Another Look – ‘(500) Days of Summer’: Love a Little Differently

This film will have a limited release on July 17th.

Director: Marc Webb
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rated: PG-13

For: Viewers looking for a film with a variety of creative approaches to a romantic comedy
Not For: Those looking for simple, laugh-out-loud humor

500 Days of Summer “lies” to the audience (twice) in its first opening act.  The first states that the story about to be seen is not a happy, romantic tale.  On quite the other hand, the film still is fairly content and completely about the notion of love.  The second is that the film misleads the viewers to believe that the narrative will be from both protagonists’ perspectives: Tom and Summer.  Actually, in the end, it is only really about Tom.  These points are not meant to be taken negatively in that 500 Days of Summer is a film that continuously “lies” to the audience, but instead, is a reflection about the divergent ways Director Marc Webb approaches the subject matter of the basic principles of love throughout the dark romantic comedy.  Yes, there are some loose ends that never seem to always work and the core plotline is familiar to older audience members, yet most viewers will appreciate the variety and ingenuity taken to create not only a fresh experience but an insightful one.

500 Days of Summer follows Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel).  Tom works at a greeting card company and believes that he will never be happy until he meets his one true love.  Summer just started working at the same company but believes love does not exist.  Soon, after a chance encounter in the elevator, Tom falls in love with Summer.  The film follows Tom and Summer throughout their first to 500th day in their relationship through the great to the turbulent times as they both learn about each other and their interpretations of love and anguish.

The romantic comedy works for the most part yet does fall short of being an excellent, memorable one for a few important reasons.  One point of contention is the editing.  The film goes around back and forth from the first day of Tom and Summer’s meeting to the 500th which makes it almost inevitable for there to be some problems in terms of pacing and balance.  Many times, this creative editing choice gives the film a chance to make unique observations, yet there are jumbled and jarring issues present that seem to not always make the best sense.

This problem rears its head most in repetitive scenes.  In most films, if a scene is repeated, it is either because of the epic nature of the narrative or given from a different perspective.  Here, scenes are recycled, many times, without much difference other than a dialogue change or a twist at the end of a long montage of repeated scenes, a disappointing and seemingly amateurish mistake.

These creative errors pervade the film somewhat since Director Webb plays around with a vast multitude of ideas and some of these unique thoughts fall flat.  The most obvious oddity out of the list to note, though, is the commonplace core plotline: a very familiar take on the boy meets girl story along with some dialogue that can grate on as tacky or at times, out-of-place.  Most audience members will see the direction of the narrative by the midway point and few surprises will come from the narrative itself.

However, these peculiarities should not fool anyone into thinking that this is just a commonplace romantic comedy.  As stated before, this is a film oozing with creativity in nearly every scene.  Director Webb constantly plays around with ideas from the visual to the aural.  From sketbook-like transitions to neorealist style sudden switches to an old-style musical number, the sheer range of ideas keeps audiences not only keenly interested in what is to come next but almost always benefits the core plotline.  These creative inputs give the commonplace story a life of its own with very real feelings that, even though many viewers have probably envisioned/experienced in an important relationship, will have most being surprised in at least one unique way the film tackles its themes.

This creativity is benefited by several other aspects; one being a smart use of the Los Angeles scenery and a vibrant art style.  The transitions are filled with storybook like transition art that becomes integral to the film while many will be surprised to learn that Los Angeles is the main hub for most of the activities that transpire in the film.  The soundtrack as well needs to be noted for not only giving an indie vibe but also becomes another great film to use it within the film with characters actually referring it to in different ways (both literally and abstractly) and again, a brilliant way of making it integral to the core plotline.

Although the editing has been noted to not always work, when it does, the unique structure is utilized with unique effects of literal juxtapositions, archetypes, and symbolism.  Scenes sometimes last only less than a minute long yet when paired up in this interesting schema, creates a humorous or emotional impact next to a much longer, fleshed out scene of the past or future.  Perhaps most appropriate to note in the end is the actors, especially Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel for creating such a loveable and believable couple.  The writing may not have been at the top of the game yet the actors more than put on a performance that effectively reflects the amount of information being divulged.  All-in-all, the best way to describe these very different elements coming together as one is a tour-de-France of what people feel during the love and break-up processes; a unique conglomeration of just the fact that there is never really one way to view such a complicated and abstract concept as love.

If someone asked to sum up 500 Days of Summer in a few words, the easiest tagline would be an indie chick flick, although leaving it at that does not do enough justice to the overall film quality.  The film goes through a conventional romance narrative arc filled with cheesy and melodramatic lines and although it uses a unique structure, pays the price with its sporadic and jumbled nature.  And yet, 500 Days of Summer has to be lauded for its creative, guns-a-blazing approach to the romantic comedy genre.  It experiments in all sorts of ways from split-screen editing to genre shifts to diegetic/non-diegetic music, and most importantly of all, it all comes together to nearly always brilliantly benefiting the core narrative.  Audiences may have heard the story of boy meets girl many times, yet Director Webb is hoping at least one of his many approaches will give viewers one different perspective.

The Wie muses: ***½ out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

500 Days of Summer Youtube Trailer

Related articles:

1. (500) Days of Summer
2. ’The Hangover’: Simple, Raunchy Fun
3. ‘Away We Go’: A Loveable, Offbeat Romantic Comedy
4. ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’: The Action Popcorn Film to Beat for the Summer?
5. ‘Rachel Getting Married’: A Candid Few Days with the Family