5Q Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

Q: This movie is completely different from any romantic comedy that ever came before it, right?I mean, it's indie, fresh, and daring, correct?

A: Not quite. Despite the rep and the indie cred, take away the time-fracturing gimmick, and this is in many ways--probably most ways--a fairly conventional romantic comedy. It's well done, but some of the quirkier aspects of Tom and Summer's relationship are counteracted by some remarkably square sitcomesque punchlines and situations.

Q: Wait a minute, the lead character's NAME is Summer? That and the parentheses in the title makes me worry--is this movie too cutesy for its own good?

A: I worried myself, but don't let the 500 Days of Summer (heh heh) thing get to you. Despite some of its excesses in quirk--like breaking the wall and staging a big musical number complete with an animated bluebird--there is ultimately real feeling in this movie. Simply put, it gets you and stays there. It's funny, sad, moving, and the ending is a little cutesy but feels earned and appropriate.

Q: Isn't there a big time-distorting gimmick at the center of this one? Is it effective or just confusing?

A: Yes, instead of a straight chronological narrative of this relationship between two young lovers, we see a day here, then a day many days ahead, then a day just after the beginning, etc. The jumping around could be distracting or could be used to hide a weaker story, but it does work here. Instead of feeling like a cheap gimmick, it reveals some real emotional truths as we, for example, see a glimpse of one day, then come back and see more of it after learning more about the two characters. It's to director Marc Webb's credit that the gimmick is indeed effective.

Q: What about the leads? DO Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel have good chemistry?

A: JGL is excellent in this one. He's impressed me with some of his other roles lately, and here he does a good job of making a guy sympathetic even though at times he's kind of, well, PA-thetic. He is a romantic searching for a soulmate, and that's fine, but the way he moons over Deschanel is a little much, even if you DO find her more charming than I do. I didn't find all her so special, frankly. Now, the way I react to these characters is, of course, in large part due to the screenplay, and Deschanel in particular is hamstrung somewhat by a script that makes her--hey, her's that part I mentioned earlier about something that makes this romantic comedy unique.

Q: OK, I'll bite. What IS so unique about this romantic comedy?

A: There may be some mild SPOILAGE here, so look out.

OK, one thing I find interesting about "(500) Days" is that the female half of the equation is totally in the wrong! She looks like a real jerk through much of the movie, which makes it difficult not to root for/side with Tom. Granted, we're seeing things from Tom's point of view, but there is little effort to explain Summer or to make her a balanced character. It's kind of odd, but kind of refreshing in a weird way, and it gives a viewer (or at least me) kind of a nice surprise compared to expectations.