500 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer could most readily be classified as an indie movie. Something I've noticed about a lot of the "indie movies" that I've seen is that some of the time they try so hard to be quirky and different that they forget to actually tell a story. Other times, the writer tries so hard to give their characters a unique voice, that everything they say just sounds ridiculous. The most common pitfall that comedic indie movies tend to fall into, however, is that the filmmakers get so caught up in high-concept comedy, that most of the comedic moments tend not to be very funny. So, when I went with my Fiancee to see 500 Days of Summer, I wasn't quite sure what I was in for. The theater was packed with a lot more people than I was expecting to show up for a late-night showing, but nonetheless as the previews ended and the "fox searchlight" banner flashed across the screen, I couldn't help but wonder which pitfall 500 Days of Summer would fall into. As I made my way through the film, however, I found that, miraculously, it didn't fall into any of them. The comedic moments are funny. The dialogue is unique, but not ridiculous. Most importantly though there is a very clear, and very clever, plot.

The film tells the story of the relationship a man, Tom Hansen, has with a woman named Summer Finn, and how the 500 days that he is involved with her completely changes the course of his life. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom, and he's absolutely brilliant in the role. Levitt's Tom isn't loud and obnoxious, or the straight man, or the lovable idiot, or any of the other character-stereotypes that so many comedies are riddled with; he is a REAL PERSON. He doesn't hate his job, but he doesn't love it either, he doesn't hate his life, but it's certainly not the life that he expected to be living post-college. And when he meets Summer, he doesn't stroll over and spout out a pick-up line, he doesn't make a bet with his buddies about whether or not he can bed her and end up catching feelings in the process of attempting to add her as a notch to his belt. The relationship (or at first the lack thereof) between Tom and Summer evolves organically, in a way that is completely believable. Most romantic comedies follow a very specific formula and as a result the relationships between the characters in these films often turn into little more than plot devices designed to push the film to the end credits. This is not the case with this film. The relationship between Tom and Summer is a character in and of itself, and one of the most important ones at that; it has an effect on every other character in the film in some way, providing character development at every turn.

This movie isn't a slave to "the formula", but it is by no means a "downer" either. So if you've manged to stumble across my tiny corner of the internet then I urge you: go see 500 days of Summer, as soon as possible.