Friday, Jul. 24, 2009

'500 Days of Summer' offers fresh spin on boy-meets-girl story

Guys, this one's for you.

"500 Days of Summer" is not only the best romantic comedy of the year so far, it just might be the defining one of the decade. And it's told from a guy's point of view, so there will be no grumbling, mister, about being dragged to this movie.

With a fresh spin on the boy-meets-girl romance, this thoroughly original movie straight-up tells you that it's about love, but not a love story.

From the get-go, you realize you are watching something special. The wonderful Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom, a nice guy who writes greeting cards but studied to be an architect. He's a hopeless romantic, has been waiting for The One -- his true love that will make everything right with the world.

When Summer Finn (the sublime Zooey Deschanel) joins the office staff, he is convinced she is his soulmate. And while she likes him, she doesn't believe in long-term commitments. She is straightforward about it, yet he persists. He thinks she'll cave. We think they're made for each other and of course would like them to be together. However, as in real life, things don't go according to plan.

They are together exactly 500 days, and the movie, in an inventive non-linear style, shows you the highs and lows of their love affair.

How the story is told is what sets this movie apart. You can describe it as an anti-romance, really, but it's so darn adorable. From its hip soundtrack that you'll have stuck in your head for days to the clever pen-and-ink drawings used for visual effect, "500 Days of Summer" is utterly charming and satisfying.

This Sundance darling is director Marc Webb's first feature, and that's all the more remarkable. But he worked in music videos before, and has a terrific eye for detail. He makes Los Angeles look like another city, finding hidden gems and interesting buildings to use as he advances the plot.

Gordon-Levitt, who played the kid on "Third Rock from the Sun," has developed an excellent reputation in dramatic indie movies ("The Lookout," "Brick"). Finally, he deserves to have a break-out hit. You invest in his character, and you feel his pain when Summer breaks his heart.

Summer's character is the more mysterious part of the equation, so you don't understand some of her motivations, but as a mercurial type of gal, would we any way? Deschanel ("Elf," "All the Real Girls") has a genuine chemistry with Gordon-Levitt), and their sunny scenes together sparkle, particularly when they're playing house in an IKEA store.

The heart has its reasons, and the movie points out that you learn something from every relationship, which ultimately benefits you on your life journey.

Every decade has had its defining romantic comedy, with "The Graduate" in the 1960s, "Annie Hall" in the 1970s, "When Harry Met Sally" in the 1980s, and "Say Anything" in the 1990s (even though it came out in '89, no one saw it until it became a video sensation). Those are all guy-centric efforts. Add "500 Days of Summer" as the one for the new millennium.

How can you not love a movie with a song-and-dance montage, a la "Enchanted" and "Slumdog Millionaire," to Hall and Oates' "You Make My Dreams"?

It's that splash of whimsy and its unpredictability that earn "500 Days of Summer" high praise. It'll be embraced by a new generation but is a movie for all seasons.

4 stars

Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Grace Moritz, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Rachel Boston, Minka Kelly.

Length: 1:36

Rated: PG-13 for sexual material and language

Should You Go? Cupid's arrow is upon us

Second opinion: 2 1/2 stars. "as a summer fantasy, audiences could do worse than '(500) Days of Summer.'" -- Cary Butler, McClatchy Newspapers