500 Days of Summer

If you're looking for a movie to watch with your significant other this Valentine's Day, then look no further than 500 Days of Summer. This indie love story is a tale of a love once had, and the main characters attempt to get his love back and figure out what went wrong in the first place.

In the movie, Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a greeting card copyrighter in New York City who meets and becomes infatuated with Summer (Zooey Deschanel), the boss' new assistant. Their first encounter comes on the elevator after leaving work, where Tom is listening to The Smiths on his iPod, which intrigues Summer who is a big fan of The Smiths. That initially leads to their mutual attraction towards one another, and later leads to a more serious, romantic relationship. In one scene, Tom plays The Smiths "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" when Summer leaves work for the day, emphasizing the strong feelings that Tom has developed for her. The film goes back and forth in a non-linear fashion to try to uncover what went wrong with Tom and Summer's relationship. Meanwhile, the attraction continues to grow when the two are at an after work event where Tom sings a drunken version of The Pixies "Here Comes Your Man", which then leads to their first kiss the next day at work while in the copy room, solidifying their status as a couple.

Later on, Tom and Summer are in the record store where Summer thinks "Octopus Garden" by The Beatles is the best song by them, only because she loves Ringo Starr. Tom is shocked at her comment, universally believing that no one loves Ringo Starr. Later on, when they are in the record store a second time, Tom holds up a vinyl copy of Ringo Starr's "Stop and Smell The Roses", reminding them of the time that they were last in there. The morning after Tom and Summer spend their first night together, Tom busts out a dance along to the beat of Hall & Oates "You Make My Dreams Come True" along with a whole cavalcade of people and animated creatures who dance along with Tom as he parades through the park, providing for one of the more entertaining and fun aspects of this indie love story.

The film boasts a stellar soundtrack including Regina Spektor, The Smiths, Hall & Oates, and The Temper Trap, whose song "Sweet Disposition" is featured a couple of times throughout the movie and is my personal favorite song off the soundtrack. The films theme of love once had, its attempt to reclaim it, and final realization of happiness speaks true to the viewing audience, and they might find some significance between events in the movie and those in their lives.

An excellent movie and one that really takes an honest and heartfelt look at love in its purest form, and jumps back and forth at different parts in time to piece together what might have been the catalyst in causing the demise of the relationship between the two characters, which is a really inventive form of storytelling. Definitely recommended!

                                                                                                                             Movie Score: 4/5