Coincidences, Opportunities, Consequences

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2009)

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER is a refreshing bit of fluff about the dance of contemporary courting - with a twist. Writers Scott Neustader and Michael H. Weber demonstrate a keen understanding of the bumpy road of romance and have been able to make a film that balances humor and tenderness very well. Director Marc Webb encourages his two fine lead actors to give performances that could just be career boosts for both.
Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a completely different role than his usual stereotype) is an architect whose line in the job seeking market landed him in the greeting card business, writing inane messages for silly cards. Feeling as though he will never meet the girls of his dreams, he encounters Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), a pretty if somewhat evasive and odd girl with her own concept of 'relationships'. Egged on by his friends McKenzie (Geoffrey Arend) and Paul (Matthew Gray Gubler) as well as his very bright 'therapist' little sister Rachel (Chloe Moretz), Tom approaches Summer in a courtship that lasts for 500 days - only some of which are rewarding. It is a back and forth game of ping pong, with Tom the obsessed pursuer and Summer the feather in the wind. There really is no particular linear story here, but instead a series of wonderful vignettes that allow Gordon- Levitt and Deschanel to shine as actors. Webb interweaves drawings with photography in an especially winning way and allows the ping pong ball to bounce to and fro between periods of time in this thwarted courtship. This is not a deep movie, but it is a well designed and acted look at love among the young today. The performances by the lead actors justify visiting this little treasure.
Grady Harp