Movie Night: 'Days' An Amusing Non-Love Story

Overall: B
Date Movie: B-
Girls' Night: B

Overview: (500) Days of Summer is an enjoyable character-driven movie about love and fate. While the story plays out nicely, it fell short on resonance. (500) Days of Summer opens with a narrator clearly stating that it is a story about a boy meeting a girl. And that it's not a love story. The first is true; the second is kind of true. Read: 10 Greatest Love Stories Of All Time

The film is told from the perspective of Tom Hansen, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He works for a company penning greeting cards but has always aspired to be an architect. At work he meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), and over time the two begin dating. The movie does not run in sequence but rather is told during various points in their relationship. It jumps from one "day" to another.

Hansen believes in love and has been searching for it his entire life, whereas Summer does not. Or so she says. While the couple appear to fall for each other, we also are made aware of their ultimate destiny, and the movie slowly reveals how the pair end up. Hansen has a couple of friends and a sister who help him through the relationship, but these characters are little more than types and detract from the film's goals.

The movie adds humor and levity by playing out actions otherwise occurring only in Hansen's head (think dance numbers and split-screen scenes.) The soundtrack is used at times to tell the story—a fun device intertwining music and film and illustrating how much music affects us emotionally. Read: The Ultimate Bedroom Playlist

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber wrote (500) Days of Summer, and Marc Webb directed it. Their ability to tell this story in an original and creative manner is impressive. While Days is at times very funny, it doesn't scratch the emotional surface it attempts to. 

Critique: For all its originality, the film relies too heavily on various clichés and character types. Hansen and Summer ultimately feel like re-used versions of characters we've already seen. The architect as the cool job for off-beat guys is played by now, as is the whimsical female who refuses to settle down.

The narrator explains a lot of feelings the characters have instead of revealing them through action and dialogue. Because the story is told out of sequence, we only learn bits of the characters and never truly know them.