"You... like the Smiths?"

     On a warm, breezy night in the summer of 2009, I went with two of my best friends to our local mall. We sat in an air-conditioned gelato shop in our shorts and flip flops, talked about the upcoming school year, and eventually decided to head next door to the movie theatre to see (500) Days of Summer. Little did I know it would become my new favorite film. From the adorable yet relatable cast of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, to the characters’ quirky, indie sense of style, to the way the soundtrack perfectly fit each scene, I found, and still find, (500) Days amazingly brilliant. The film draws the viewer’s attention to the beauty in the little things, such as a walk through the historic parts of a downtown area or a loved one’s birth mark. It reminds me to never let go of my sense of wonder, that it’s okay to feel a little heart broken sometimes, and that things will be eventually be okay.

Note: Not to mention this is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time!

This is a Story of Boy Meets Film

  Marc Webb was born on August 31, 1975. Although his parents were said to be very academically oriented, he “reportedly attended Colorado College for only a semester before delving into the professional side of filmmaking.” He worked on short films and music documentaries such as Hype (1996). Webb then moved on to work with music videos for popular artists and bands like Good Charlotte, Regina Spektor, Green Day, and Fergie. In 2006, he was awarded Director of the Year Award by the Music Video Production Association, and won MTV Video Music Awards for Green Day’s “21 Guns” several years later (Marc Webb Biography- Yahoo! Movies). 
     Premiering in August of 2009, (500) Days of Summer was released as Webb’s first full length film and starred on-the-rise celebrities Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He teamed up with a production company, Fox Searchlight, which "has made big hits of Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, and Slumdog Millionaire" (Corliss). Despite the fact that this was Webb’s first Hollywood movie, “he surpassed the usual stop-and-start path of indie film directors by vaulting to the top of one of the biggest franchises in the business: Sony’s ‘Spider-Man’ series.” The Amazing Spiderman is set to release in 2012 with Andrew Garfield as a high school version of Peter Parker, and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. The film is post-production, but Webb is rumored to be remaking Just Another Love Story, a Danish thriller that was released in 2008 (Marc Webb Biography- Yahoo! Movies). The future may be unclear at the moment for Marc Webb fans, but one thing is for sure: he won’t be leaving Hollywood anytime soon.

"You should know up front this is not a love story."

     Tom believes in fate and true love. Summer, on the other hand, does not. From the first time he lays eyes on her, the new assistant for his boss at a greeting card company, Tom believes Summer is his soul mate. Unfortunately for him, the next year and a half, or 500 days, to be specific, is a journey of falling head over heels for her, being heart broken, and trying to get her back. The audience follows the endearing duo as they go on little trips around Los Angeles to everyday places like a vintage record store, an Ikea store, a city park, and an indie movie theatre. The narrator speaks from a third person perspective, but viewers are still able to get an inside look at Tom's true self. With understated allusions, witty pop culture references, charming "couple's moments," and a killer soundtrack, (500) Days of Summer is a story for the ups and downs of love, and for what happens after all of that is gone.

"Why make something disposable, like a building, when you can make something that lasts forever, like a greeting card?"

     At the beginning of (500) Days of Summer, the audience learns that Tom originally studied architecture in college and happens to be quite talented at it. We first see his passion in a quaint sketch of a skyline placed in the corner of his office desk. After Summer asks about it, he grabs a scrap piece of paper and starts another drawing for a moment before getting frustrated, crumpling up the page, and throwing it away. This hints that he is shy about not only going after his dream, but being himself. Just like he wants to work for an architecting company, he wants to open up to Summer, and even more so for her to open up to him.

     As the film goes on, we see Tom become more comfortable with sketching. He draws a "tattoo" on Summer's arm, shown above, and is later spotted reading a book entitled Architecture of Happiness. His interest is starting to grow clearer, and it is shown through his bolder drawings that he believes Summer is right; he should chase after his dream. He is also becoming more comfortable around her.

     After Summer drops the title of "best friend" on Tom, he goes from being very connected to her to always drawing in his notebook, reading about architectural design, or even designing an intricate work of chalk buildings on his bedroom wall. Thanks to Summer, he finds his way back into sketching and eventually is able to leave the greeting card company and apply for a job within his field of expertise. Tom no longer is afraid of himself, either. He is finally comfortable being alone, and although he doesn't seem completely mended at his last meeting with Summer at the bench in the park, the audience knows that he will be.

"Nothing more than coincidence."

     Although the story of (500) Days of Summer is told by a narrator in third person, we only get an inside look at what life is like for Tom. The movie revolves around Summer herself, but we, as viewers, are on our own in figuring out who she really is as a person.

     At the beginning of the film, she seems like a quiet yet eccentric girl. Tom can tell she has a wall built around herself when she confesses she doesn’t believe in love. “It’s fantasy,” she says with a smile as they sit in a karaoke bar for an office party. She mysteriously leads Tom on as the story progresses, surprising him with her outspokenness at times. We see Summer’s attitude shift suddenly to unimpressed, distant, and slightly cold once she realizes he has gotten to know her. She starts to feel trapped, and before he knows it, she’s gone.

     Why does Summer lead Tom on, though? If we look at it from her perspective, she just wants to be happy. She grew up in a broken home and is used to feeling nothing. “Since the disintegration of her parents' marriage, she'd only loved two things. The first was her long, dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing." She’s constantly worried about getting hurt or hurting others, so she makes sure to tell Tom very directly that she’s only looking for a friendship. Obviously, they are more than just friends, but she is stressed about not only commitment, but the thought of getting herself stuck in an unhappy situation.

     After we think Summer is long gone and Tom is finally becoming himself again, she surprises him at the park with longer hair, a more mature wardrobe, and most importantly, a wedding ring. Within 500 days, she goes from being totally against the ideals of fate to convincing Tom he was right. She says that if it weren’t for destiny, she could have chosen another place to eat or gotten to the restaurant ten minutes later, and in turn would have never met her husband. “I just kept thinking,” she says. “Tom was right... I did. It just wasn’t me that you were right about.”

     Even through all of the heartbreak and time Tom spends worrying about Summer, he is able to pick himself back up. Summer, simply put, is not a mistake, but one of his life lessons.

Works Cited

Corliss, Richard. "500 Days of Summer Review: A Dear John Letter - TIME." TIME Entertainment. Time Inc., 17 July 2009. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1911108,00.html>.


"Marc Webb Biography - Yahoo! Movies." Yahoo! Movies: Read Movie Reviews, Find Showtimes and View Trailers. AEC One Stop Group, Inc. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. <http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1809864220/bio>.


(500) Days of Summer. Dir. Marc Webb. Perf. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Grace Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2009. DVD.