(500) Days Of Summer

(500) Days Of Summer

As summer is coming to a winding halt as we're now in August, perhaps it's time to talk about one of the best movies of not only this summer season, but of the year. (500) Days of Summer.

Perhaps I should come out and say that I'm on the company buck most times, but even though I'm a company man and this film is being released by Fox Searchlight, I have nothing to gain by promoting it and my interest to write this is simply because it's a great movie. But on a side note, Fox Searchlight has yet to give me a bad movie. They've got a great record and are the new Miramax. Check out the trailer by pressing play:



This film struck a chord with me. I mean, who won't it strike a chord with. Rest assured that if you've ever been "in love", you'll relate to one or both characters in this film. I suppose in my case it doesn't help that a lot of the places in the film are actual spots where I've taken the person I care for, the idea of the futility of the relationship really does come across.

The park bench that Tom sits at is right above Angel's Flight near the grand central market in Downtown. I love that location and the idea that I've passed it by to go up and play scrabble right above it to check out the same view of the city mixed in with the those oh so lovely parking structures just really had me relating to the character even more.



The Karaoke takes place at Red Wood. It's a Pirate themed bar. This is a bar where I've taken my Gal on one of our first dates. I still recall that night. Got a little token of that always in my mind. So yeah, this film, a film that makes L.A. one of it's major focuses, while it may strike those chords to everyone who had some emotional attachment to someone who may not have given them the same in return, the fact that it goes beyond that and relates on a specific note like that for me, maybe this film a bit more personal.

The film isn't a Romantic comedy. I'll be hesitant to call it that. It's an anti-romantic reality. Yes, it has some laughs here and there. While the film centers around Gordon-Levitt and his hopelessly in love emotions with a woman who doesn't believe in love, there's nothing in here that can be labeled a romantic comedy. It's quirky, funny and realistically portraying love from a guy's point of view that isn't often viewed from.



But guy or girl, the idea is that the film takes the viewpoint from the person who got side swiped by the news of a break up. It's the one who didn't see the writing on the wall till it was too late. The film has the same feeling that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had. I would say that the film feels like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tripped over Garden State and rolled down a hill. Don't worry, only the best parts of both films are showing by the time it got to the bottom of the hill.

Eternal Sunshine worked because it was about the futility of that type of relationship. You better enjoy the good times while they last. Eventually you'll be going through the cycles that the couple went through where you're repeating the same mistakes... which in reality aren't mistakes. They're just the two of you growing apart.



In both films you have the futility of expecting it to last forever and learning to enjoy the good times while they do last, then let go when it's time to move on. These messages will come out depending on how cynical you are, I suppose. But in either case you should take away the fact that the two of you have changed over time because of each other. Lessons learned about yourself because of this relationship.

That's the glass half full outlook on this. The relationship may be over, and unlike a typical romantic comedy, it's not going to be a stereotypical happy ending, you can still enjoy the time spent together. Remembering the good times as well as the bad. The film plays like a 20-something Annie Hall. The degeneration of a relationship and how we grow as a result of it. So there you go. Annie Hall and Eternal Sunshine with a slight twist of Garden State. Yup, it truly is an indie film.



The film had a lot of moments that showed both the sweet side and the sour side of a relationship. Yet ordered it so that it all seemed real without ever losing the humor. You get to see, in jumping cuts, how somethings that were once cute end up being annoying and on someone's nerve.

I like how the reasons for the break up aren't ever really explored. Nor are the initial reasons or explanation on how they got together/Tom won her heart. It just leaves it at Summer gets tired of Tom... or just tired of the relationship with Tom. It's not that there's any one reason. No one cheats on the other and there isn't some magical force preventing this love that is meant to be. In actuality, the feelings between the two are just that, feelings. And in life feelings are very often fleeting.



While she was into him and liked him, she was never on the same page as him in terms of what they wanted out of the relationship. Through the relationship she did change in her own way and did learn that there was actually love out there. In the beginning of the time line, the year and a half earlier, she didn't believe in anything remotely in love. And while it didn't work out between Tom and Summer, she did open herself up to the possibility of feeling it when it approached.

