500 Days of Summer (2009)

Rated: PG-13 (sexual material and language)

Availability: In Theaters

Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Romantic comedies have a very difficult line to walk. On one hand, they need to and should be inspirational pieces about love and happiness and what wonderful things relationships can be. On the other hand, they need to be realistic and avoid clichés and falling into the realm of just too contrived or cheesy. Plus, although they don’t really need to go for the big belly laughs, they should be at least a little bit funny.

The boy meets girl story has been picked over time and time again, so much so that a typical romance story just isn’t good enough anymore. From Helen of Troy to Romeo and Juliet, we’ve seen the beauty of love and been warned of its dangers. In modern storytelling, we are looking for more than the rehashed love story that makes you say “awww” or the tale of some poor schmuck who got his heart ripped out. (Not literally, but that would be an awesome new wrinkle to put into a romantic comedy!) In this day and age how you tell the story can be nearly as important as the story itself.

(500) Days of Summer succeeds on all of these levels. The heart of it is still a boy meets girl, boy loves girl, girl loves boy, girl leaves boy, boy falls into the deepest bout of depression story. It is the story of Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 3rd Rock from the Sun) who falls in love with the elusive Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel, Yes Man, Bridge to Terabithia). It follows his life through 500 days after meeting her, which include the courtship, a relationship, a break-up, the post-partum depression and a potential rekindling. The story, however, is not told chronologically. Before each scene a ticker rolls to show on which “Day of Summer” the scene is taking place. We also see split screens, narration, different points of view and other story-telling techniques all rolled into one spectacular film. The overall result is compelling completely holds interest through the entire film.

The story itself also walks the delicate balance of realism and optimism. Looking at both sides of how great and terrible love and relationships can be. It is, at the same time hopeful and true. Summer and Tom are both rounded and complete characters, each complete with strengths, weaknesses, dreams, goals and personality unique to themselves. They are both very likable and it is very easy to find a way to relate to each one. It also helps that these characters are represented through spectacular acting chops. Both of the leads were remarkable in their roles, which is unsurprising in Deschanel’s case, as she is always superb and Gordon-Levitt bounced back from a particularly weak G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra role.

The movie as a whole is not rip-roaring funny. It’s not a complete tear jerker. It is real and it is heartfelt. It is unique in a genre that lends itself to cookie cutter carbon copies. (How many versions on Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally do we really need?) If you see this film I would not be surprised if you were still thinking about it 500 days later.

If you like: Juno, Forget Paris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, then you might like (500) Days of Summer.

I recommend: You see it!

Grade: A