A rare time I disagree with the good doctor. I really liked it. Good performances, well directed, funny, and I felt like it was true to life. Its dark when it needs to be too. Its not perfect but I did enjoy it.
@@StephNuggs Well I think they were going for a more realistic style romance film. There are bits that are just fantasy of course, but the way it doesn't just play out perfectly for the main character for example.
Wow Mark Kermode is a lot more balanced these days, he's let loose on this one. This was hardly a review, more just a rant at not liking Zooey Deschanel's character. He's missed what I see as the point of the film. Summer is almost a blank canvas that Tom is projecting an idealised image on to. When I first watched the film as a teenager, I felt that Summer was being unfair to him, it's only in later years I realise she did nothing wrong. He projected his over the top expectations of love on to her, and was barely registering who she was and how she was feeling. As his little sister says in the film, someone that likes the same slightly obscure art/music as us doesn't automatically translate into becoming our soulmate. However this is what most of us have been led to believe by mainstream culture. Great film.
Mark... I don’t think it’s just your age. I’m 16 and thought the EXACT same thing. It’s the most try hard ‘quirky, indie, relatable’ film I’ve ever seen oh my lord. I can’t say I HATED it but people call this a romance masterpiece when there are films like Her, Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Chungking Express etc...
Kermode's spot on with this. i think i enjoyed it a bit more than him though. however for me, it was too much like Annie Hall [which for me is one of the greatest movies ever made]. i find Zooey Deschanel pretty annoying also :)
I actually thought that Dachenel was pretty subdued in the movie considering the manic pixie dream girl rep she got for other roles like New Girl. Other than that i agree with Kermode. For me the script never wanted to commit to being more serious or more romcom so the tone ended up all over the place.
Yeah I agree, Summer should've been honest with him from the beginning but they should've established their relationship. I think she was aware of Tom's feelings for her, I'm a woman and I can relate to Tom because he felt like she was using him.
My ex boyfriend- yes boyfriend- made me watch this 3 years ago and I absolutely hated it I thought it was insanely overrated and overall quite dull nevermind insanely stereotypical and sappy. He loved that whole kooky romantic thing but I just wanted to slap Joseph GL and get him to realise there's more to life than this MPDG.
Great review by Mark. Comparing this tripe to one of the greatest films of all times (Annie Hall) is beyond a joke. 5DOS just had me cringing at the sad sap jerk of a main character and “quirky” female lead as well.
I kind of agree with you, but I also think it goes beyond that in that it thinks its for these people, but its too obvious for that type of person to actually watch it. It's not pretentious, it thinks its pretentious, its lacking that extra push of intelligence to make it pretentious. So basically its trying to be something that thinks its intelligent but isn't, but hasn't even made it that far.
The 25 year old with the flicky haircut and the 5 o'clock shadow and the girl with the flowery handbag tucking in to a quinoa salad on Hampstead Heath. Those are the people that enjoy this movie.
My mum said the was "Blue Valentine for people who can't handle reality." bit harsh but ultimately true. 500 Days of Summer was a great soundtrack but other than, its pretty bland. Fairly odd representation of women too as Summer's character flits between ditzy retro princess to cold and callous. On the surface level, its nice to look at but that's all.
CeCe Egan you have to understand we are looking at Summer through Tom's eyes so we are not getting a complete picture about her. He basically sees her as his Manic Pixie Girl Dream and, as a result we do too.
he totally didn't get this film; summer is not supposed to by likable, she's a villain. there's that bit at the beginning when she cuts off her hair to cut her attachments. and as it says directly, "this is not a love story"
500 Days of Summer is an awful film. I completely agree with Kermode. There are few things that annoy me as much as "indie kookiness"...it's the being really into music/art/etc from 25+ years ago even though most of the people involved were born after the event - sure, enjoy these things from the past, but do it alongside original creations of your own: there's a serious lack of originality today and the saccharine quirkiness doesn't disguise it, it just makes me want to hurl.
Again I disagree with Kermode. Which is great because he serves his purpose. If Kermode does not take to a film then I know that it is probably worth investigating. And that is what film critics are for, to help me to make film viewing decisions that will not lead to me wasting my time. Thanks Mark. Your out of touch taste is a helpful tool.