I got to talk to the first time film director/long time music video director and he admitted that every scene in this film minus two of them actually happened to him. And on a side note, he sent the script to the real life Summer to read, and the first thing she said was that she found herself relating so much to Tom while reading it.Go figure.



On to Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is possibly one of the best young actors out there. After seeing his powerhouse performances in Mysterious Skin and Lookout, I'll watch anything he chooses to do. Wait a second, he's going to be Cobra Commander in the upcoming G.I. Joe flick. Can I take that statement back? He's got to have some balls to go from what has to be one of the best films of the year to what will be a fucking mess of a two hour toy commercial.

Then you have Zooey Deschanel who has an age-appropriate love interest?! Now I've seen it all. Though as cute as she is and as beautiful her eyes are, though from what I learned from THE HAPPENING is that even those beautiful eyes and quirky acting can save a bad movie. But what she makes up in the ability to save a bad movie, a skill that is not needed here, she does a wonderful job in bringing her voice. You see, Zooey has one hell of an amazing voice box as one half of the band SHE & HIM.



Then we get to the final character of the film. Los Angeles. You might not recognize it at first. I know it's easy to mistake for New York. This is why I've worked a lot on film productions in Downtown that were suppose to be set in New York. Downtown can fool you that way. I didn't realize that this film was going to be a film so in love with downtown Los Angeles. So that was a very nice surprise.

Like I said before, the Bench is a spot I've been to plenty of times before. I've walked down that pathway at the courthouse like he does. Though I don't recall ever dancing to Hall and Oates. Usually it's during Jury Duty. I have stood and admired a lot of the architecture, such as the Bradbury Building or the Dorothy Chandler. The love for LA was really the biggest thing that sealed the movie for me. It was nice to see downtown in a film that wasn't an action or cop movie.



My recommendation is to go see this film... Now. Even if it's not in wide release when you read this. Go find the local art house near you and watch this film. It's as good as Eternal Sunshine as well as realistic that it will touch on a nerve that you'll relate to the character. One of, if not THE best film of the year.

Romantic Comedies? More Like Horror Films

Romantic Comedies Are Slasher Films To Your Love Life

I have to admit that I grew up on Say Anything. Which was an odd combination because I would watch the hell out of Predator and Aliens between it. From that early age it was instilled into my mind how to be that oh so romantic gent. I'll defend it in that it was light on the comedy and heavy on the drama. None the less, it still was an unrealistic image of romance. Science... or at least one study shows that Romantic Comedies aren't healthy for your relationship.

The Notting Hill effect: How romantic comedies can harm your love life

They have long been regarded as the perfect movie for a first date. But according to a study, romantic comedies such as Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill could be bad for your love life. Rather than being harmless entertainment, ‘rom-coms’ give people unrealistic – and potentially unhealthy – expectations about real-life relationships, scientists say.

Researchers found that those who watched romantic comedies were more likely to believe in predestined love than those who preferred other genres of movie. They were also more likely to believe that perfect relationships happen instantly, and were less likely to believe that couples need to work at relationships.

I see this all the time. The idea that if two people are meant to be with each other than they'll know what the other wants without any sort of communication. Some sort of mind link straight out of a sci-fi film. "You should know why I'm mad at you." Don't you hate that? I know I do. How about the classic "Oh you don't have to get me anything for Valentines day." When you listen to that, don't do anything and then it's expected that you shouldn't have listened to them? Yeah.. that's always fun.

That's the biggest flaw I find in a relationship. When the other person refuses to tell you what they want or how to give it to them. If you like something for your birthday or want to go see something or just want to cuddle... simply say so!

Watching just one romantic comedy is enough to sway people’s attitudes to romantic love, they found. Dr Bjarne Holmes, who led the research, said: ‘We are not being killjoys – we are not saying that people shouldn’t watch these movies. But we are saying that it would be helpful if people were more aware and more critical of the messages in these films.

Most mainstream comedies depicted couples falling instantly in love and promoted the idea of fate – the notion that there is just one perfect mate out there, they found. And people were far more forgiving of cheating than they are in real life, they found.

‘There’s a notion of destiny and couples in romantic comedies immediately understand each other,’ said Dr Holmes. ‘If you think that’s how things are, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed.’

