When true love finds you, it can sometimes be more painful then joyful, that's the premise of "(500) Days Of Summer" an offbeat romantic comedy about a girl, Summer (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn't believe that true love can be found. She has grown up in a single parent household after her parents divorce. And the guy Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who believes that his one true love is just waiting to be found. Tom and Summer both work for the same firm, Tom writes greeting cards and Summer is his bosses assistant. Tom meets Summer one Thursday when all of the employees are in a meeting to discuss the new idea concepts for the upcoming greeting cards. He is immediately taken by her.
When the company has a party Tom gets up the nerve to start talking to Summer, he has tried everything else before hand, he even tries to get her to notice he plays The Smiths on his computer, she had commented to him on the elevator one day, but he was to scared to talk to her. Since all else has failed, Tom's friend McKenzie (Geoffrey Arend) tells him this is his chance, that they are going to a karaoke bar for a party, that ALL the employees are going, so Tom goes and with the help of his friend McKenzie strikes up a conversation with Summer. The ensuing days fly by, and Tom finds himself falling in love, Summer tells him over and over again that she wants the relationship to be just casual, Tom says that's all right with him. As time flies by Tom finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love.
Of course things don't last, Summer breaks up with Tom, saying she is the Sid Vicious to his Nancy in the relationship, Summer still wants to be friends, but Tom finds that too hard, he would rather walk away. Tom tries everything to win Summer back, and at the wedding of a co-worker, Millie (Patricia Belcher) Tom finds himself alone with Summer, they dance and flirt like they were still together, Tom takes this to mean that maybe they are going to get back together, while Summer thinks this means that Tom is finally happy with just being friends. Summer invites Tom to her house one night and we get a split screen image, one side shows Toms idea of what the night will bring while the other shows the nights reality. This idea is quirky but it works in this film, Director Marc Webb brings the two characters to life, the story hangs on the characters ability to make us care for them, we find ourselves rooting for the two, separately and together.
The ending is not what we would expect from the cliche mill we call Hollywood, Tom does get a second chance, but it's not with the one person we would assume it would be, going into this movie, that is what makes this movie worth watching more than anything else, it doesn't have a cliche ending. Summer finds the one thing she was running away from, it just wasn't with Tom. Its refreshing to see a movie that gives you its heart and then goads you into not liking it.
I give (500) days of summer a 4 and on my avoidance scale a 0, this movie opens in limited run in July, go and see this movie, it is well worth the time, all of the blockbusters will still be playing and to be honest this one will be better than ALL of the summer blow em up movies. you will enjoy this little movie, it is a pleasure to watch, and the two stars make the story work, they are personable and we care for them right away, they have the kind of lives we are so close to having ourselves.
(500) days of summer is rated PG-13 for Sexual Material and Language
Running time is 1 hr. 35 mins.
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