Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer

PG-13 for sexual material and language.
Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

(500) Days of Summer is described as a post modern love story with some interesting twists along the way. It’s thorny, yet exhilarating and funny and sad at the same time. It’s also a journey of highs and lows that doesn’t quite go where you think it will.

When Tom, a hapless greeting card copywriter and hopeless romantic, is blindsided after his girlfriend Summer dumps him, he shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days “together” to try to figure out where things went wrong.

In the midst of his journey, his reflections ultimately lead him to finally rediscover his true passions of life.

A Movie That Comes Out Of Nowhere

(500) Days of Summer is doing extremely well considering it’s one of those summer movies that’s pretty much flying under the radar. It opened in a limited release on July 17, up against box office giant Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Opening on just 27 screens, what some might refer to as a movie lightweight, (500) Days of Summer came in number 12 on the weekend box office list pulling in a total of $837,000 for a debut weekend!

Not too shabby for a limited release flick.

So, what’s it all about you ask? (500) Days of Summer is an offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her. This is an interesting journey to observe on screen. While this falls into the category of romantic comedy, it’s not your standard romantic comedy on a number of levels.

First off, while it might be a comedy, it’s more of a dry humor than a roll in the aisle humor type of comedy. Secondly, most romantic comedies are centered around the female character who’s looking for her Mr. Perfect. Such is not the case with (500) Days of Summer. Instead, while the female aspect of love is included, the main character is Tom who’s looking for love. Thirdly, (500) Days of Summer is far from predictable. Just when you think you have it figured out, the script suddenly takes a turn which gets your attention, and keeps you interested in what’s going on.

Subtle Simplicity Makes This Movie

In a sea of noisy, loud and special effect filled flicks…
(500) Days of Summer has a subtle simplicity that’s very appealing.

If you’re looking for a fast moving movie, you will not find it here. But then again, that’s okay. The genius of this flick is found in the simplicity of the movie. The soundtrack is great, and at the same time, not overdone. The script is well written and well thought out and I applaud the filmmakers for not burying the dialogue with music. There are many parts of the movie where the script is left to stand alone and speak for itself. This is exactly what needs to be done when the script is intelligent and attempting to say something about life.

Then, adding to the subtle simplicity, from time to time (500) Days of Summer is occasionally narrated. The narration is just enough to balance out the scenes on the screen. Sometimes such movies go overboard with narration trying to set the entire movie in storytelling mode. While I do enjoy the storytelling genre, when it’s over done I find myself wanting the narrator to shut up so the actors can talk. Such is not the case with this movie. While there could have been a little more narration, the fact that it’s done on a minimal bases adds the simplicity of this movie which really makes it attention grabbing.

After saying all of that, I wish I could say I absolutely loved (500) Days of Summer. However, I can’t do that. From time to time this movie does drag. While the jumping from one day to the next as Tom relives his 500 days with his girlfriend named Summer, there are times when the movie is slow. In all honesty, the movie clocks in at a little better than an hour and a half, it’s about 50 days too long. In what is possibly an effort to pad for time, the filmmakers drew out the break-up over too many days. We get the picture. Tom is broken up over the break up. But, did it really take him three months to finally move on?

The ultimate lesson in this movie is about finding not only your true love, but also discovering your passion in life. Both are accomplished and told in (500) Days of Summer very well. But, the break up days were simply too numerous. Maybe more time at the end of the movie could have been spent with Tom rediscovering his passion, which leads him to true love.

In a nutshell…

(500) Days of Summer is about 50 days too long. But, the concept is great. It’s the subtle simplicity of this movie that jumps off the screen as we journey through the architecture of life.

As for a rating, it carries the PG-13 marker. I’m calling the movie Cautionary Family-Friendly. Reality is, we once again discover the need for another rating. (500) Days of Summer is not a movie for kids. After all, it’s centered around the life of the early to mid-20’s crowd. The issues portrayed in the movie are real, but they’re simply not issues that a younger audience will relate with. (500) Days of Summer is probably best suited for the 17 and up crowd.

As a side note, just how good is the soundtrack from this movie? I rarely buy soundtrack CD’s. But, I did go out and buy the soundtrack for (500) Days of Summer.

Cautiously enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus