(500) Days of Summer

Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Zooey Deschanel
Geoffrey Arend
Chloe Grace Morentz
Clark Green
Rachel Boston
Minka Kelly









PG13           95min           2009


When his girlfriend Summer (Zooey Deschanel) unceremoniously dumps him, greeting card writer and hopeless romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) begins sifting through the year plus worth of days they spent together, looking for clues to what went wrong. As he recalls the good and the bad times he spent with the commitment-phobic girl his heart reawakens to what it cherishes the most. – back of movie cover

“(500) Days of Summer” is an unconventional story about love and not a love story. The story didn't feel fake. The acting was amazing and felt organic. The non-linear story telling made the difference.

The story felt real and could happen to anyone. I could relate to these characters. I found that I could see facets of my personality and others around me in their performances.

Eventhough the title sequence says the story is fabricated, its indeed based off one of the co-writer's relationship with a Jenny Beckman, may or may not be her true name. This made “(500) Days of Summers” even more fascinating for me. He even showed her the script and her reply is priceless too.

The non-linear story telling does several things to make the viewer invest in the film. Each scene has a title card telling what day in the relationship it is. As it jumps around in the relationship it makes the viewer have to really concentrate on the action of the film which at times is confusing. Which brings it to the next point, you will have to watch “(500) Days of Summers” at least twice to totally get the big picture of the relationship.

“(500) Days of Summers” instantly became one of my favorite romantic movies. Gordon-Levitt hasn't disappointed since seeing him in “Brick” another one of my personal favorites. Deschanel has a quirky sexy appeal that runs in her family. “(500) Days of Summers” is a must see if you are a fan of either one of these actors.

I give (500) Days of Summer a 4 out of 5.