(500) Days of Summer

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(500) Days of Summer
Rated PG-13; Directed by Marc Webb; Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz

Romances on film, especially ones with plenty of comedy, rarely achieve something special. Too often we get the trite and the predictable in a story. When something different comes along and does reach excellence, it is hard not to feel giddy. Watching (500) Days of Summer is better than a glass of champagne. A smart and effective look at a relationship, (500) Days of Summer is a fun movie with some emotional heft.

The clever script gives us a young man who falls for a co-worker. With a narrator to set the mood, we watch Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) go through the ups and downs of a relationship with Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), who warns Tom that she is not looking for anything serious.

The fun comes from how the script jumps back and forth through their days together. You can enjoy watching the story unfold with its clever use of editing and narration. First-time director Marc Webb adds to the joy with some clever shots. One split-screen scene shows us Tom’s expectations of what will happen at a party while we also watch the reality.

It helps to have Joseph Gordon-Levitt as your leading man. He is excellent as the bewildered and hopeful Tom. It also doesn’t hurt to have Zooey Deschanel thrown in to add plenty of charm to the proceedings.

(500) Days of Summer, like plenty of real-life romances, is funny, affecting, and charming. Its exploration of one relationship as viewed through one of the participants’ eyes offers some great moments. It stays away from the well-worn plot points and manages to achieve something surprisingly special.