I tend to agree with popular consensus on most movies; however, this summer there’ve been a handful of critical and audience favorites that I’ve found less than compelling (Up)—or, in the least, not as compelling (District 9). Alas, 500 Days of Summer fits into these categories as well.
There are reasons to like this film, I suppose. The writing is solid and the performances are okay and I laughed out loud more than once (there’s a brief written preamble in the credits that’s one of the funniest moments). And yet, I just didn’t like this movie much. Worse, my reasons for not liking it may reveal something paradoxical about my own tastes in romantic comedies. Maybe.
500 Days of Summer certainly stands out from the genre in that the boy doesn’t get the girl in the end. But that was part of my dislike. Yeah, I know; one of the biggest knocks against this genre is its predictability and over reliance on formula (this summer’s The Proposal comes to mind as a prime example). But while I would give 500 Days of Summer high marks for avoiding genre clichés and conventions, I would give it extremely low marks for the likeability of its characters.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom Hansen, a young man trained in architecture who instead works as a writer for a greeting-card company. Joseph is a hopeless romantic at heart, an idealist whose skewed outlook on love has been shaped, in large part, by a ‘misinterpretation’ of the movie The Graduate and various other pop culture elements. Joseph believes finding the right person in life is a matter of destiny; specifically, he thinks the right girl will simply step into his life one day and he’ll instantly recognize her.
One day Tom meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), his boss’ new personal assistant, and everything’s exactly as he always envisioned; Summer’ the one; Tom just knows. Although Summer tells Tom from the start she’s not looking for a boyfriend, the pair fall into a strange, confusing relationship that includes everything except an official acknowledgement they’re a couple. Summer tells Tom she wants to take things slowly and doesn’t want the unnecessary pressure and expectations of a relationship; she really just wants to be friends. Although Tom’s deeply attracted to Summer, he tries to do what she asks. But this is where things get confusing and extremely frustrating for Tom.
At almost every turn, Summer seemingly contradicts herself. For example, at one point, while hanging out at Summer’s place, the pair discuss their expectations and just being friends and Tom goes to the bathroom. When he comes back, Summer’s laying in bed naked waiting--anyone might assume--for the nasty to commence; which it does. Hence begins a long, difficult relationship that will end with Summer marrying a man Tom didn’t even know existed.
Summer’s contradictions make her—at least for me—unsympathetic. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship but has no problem leading Tom on, enjoying all the benefits of a romantic relationship one minute, being warm and affectionate, spontaneous and intimate—acting like a girlfriend—and then shutting down, becoming cold, aloof, distant and outwardly perplexed by Tom’s desire for more. The pair have obvious chemistry and yet, Summer seems only to appreciate Tom as some sort of entertaining diversion, a diversion that she easily discards when she grows bored or disinterested. Tom’s in love and Summer seems not only to realize it, but to take advantage of it.
It’s never really explained why Summer treats Tom like a doormat. Is he a rebound relationship? Does he remind her of an old boyfriend that broke her heart? We never know and the character’s under development makes her come across as a sort of ghost, an incomplete shadow; I was never wholly convinced that Summer felt any real emotion toward Tom and wasn’t merely emulating them instead.
Tom's also underdeveloped though and not much more likeable. He’s whiny and naïve, bordering on spineless. Instead of picking himself up and working to move on, he wallows in the pain, constantly lamenting over lost love. Such pathos may be the sign of a true lover, but it doesn’t make—at least not in Tom’s case—for a very compelling character.
My other big gripe with the film lies in its narrative style. The story is told in non-chronological, non-linear fashion, with each segment introduced onscreen as representing ‘day 1-500’of Tom and Summer's romance. The film jumps nonstop; day 5, for example might be followed by day 395 and that by day 22. The progression seemed mostly arbitrary and unnecessary. Whereas the use of non-linear storytelling works in some cases (Pulp Fiction being the gold standard), here it’s just distracting. Sometimes art for art’s sake is not enough.
But maybe my expectations for romantic comedies are unrealistic. On the one hand I want a film that’s fresh and original, that’s funny, witty and well written but not overly predictable or formulaic. But I want the boy to get the girl. Sickening, I know. But I want the happy couple--after surviving and enduring the many hilarious pitfalls along the twisting road to true love--to ride into the sunset against the backdrop of an uplifting pop song; cue the end credits. That's an exaggeration of course, but it is nice to see true love to win the day.
I just threw up a little in my mouth, but there you go.
In any case, 500 Days of Summer provides none of that. To be sure, there are some funny moments here (the dance sequence following Tom and Summer's first sexual encounter is hysterical) but they weren't enough for me. There are also some interesting insights regarding dating and the expectations people bring into relationships; in the end however, 500 Days of Summer was deeply disappointing.
Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clark Gregg, Minka Kelly, Matthew Gray Gubler, Rachel Boston, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz
Directed by: Marc Webb
Released by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
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