“Oh, let me squirt some of my coco butter on your — ”

“This is not a love story; this is a story about love.” This offbeat romantic comedy is about a woman (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her.  *insert nurturing clip here*

Storyline

One of the best, original storylines in years. Remember ” Stranger Than Fiction”, the overall quirkiness? Well, 500 Days is right about there, but less Hollywood. It starts out with narration similar to Big Fish, giving us a sense of understanding—where and how to set our bearings—because we’re about to follow a non-linear timeline of Tom’s (Gordon-Levitt) visual diary pertaining to his relationship with Summer (Deschanel).  I was pleased with the creativity of storytelling here; however, half way through the film it starts to run out of speed, bringing us to question if we can go on. It allows for a quick peek where you can feel where things are going . . . and, you’re right—very predictable.

The Cast and Crew

This was Marc Webb’s directorial debut and he deserves a little nod for not stinking up the joint.   Side note – Marc is a music video director having worked with Three Doors Down and Green Day. Another hats off to Alan Bell for casting this pup – wow, “you nailed it” (one of my favorite lines right outta Hot Rod). One last needful mention before I get into the cast goes to Charles Varga, Art Director; the entire picture was gorgeous; beautiful color pallets; every scene was text book picturesque or “just plain good look’n” as Billy Bob would say. Joseph Gordon-Levitt – come on down. Boy, where have you been? Ever since you left Third Rock, I’d thought you’d never surface—great job! Believable. Admiring. Spot-on acting. Zooey Deschanel played her usual self with a few new surprises here and there. The real treats in this cast were Geoffrey Arend and Matthew Gubler. Both of these guys “owned it,” bringing forth their acting skills, making the film much more enjoyable.  I also like the quirky supporting cast and even extras that were added into the mix. This gave it an “Office” feel. I always enjoy seeing common folk land the roles rather than the “pretty ones” – GO TO HELL! Okay, I’ll take my meds now. Enough said– BUT GO TO HELL, PRETTY ONES ! I lost all those damn beauty pageants when I was little… not enough hugs either.

The Good, Bad, and Indifferent

Great premise, but the storyline needed more conflict to help it flow more smoothly. As mentioned above, there were slow periods that would cause someone to walk out. Indies such as this 500 Days of Summer will only capture a certain audience member’s heart, so if you liked Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, Stranger Than Fiction, Broken Flowers, A Mighty Wind, or any Wes Anderson film there’s a good chance you’ll like this one, if not, it’s all Tom Cruise’s fault—fucker. Go wax your ass and sand your teeth—Tom.

Bottom Line

Go see it. Support an indie. I won’t tell anyone you voted for McCain even though your Camry sports an Obama sticker, you poser . . .

This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 9:45 pm and is filed under 3, Film Reviews, ck. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.