Aren't Fate and Destiny strippers? I don't believe in destiny. I like to consider myself very logical. The idea of a soul mate or fate just confuses me. When you think about it, the idea of it is morbid. You're telling me that in this world there's only ONE person I'm suppose to be with? Why am I wasting time with all these not-the-one people than? And how the hell am I suppose to find this one? I have a hard time finding matching socks in my sock pile. It's a lost cause if I have to search the world for the specific one person. Oh yeah, destiny and fate are suppose to do all the work for me...

In a second study, Dr Holmes asked around 100 student volunteers to watch Serendipity – the 2001 romantic comedy starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, while 100 watched a David Lynch drama.

In a questionnaire after the film ended, students watching the rom-com were far more likely to believe in fate and destiny than those who had watched the ‘straight’ film.

Those 100 that watched the David Lynch drama were just too confused to even think about love or destiny. 40 of them who watched Inland Empire were found pale, shaking, and in a fetal position in the corner. There was no survivors...


Looks like a Date night movie to me!

While I agree with this study I do have to question exactly if they were being fair in showing romantic comedies opposite David Lynch films. I mean, that's fucked up. And finally...

A third study found that fans of romantic comedies had far stronger beliefs in predestined love.

I don't believe in predestined love. I don't believe in destiny. You meet someone, you have chemistry and are compatible. You talk to them for a while and you realize you can stand to be around them without wanting to bash your own head in and then you have the possibilities of having a relationship with them that could last any given amount of time. You enjoy the time you have together. Simple as that.

It may not be very romantic, but it is pretty realistic. That's not to say that because of my youth being tainted with 80's romance films I can make a pretty romantic date if I think about it for a few minutes.

I always have to roll my eyes when in films the two people meet and they instantly hate each other only to later have one of the two (more than often the guy) come in and do something nice for the other and that's when, like an onion, the layers come off and the two magically fall in love. In real life the two would more than likely still hate each other.



Either that or they just never advanced beyond the second grade level and the only way they can show each other they care is by doing mean things. That whole desperate call for attention.

I have to question the logic behind those that see these romantic comedies as anything more than entertainment. Let's take Pretty Woman for example. You have a rich dude who has an inability to get women so he hires a hooker to go around town with him... and then he falls in love with her. What am I missing here? Is it really that romantic that a desperate loser falls in love with a hooker? I have buddies all the time act like they're hot shit because they got a strippers phone number. Is that really a prize?

What Woman Want is a film about Mel "Damn them Jews" Gibson being given the gift/curse to hear the thoughts of women. Which of course is the dream of every woman, right? Not having to say what they want and the guy will just know. Which in the real world just doesn't exist. Again back to that whole communication thing.

Romantic comedies seem to be porn for women. That and those romance novels your grandmother picks up at the grocery store that you just have to turn your head away from because you really don't want to see Fabio on another book cover.




I'll admit it. I thought this Rom-Com was good

In the end romantic comedies give women something to fantasies about when they're sleeping with the schmuck that they dragged to the movie theater with. But to take anything from these films as any indication on how love should be is living in a fantasy world.

Fate, Destiny, Soul mates... all smoke and mirrors. I once read someone's take on relationships and they put it into perspective using a Laissez-Faire approach. I thought it was utterly brilliant and I have to say, I was pretty speechless. If this blog shows anything, it's that I'm full of speech. We are, after all, in a supposed free market. The idea behind all this is that we should have very little interference and allow the market to run itself. Why try to force matters? Why can't the same standards hold true for romance?

It seems too often that people are getting into relationships for all the wrong reasons. As if they're filling a role for lead actor in the film of their life without ever considering if it's a production anyone would want to see, let alone be in. The idea of having to have a significant other to find your own meaning is foolish. It often shows that there's a lack of love for oneself and really, if you don't like yourself, how could you love anyone else?


Not the No Reservations I want to see.

Perhaps more people need to realize that romantic comedies are simply entertainment. It's like leaving Wedding Crashers and taking away the idea that guys go to weddings only for the sex or that Vince Vaughn resembles anything close to a decent actor. Much like Romantic comedies, that's pure fantasy.