(500) Days of Summer

By Doug Carasso, our first AMM Contributor.

Jul 2009, Marc Webb, 95 mins

(500) Days of Summer is 95 minutes of movie heaven. Can you remember the last time you went to a film that was charming, funny, unpredictable, and fresh? Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who bears an eerie resemblance to the late Heath Ledger (could he be the next Joker?), and Zooey Daschenel, who previously charmed Will Ferrel’s Elf and here plays the breezy Summer, make an engaging pair, with an uncanny chemistry between them that one rarely encounters. They could be the next generation’s Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

The story concerns the ups, downs, sideways, and other directions in the relationship of this 20-something couple, at work, with friends, at play, in love, or not. The film is at times experimental, using camera techniques such as split screens and striking cinematography devices that, in a lesser film, would appear a failed attempt at making up for what is lacking elsewhere. Here, these methods spring naturally from the spontaneously evolving storyline and lend to the texture of the plot.

500 Days is a great date movie. It makes you feel good about not only the characters in the film, but also whomever you’re with watching the film. Take a peek during the film, and you will likely see a broad smile on the face of your movie-going companion(s).

What is it about this film that inspires such joy, such good will toward it? First, is the script – smart, funny, with unpredictable turns, and even an inspired and infectious musical number included. Then, perhaps most of all, there are the lead performers. Gordon-Levitt, whom most of us remember as a much younger actor, such as in 10 Things I Hate About You, is so winning that it makes you wonder what he or Hollywood have against each other that he has been kept from us in any prominent movie for so long. Deschanel also has a natural and irresistible charm. Together, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel have that rare ability to make their every action not only interesting, but also matter.

By all means, see (500) Days of Summer. You’ll be glad you did.

Doug is a top Orange County Lawyer and a member of the Callahan and Blaine legal team.