"(500) Days of Summer"

[Stewball]

This is what I originally wrote in my review of this movie about 3 weeks ago:

From the opening disclaimer to the narrator's final comment, this is a unique film. Everything clicks from the music to the stellar performances, but most of all what makes it a masterpiece for me is the message--and you don't really know what that is until the very end. This was a love story [even though it claimed not to be] obviously written by a man who'd been been raked over the coals with his loss. It's a wake up call for all the soul-maters and star crossed fate-mongers out there. It is so righteous.--100

As time passed I kept asking myself, wait a minute, how could a romantic comedy EVER be anything more than an 80 or something? How could I rate it 100 and use words like 'masterpiece' for the first time in well over 2 years. Have I been one of those suckers born every minute? Risking double damage from such, I actually paid to go back and watch it again, and I gotta say, I stand by what I wrote.

[Stewball]

Just noticed this is #106 on IMDb's top 250. 87/92 at RT. A little validation there anyway. Halfway descent box of $18 mil, particularly given it's almost all word-of-mouth, even though (or because) most people don't see how deep it is. I still keep questioning myself, and I still keep telling myself to shut the fuck up. (Thought I'd beat some/most/all of you to it. )

[ShogunRua]

Haven't watched it, but my mother did, and thought it was average, albeit not terrible.

The fact that it's presently #106 on IMDB means little. Films are at their highest rating right after release, and tend to drop at least one full point a couple of months afterwards. A 7.5 out of 10 will still be very good, however.

[Stewball]

My apologies to your mother.

And yes the votes on IMDb are still just in the four digits. I do expect it to come down some--but still. RT is a better initial gauge and that's up there too. I'm thinking Internet ratings are weighted more toward men, and if that's true, that says even more about how unusual these ratings would be for a rom-com (technical name for a chick flick). Anyway, go see for yourself. So far only four ratings from Critickers.

[ShogunRua]

My apologies to your mother.

When she told me she had seen it, I chastised her on the phone for not checking out "The Hangover" instead. She says that her two friends were dead-set on 500 Days, however. Maybe I'll give it a shot once it shows up to the three dollar theater across the street in a month or so.

[Melvin Smif]

Maybe I'll give it a shot once it shows up to the three dollar theater across the street in a month or so.

Three dollar theatre across the street! You are a lucky man my friend.

I didn't really have a desire to see this movie, it just screamed quirky romantic comedy with an obvious indie slant (not that I mind indie movies at all I just don't like it when the fact that it's an indie flick is jammed in my face at high velocity while screaming I'm Indie! I'm Indie!, much like "Me and You and Everyone We Know" did...often). It is getting some good nods though so maybe I'll have to check it out. Maybe I can make it the next Rom-Com I have to see with my wife and I won't feel like killing myself.

[Stewball]

Fork it over. We gotta support the good Indies when they come along. And I don't know your mother but....The Hangover?

I didn't really have a desire to see this movie, it just screamed quirky romantic comedy with an obvious indie slant (not that I mind indie movies at all I just don't like it when the fact that it's an indie flick is jammed in my face at high velocity while screaming I'm Indie! I'm Indie!, much like "Me and You and Everyone We Know" did...often). It is getting some good nods though so maybe I'll have to check it out. Maybe I can make it the next Rom-Com I have to see with my wife and I won't feel like killing myself.

What in your face? They haven't promoted it at all. And I can almost guarantee you that you'll like it better than your wife does. Almost guarantee.

[Melvin Smif]

Fork it over. We gotta support the good Indies when they come along. And I don't know your mother but....The Hangover?

I didn't really have a desire to see this movie, it just screamed quirky romantic comedy with an obvious indie slant (not that I mind indie movies at all I just don't like it when the fact that it's an indie flick is jammed in my face at high velocity while screaming I'm Indie! I'm Indie!, much like "Me and You and Everyone We Know" did...often). It is getting some good nods though so maybe I'll have to check it out. Maybe I can make it the next Rom-Com I have to see with my wife and I won't feel like killing myself.

What in your face? They haven't promoted it at all. And I can almost guarantee you that you'll like it better than your wife does. Almost guarantee.

I'm talking about the tone of the movie, not the level of marketing. Some indie films just seem to really go out of thier way to be over the top quirky just to seemingly prove something akin to "we are not a mainstream movie, LOOK HOW QUIRKY AND INDIE WE ARE!". Again I must be sure and say I tend to like most Indie movies, and that I haven't see this yet so I really can't pass judgement it was just a feeling I got from the trailer. Trailers do lie, and quite often.

[Stewball]

It is somewhat quirky in a good way, meaning not quirky for quirky's sake or overdone. It's very unpretentious. But even if it were, the trip and the message would be justified.

[ShogunRua]

Three dollar theatre across the street! You are a lucky man my friend.

They play the slightly older movies though, and occasionally have a shitty projector. New films cost eleven dollars around these parts.

Maybe I can make it the next Rom-Com I have to see with my wife and I won't feel like killing myself.

I would love to see more good romantic comedies, but I'm having a hard time thinking of anything besides the Korean "My Sassy Girl", "10 Things I Hate about You", and "Overboard". Did I miss any movies?

And I don't know your mother but....The Hangover?

My 53 year old Russian immigrant mother has seen things a thousand times more outrageous. Plus, my girlfriend and most of my female friends seemed to enjoy it, too. Maybe even more than I did.

Focus-

Is there a reason the male protagonist of this film is six years my elder and yet looks like a 12 year old nancy boy?

Know what lead in a romantic comedy I would like to see? A gigantic, muscular, menacing-looking protagonist with a dense, unruly beard, BEAUTIFUL FACE, and possibly some prominent facial scars. Like Charlie Bronson, only more massive, and with more facial hair.

You know...just like every living or deceased male member of my family. Well, except me. I don't have the beautiful face part.