Thursday Minute
No. 110 | June 3, 2010

“Summer” Movies

Our theme this week
“Summer” movies (not soon playing at a theater near you)

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   The Endless Summer (1966)
Tuesday         —   Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
Wednesday    —   Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

They say there are no new stories.  It’s probably true.  Yet (500) Days of Summer is proof that there’s no end to how the old stories can be retold.  Often, with a fresh new twist.

Every generation needs its own love stories (one reason they keep making them).  This film probably will have a special resonance for people of a certain age.  It’s a smart enough film, though, likely to appeal to people of almost any age, i.e., to anyone who’s known the joy and heartache of love.  The narrator does say early on, “This is not a love story,” but don’t you believe it.  It’s a story about love as it often is in the real world—intoxicating one day, frustrating the next.  That may sound like the plot of a thousand romantic comedies, but you’ll see a thousand more before you find another that gets it as right as this.

Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) are co-workers at a greeting card company.  The “500 days” of the title refers to the span of their relationship, as they fall in love—or not in love, depending on who you believe.  Those 500 days don’t pass in sequence.  The film follows a non-linear narrative, and to good effect.  It is Tom’s story that matters most.  His point of view is what we see onscreen, and we understand why he’s fallen for the irresistible and enigmatic Summer.

The success of the film owes much to the two leads, both smart, attractive, and likable actors.  Their enjoyment with each other is palpable, and their performances seem like a modern update to some classic screen couples of the past.  Gordon-Levitt has all the makings of a huge star.  Deschanel will be worth keeping an eye on too.

I won’t spoil it here, but the film ends on a last line about as good as anything in recent memory.  The writing and timing are crisp throughout, and first-time director Marc Webb handles the material with a deft touch.

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(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Marc Webb, director
Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, writers
Trailer
 

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(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
“You Make My Dreams” (Hall & Oates)

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Quote of Note
“Nothing from that first day I saw her, and no one that has happened to me since, has ever been as frightening and as confusing.  For no person I’ve ever known has ever done more to make me feel more sure, more insecure, more important, and less significant.”
—Herman Raucher/Narrator (voice of director Robert Mulligan), Summer of ’42 (1971)

…58…59…60.