(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
RYAN: The new movie “(500) Days of Summer” stars one of my favorites, Zooey Deschanel, and some kid who looks like a poor man’s Heath Ledger.
CAROLINE: Ew, don’t pretend you don’t know who Joseph Gordon-Levitt is! We’ve seen him in several movies, from “The Lookout” to “Stop-Loss.”
RYAN: Yeah, I recognized him, but I would never have known his name. And I still don’t think I’ll remember it because it’s three words. But this movie turned out to be so cute, heartbreaking and a very realistic portrayal of a relationship.
CAROLINE: It got tremendous reviews at Sundance and was purchased quickly by Fox Searchlight. Even though it’s only out in limited release at the moment, it’s a hugely anticipated summer movie. I really liked it. It has an indie feel for sure, but for people like us who like that sort of thing, I can’t see how you wouldn’t like it.
RYAN: I enjoyed it a lot, and it really hit home for me because it parallels the last several relationships I’ve been in, or tried to be in, in a lot of ways. I totally identified with it. It made me both happy and sad.
CAROLINE: There were a couple moments that dragged a tiny bit, even though it’s a short movie. There were a few scenes that I felt were trying too hard to be indie and quirky. But it always righted itself, and I loved the ending. It’s a very sweet movie, but also real; like you could actually see this kind of relationship happening to you or someone you know. I appreciate a non-typical Hollywood love story.
RYAN: I really liked the narrator. His voice reminded me of the guy who narrated “Little Children.” And I loved the musical/dance number set to Hall & Oates.
CAROLINE: That was one of the highlights for me! I loved that scene. I read somewhere that Zooey was so bummed she wasn’t in it.
RYAN: The performances are both great. I’d say this is one of Zooey’s better performances; sometimes she’s a little wooden. But this character was so appropriate for her because she can be a little emotionless at times.
CAROLINE: She speaks really softly sometimes, and barely moves her lips. It worked in this movie; but I have yet to be truly blown away by her.
RYAN: The movie jumps back and forth in time a lot over the course of the relationship, and it’s usually pretty clear what time frame we’re in. But a couple times it was too jumpy and fast, and I got annoyed.
CAROLINE: Yeah, me too. That device was a little much at times. I was like, “Am I really supposed to remember which day of the 500 this is?!” But it definitely worked for the most part, and created humor along with tension and suspense.
— BOTTOM LINE —
CAROLINE: I can totally see why this movie got so much buzz at Sundance. But now the rest of us have heard so much about how great it’s supposed to be that our expectations are much higher. The movie totally didn’t disappoint me, but it would have been a very different experience seeing it with zero expectations. It’s really cute though, and I definitely recommend it. I love a good relationship movie.
RYAN: I really liked it too. It’s got an incredibly effective use of music. Sometimes they used a full song, and other times just snippets to punctuate what the characters are going through. It’s really well written and performed, and I love that Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s day job is writing greeting cards. That was clever. It’s a sweet, poignant film. Enjoy!
— RATING —
