Live Life Team
For the guys who get sickened by the chick-flicks their girlfriends or wives force them to see, “500 Days of Summer” offers the antidote. It is the anti chick-flick. From the opening, an author’s note tells us, “The film is not based on real people…especially you, Jennifer.” We’re already in for a very different kind of ride.
What follows is something far more emotionally advanced than most traditional romantic comedies. The film follows the meeting, hooking up, growing apart, and eventual break-up of John (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The story progresses mostly in-sequence, but with clever jumps throughout to spice up the storytelling.
The events unfold entirely from John’s point-of-view and I was totally engaged. I found myself poking my wife and shouting, “That totally sounds like something I would say.” Typically, she’s the one doing this to me in Meg Ryan movies. Yet, she was just as amused by the character’s psyche throughout the relationship as my connection with him.
The whole “Bromance” thing has been around for a few years, but “500 Days” is different. It has succeeded in creating a new genre of films – the rom-com for dudes. Now all we have to do is wait for clever writers to pen some more screenplays, someone to come up with a clever name (I’m thinking Click-Flick, you know, because couples click,), and happy couples will line up at the theatres, both of whom will be eager to see the film.
