(500) Days of Summer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Clark Gregg) – My favorite movie over the first seven months of the year, (500) Days of Summer is a little movie about two young people, Tom and Summer, whose relationship begins, ebbs and flows over 500 days. We get to see many of those days, bouncing among them to see everything from the infatuation of Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt of 3rd Rock from the Sun) through the romance to the break-up and the resolution of his relationship with Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel of Yes Man). If you watch carefully, you might find yourself reliving portions of your own life although it’s a life that generally only happens in urban America with a generation that places more value outside of work than inside it. This is a marvelous example of “small films” and is a release of the independent arm of Fox, Fox Searchlight, although it has been given pretty broad distribution.
The two main actors are very talented at inhabiting their roles. He is a would-be architect-turned-greeting card writer and is apparently very good at it. He is creative, operating as he does from an open cubicle and listening to music most of the day or surfing the Internet. She comes to work at his company as the administrative assistant to the boss (played by Clark Gregg of State and Main and The New Adventures of Old Christine). She is beautiful, a bit flaky, mysterious and free. Deschanel, who comes from an acting family (her mother played John Glenn’s wife in The Right Stuff and her sister, Emily, appeared in Glory Road and other films) is exceptional here – maybe Oscar perfect. She manages to display all of the qualities I mentioned earlier simply in her “Goth” look, in her eyes, and in her posture. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has grown up from his 3rd Rock teenage days and is extremely likable. He is perfectly pitched as a young up-and-comer with all the insecurities of youth, including the penchant to dream and see only what he wants to see in what he perceives as the love of his life.
The film includes well-timed narration that neither dominates the film nor intrudes on the story. Tom’s best friends are less annoying than those in most films of this same ilk and, unlike most of today’s comedies, don’t smoke weed, use the “f-bomb” every other word, and act lazy. In short, they’re normal, loyal friends with their owns insecurities and relationships. Summer, however, has no friends. She floats through her life, unable to plan (in her own words) even four weeks ahead. She is clear that she doesn’t want a long-term relationship. And while Tom says he agrees, he really doesn’t. He wants it all. Given his illusions, in some ways he gets what he deserves. Zooey is great but she lives for the moment. So as the movie alternates between their first 100 days and days 200-300, you get the sense that Tom is on a collision course that he refuses to anticipate. The latter parts of the 500 Days of Summer are filled with sadness, hope, longing, renewal and, ultimately … well, I’ll leave that to you to find out. My favorite scene has a touch of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Enchanted in it. The whole film is worth that segment. To me, this is the best film of the year so far, and I hope it doesn’t get lost in the late-year Oscar shuffle. With 10 movies being nominated for Best Picture this year, I am hoping that this is treated like Juno, The Visitor or Little Miss Sunshine, films that garnered either Best Acting or Best Picture nominations.