(500) Days of Summer: A Review

Meet Tom. He just met the girl of his dreams.
Meet Summer. She just met another average guy.
Credits to webomatica.com.

Ah, romantic comedies. So sweet! So happy! So...cheesy.
There is no need to worry too much about the cheese-overdose factor in (500) Days of Summer. There is a fair bit of the cheese, but this is moderated with a generous share of wit (think of it as good wine that pairs nicely with cheese). This is the classic boy-meets-girl tale (with excellent music) until we reach the pivotal scene in which Tom (the boy, played by the far-more-than "adequately handsome" Joseph Gordon-Levitt) smashes plates in his kitchen in a state of total depression after Summer (the girl, played by the quirky-sweet Zooey Deschanel) ends their relationship with the brutal one-liner "You're still my best friend!" From then on, it's incredibly easy to relate to heartbroken Tom, who morosely, and rather adorably, declares that "I don't want to get over her, I want to get her back."

(500) Days of Summer tells Tom's story in a twisting/turning non-linear narrative, jumping back and forth from day (1) to day (242) and back to day (39). This helps to relieve the saccharine quality of the material that the audience is watching--the "dates in the park, love scenes in the dark" type of fare--and keeps us riveted on the details of the story.

And what details! Everything from the setting to the supporting cast is thoughtfully designed. There are slow romantic scenes spiced with moments of hilarity and there are delightful secondary characters (Chloe Moretz plays the part of a smart-mouthed realist foil to Tom's sugary optimist).

Rachel Hansen, played by Chloe Moretz, gives big brother Tom a lesson in "getting-your-girl-before-she-finds-Lars-from-Norway".
 Credits to kimimimish.tumblr.com.

The protagonists themselves, too, are multidimensional and dynamic. Tom's a fledgling architect, so we see him draw his dream landscape on Summer's arm and paint his bedroom wall. He likes The Smiths and does a great karaoke version of The Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man". When asked if he really believes in love, he says, "It's love, not Santa Claus!" He also dances. Yup. He dances. Summer's a free spirit; she moves around when she feels like it and she wears the most beautiful dresses. She talks about reading Dorian Gray, and she quoted Belle and Sebastian in her high-school yearbook. We see Tom and Summer grow and change, see them in love and then disillusioned, and see them come out of their ordeal a little dented up, a lot changed, and we like them better for it. They are, by far, some of the most innately likable characters created by Hollywood in the last few years.

Last but not least, there's the soundtrack to this film. In one word? Phenomenal. With the head-bopping "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates, the cheerfully realistic (and Canadian!) "Mushaboom" by Feist, and the oh-so-British "She's Got You High" by Mumm-Ra, this soundtrack's guaranteed to elicit a smile from the most miserly person you know. Go ahead, give it a try.

Hm. Pensive, profound thoughts going on?
Credits to 500days.com. 

Now I'm done ranting about how much I loved this movie, and now it's your turn to go watch it.

- (500) Days of Summer was produced by Marc Webb and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. I don't own (or claim to own) any of their material, which is protected by international copyright laws. Pictures used in this post also belong to their respective authors. 

favorite tunes

Carla Bruni, former First Lady of France, sings about a man named Raphael, who she reputedly fell in love with as she was dating his father:

She sings, "Four constants and three vowels, that is the name of Raphael...no anxiety, no prelude, no promise of the eternal, just love in our bed, just our lives in a rainbow."
The song is called Raphael, and can be found on her album

She sings, "Someone told me that our lives aren't big things, that they pass like the wilting of roses...But someone told me that you love me still...can it be possible?...Someone told me that destiny mocks us, that it promises us everything and gives us nothing..."

beautiful trifles

I have never seen pastry so delectable...I did not take ^ that picture, but I have been to the Laduree Paris bakery where these little treasures (called "macarons") are made. They are as delicious as they look, and worth the trip to Paris. On the topic of delightfully beautiful things, here are a few more wonderful selections from Laduree:

Food porn. That's what this is.