Oh Those Summer Nights

(500) Days of Summer is a movie that would benefit from very little word of mouth. (I realize that saying that in a blog post is entirely contradictory.) It is a darling film, with many things going for it, but it is not a movie that has the novelty to handle a lot of hype. The film is very much like Juno, in that it is completely sincere and, at times, overwhelmingly cute. The soundtrack also jacks up the quality of the movie. So, for your own sake, try not to remember what I've written about this movie. Try to watch with few to no expectations. Even if this post does hype the movie too much, it's only 90 minutes.

The movie immediately proclaims that it is not a love story, but a story about love. I don't know that I want to get in an argument with the writer, but those two things aren't exactly distinct. Either way, they are just laying the groundwork for the audience so they do not expect a happy ending. (That is not a spoiler as it becomes very apparent within the first 4 minutes that Summer and Tom do not live happily ever after.) The structure of the movie is very Time Traveler's Wife, as you jump back and forth in the course of Tom and Summer's 500 day romance/friendship/whatever. The departure from the beginning to end chronology of a romance is refreshing. You see the good, the bad, and the ugly almost all at once.

Zooey Deschanel (Summer) enchants us, and practically (though unintentionally) bamboozles Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She's one of those undefinable leading ladies, who moves through the movie like a summer breeze: erratic, intoxicating, warm, and, most important, fleeting. Since the movie insists it is a story about love and not a love story, I found myself hoping that Tom would somehow get out of her accidental spell alive. Joseph Gordon-Levitt perfectly embodies the sincerity of the film, wearing his heart on his sleeve as he tries so hard to get her to let herself go. He is still a boy, whereas Summer seems very much a woman.

(500) Days is a little predictable, but there's some comfort in that fact. Luckily, there are enough choreographed surprises (wink wink) to keep it interesting. That is to say, it can catch you off guard, though in hindsight those surprises fit right in with the tight storyline and editing. In the long run, this movie may be unremarkable, but I found its sincerity refreshing in the waning dog days of Summer.