this 2009? Aren’t women suppose to use more than their sexuality to get ahead in the world?

    Reply
  6. Jennie@IW says

    August 24, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    Hope, I see your points but I saw it a little differently. My perspective was that Summer really did fall in love with the guy she married, and it changed her point of view on love, commitment and marriage. I thought that was what she was trying to tell Tom when the met again near the end on the park bench.

    She did send mixed messages – after Tom got into the fight in the bar and she told him to leave but then went to his apartment. But I saw that as a fairly realistic sign that her facade was already cracking a bit. I didn’t think her no-strings, love-isn’t-real world view was very healthy emotionally. Tom and Summer were each screwed up in different ways; the way he fell in love with the idea of loving Summer and held onto that idea even after she’d broken his heart showed me that it wasn’t really about *her* for him – it was about the idea of being in capital-l Love.

    Even the party invitation at the wedding – I can see what you’re saying but I guess I saw it as a combination of Summer’s cluelessness about Tom’s feelings (she wasn’t clueless that he felt them but I think they were so far out of her understanding that she had trouble relating to them) and the fact that the scene and the movie were pretty much from Tom’s POV, making the audience take his “side” I think in a subtle way and blame Summer for not loving him. I really couldn’t dislike Summer too much because I didn’t feel I *knew* her that well – so much of what we got of her was through the prism of Tom’s infatuation or disillusionment.

    Thanks for commenting!

    Reply
  7. Karlee says

    October 6, 2009 at 7:29 am

    I loved this movie.

    the end.

    Reply
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