DVD
REVIEW: 500 DAYS OF SUMMER

12/20/09

OVERVIEW:
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents the critically acclaimed, offbeat romance that proves when it comes to love some people know nothing at all as (500) Days of Summer arrives on Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD December 22. Zooey Deschanel (Yes Man) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) star in this quirky romantic comedy about love and fate, as a young greeting card writer (Gordon-Levitt) who is hopelessly, helplessly searching for the girl of his dreams... and his new co-worker, Summer Finn (Deschanel), may just be “the one.” But the 500 days of their offbeat relationship reveal (in no particular order) that the road to happiness can be unpredictable, uncontrollable — and unbelievably funny! From first time feature film director Marc Webb (Jesse McCartney: Up Close), the hilarious true-to-life film also stars Matthew Gray Gubler (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and Clark Gregg (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) in a unique dissection of the uncertain and whimsical year-and-a-half of one young man’s no-holds-barred love affair, where he learns that love can be difficult, but it’s also by far the best thing life has to offer.
SYNOPSIS: This
is a story of boy meets girl, begins the wry, probing
narrator of 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, and with that the film takes
off at breakneck speed into a funny, true-to-life and unique
dissection of the unruly and unpredictable year-and-a-half
of one young man’s no-holds-barred love affair. Tom, the
boy, still believes, even in this cynical modern world, in
the notion of a transforming, cosmically destined,
lightning-strikes-once kind of love. Summer, the girl,
doesn’t. Not at all. But that doesn’t stop Tom from
going after her, again and again, like a modern Don Quixote,
with all his might and courage. Suddenly, Tom is in love not
just with a lovely, witty, intelligent woman – not that he
minds any of that -- but with the very idea of Summer, the
very idea of a love that still has the power to shock the
heart and stop the world.
REVIEW: Tom: What happens when you fall in love?
Summer: You believe in that?
Tom: It's love, it's not Santa Claus.
Summer is the favorite season for many. 500 days of summer could be a great thing. 500 days of Summer
(Zooey Deschanel) could be a good thing or a bad thing; and there in lies the unfolding of this tale. “Love doesn’t exist, it’s a fantasy.” That’s the kind of philosophy that Summer lives by. Pretty sad if you ask me. Tom (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt) on the other hand is the hopeless romantic under the influence of the Summer effect. As the opening narration states, this is not a love story, it’s more of a battle between this hopeless romantic and the non-emotional realist. It’s a boy meets girl but not so cliché. As one of Tom’s buddies, McKenzie (Geoffrey
Arend), declares “you’re a dude . . . she’s a dude”. The typical male/female positions regarding relationships seem to be reversed in this circumstance. The whole movie is random for that matter. It scans the 500 days in random, non-sequential order. The emotions expressed are just as variable. There is depression, heartache, pain, and coldness but there is also love, devotion, and wonder. This film is visually stimulating with good camera use, appropriate sets, nice architecture, and of course, Zooey’s big beautiful blues . . . and she can sing too! Heck, the entire soundtrack is pretty good.
From the opening narrative you can tell that you are in for a treat. This is not your typical romantic comedy. Actually, the opening narrative lays it all out for you quite nicely so you are off to a good start. You’ve heard of the cycle of life, well this is a good representation of the cycle of love. Relationships form, relationships break, some are recycled, and some may have never existed in the first place. The tale this movie tells is pretty smart and down-to-earth realistic. A good part of what makes it that way is the sharp, modern script. It also helps when you have a Zooey Deschanel delivering some of that script. She always adds a little more spice to her lines and her characters. Oh
Zooey, Zooey, Zooey, you are a special one. Joseph also shines with his role and he really looks the part. Another interesting character is Rachel, Tom’s much younger sister played by Chloe
Moretz. Her advice to her brother is practical and wise way beyond her years which is the source of a few extremely amusing scenes. Some other incredibly amusing scenes in this film are some moments in an IKEA store as well as a dance number. Yeah, you’ve got to see it to believe it. The performances by these actors fit the movie well. They were laid back and very natural which made it look more realistic. I applaud Director Marc Webb, not only because I like his first name and the way he spells it, but also because he did a wonderful job with this his first major motion picture direction. I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you choose to watch this one, but heed the warnings given by the opening narrative.
Film Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: 500 Days of Summer is presented in
a widescreen format with a 2.40:1 aspect ration. The
transfer looks clean, judging from the watermark screening
received it is very difficult to determine the real quality
of the video, however I wont doubt that the final product
will be just fine. The picture is
complemented with a 5.1 Dolby digital sound with Spanish and English subtitles.
In terms of special
features the DVD includes only a couple. The first
featurette is a feature commentary with Director Marc Webb, Writer Michael Weber, Co-Writer Scott Neustadter and Actor Joseph
Gordon-Levitt The second are a few deleted and extended
scenes. If you want to get a in deep behind the scenes fro
this film you will need to go for the blu-ray version, which is
loaded.
VIDEO:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English 5.1 Dolby Surround, Spanish/French Dolby Surround
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Feature commentary with Director Marc Webb, Writer Michael Weber, Co-Writer Scott Neustadter and Actor Joseph
Gordon-Levitt
Lost Days of Summer: Deleted and Extended Scenes With Optional Commentary by Director Marc Webb, Writer Michael Weber, Co-Writer Scott Neustadter and Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (see list above)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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