Buyer beware, going into this film thinking it's a romantic comedy is like going into Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure expecting a sci-fi; its core plot fits the genre, but the intention is completely different. (500) Days of Summer is the story of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whose banal existence working for a greeting card company is thrown into disrepair upon meeting Summer (Zooey Deschanel). From here we alternate between heartbreak and happiness, jumping everywhere over the five hundred day timeline of their relationship.
'Indie twee' is harsh but oh-so-fair to describe this interesting film from music video director Marc Webb. It's all cool songs, obscure references and endless cardigans, in the successful tradition of Garden State et al. There's more here than paint by numbers quirkiness but whenever things get a little too straight-laced, the filmmakers promptly throw in a cutaway sequence or spontaneous dance number. These are quite well handled, even if they do occasionally detract from the main drawcards of the film - being the performances of Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel. We see their characters in the murky part of a relationship too often to describe what they have as chemistry but that's kind of the point, and they're great by themselves.
Good word of mouth about this film is travelling as quickly as someone can safely run in skinny-leg jeans, and it's certainly worth it for a good dose of the jaded romantic. Naturally, it also comes ready-built with a great soundtrack.
