(500) Days of Summer

I don't know. It wasn't very funny for a comedy, it was suspiciously too similar to the others for a romantic movie that was supposed to be different from the others... And I really had to do my best to hold on to the end with my eyes open. Of course it was nice film, and everyone will probably find something they like at least once in the plot, but I don't think that it was "different". Even the jumping around in the plot, which seems imaginative at first, seemed to me to be somehow unnecessary - what actually enriched Tom and Summer's story? Weren't they just regular flashbacks, just numbered by day? I'm probably digging too deep, I know. Anyway, not to blab - the central couple was really likable (I even got used to Joseph Gordon Levitt, who got on my nerves at the beginning with his perpetual smile), I liked the Amélie de Montmartre scenes (a funny introduction to the protagonists, too bad it only happened at the beginning), a pleasantly listenable soundtrack, one dance scene (Han Solo!?) and the character of the "little" wise sister. But that's about it. (01/21/2012)

A nostalgic ride into the past, when all this stuff still meant something. Marc Webb turns the tables skillfully and doesn't forget to add the bad to the good. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent as the idealistic young man who one will day become a dad who will watch 500 Days of Summer on TV because Disney+ told him he might be interested. (07/31/2023)

I'll admit, I rarely watch romantic movies anymore because, in that stereotypical whirlpool, there are only very few titles worth watching. The vast majority of those genre pieces are made as if following a template and differ only slightly in doses of naivety and, when it comes to teenage matters, even in the level of tastelessness. (500) Days of Summer really stands out from this flood because it has honest craftsmanship and a few decent ideas as well as pleasant casting. But from my perspective, it's by no means a cult film. It was allegedly a huge hit at the Sundance Festival, but any major studio could have easily financed this Webb film. In fact, it is purely a mainstream affair. If stars were given for the best mainstream romance of the year, (500) Days of Summer would probably win hands down, but that's not how it works for me. It differs from the usual productions mainly by the fact that the screenwriter admitted that not every romantic love ends in marriage, but if they want to sell me these discoveries, they should turn to someone else with such banalities. After two days, I can only remember very little from the film. It's pleasant enough for one viewing, but nothing more. Overall impression: 60%. (12/30/2014)

A fresh and new approach to the material with excellent casting. The two main virtues of this interestingly presented and positive comedy, where the wave of seriousness and sometimes bitterly cynical undertones resonate perfectly with the archetypal premise of all romantic films, are love and everything around it. Webb got it right, it's from life, and while it seems mature and adult at times, it's actually a teen issue in every way. (08/29/2016)

Someone else wrote it… doesn’t make it any less true. A beautiful, nice, poetic and extremely brisk film, where romance can both caress and bite until it breaks the skin... just like in life. Perhaps the conclusion could have been a little less of a fairytale. However, (500) Days of Summer is a fairytale, but this fact does not take the cute banal force out of Webb's film. Probably the biggest surprise of last year from the American mainstream. (01/23/2010)