Day 4 - (500) Days of Summer
First Impressions:
Impossibly cute and immaculately scored, "(500) Days of Summer" is more rom than com. Many songs in this movie have made it onto play lists I've made, so based on that alone, I have already decided to like it.
The aesthetic is very Wes Anderson, with the omnipresent narrator, vintage outfits and architecture, and preternaturally wise pre-pubescent sister. Having watched and loved every Wes Anderson movie, again, I decided to like it.
I don't know what kind of person could possibly pass up Tom Hansen played by the ever-adorable Joseph Gordon Levitt. That's the one question that puzzles me about this movie. I suppose I felt as confused as he did about the events that transpired.
Personal Reflection:
"I love how she makes me feel like anything is possible and life is worth it."
I fell for Tom, so it was hard for me to understand the movie at times, which is actually really meta since "(500) Days of Summer" is about the dissolution of a relationship built on idealism. We see all the good parts: their trip to Ikea (a personal metric: if you can leave Ikea without a fight, you could end up together long-term), looking through records, and other ridiculously cute things.
What we don't see is Summer's askance looks when Tom makes a joke that doesn't quite land. His blinders are wrapped so tightly around his periphery he can only see ahead, to a future where his one-true-love waits behind a wedding veil. We only see Tom's view. Even when his younger sister urges him to see the ugly, it's not enough. Without seeing Summer's side, I can't remove the blinders showing Tom being anything other than perfect :p
"200 Pounds of Love" touches on the 'pretty girl effect'; pretty girls get special treatment. Jenny got into a car accident in which she caused the other driver to bleed, yet he was more concerned about her safety as was the traffic controller who wanted to give her the number of the best garage in the area. Summer also enjoys the 'pretty girl effect', in that every apartment Summer has ever rented, she’s been able to rent for an average of “9.2% below market value”.
So in the end, Summer Finn goes from being a cynic about love to getting engaged to be married to someone who she just knew was the right person. She tells Tom he was right about everything else except her. Tom then meets someone named Autumn who seems perfect for him. The message is that fate/love/soul mates exist.
I felt like the issue of fate/love/soul mates was an after-thought, a question posed at the beginning that gets lost in trying to untangle the reasons and non-linear events leading to the dissolution.
"Who cares? I'm happy, aren't you?"
Rom-Com Tropes:
1. Manic pixie dream girl who makes the protagonist come alive but wreaks havoc on his life. (Summer's yearbook quote comes to mind: "...color my life with chaos").
2. Song and dance numbers - "You Make My Dreams Come True" with the animated blue bird.
Soundtrack:
Some of my favourites:
1. "Us" - Regina Spektor
2. "Vagabonds" - Wolfmother
3. "Here Comes Your Man" - Pixies
4. "Bookends" - Simon & Garfunkel
5. "Mushaboom" - Feist
Impossibly cute and immaculately scored, "(500) Days of Summer" is more rom than com. Many songs in this movie have made it onto play lists I've made, so based on that alone, I have already decided to like it.
The aesthetic is very Wes Anderson, with the omnipresent narrator, vintage outfits and architecture, and preternaturally wise pre-pubescent sister. Having watched and loved every Wes Anderson movie, again, I decided to like it.
I don't know what kind of person could possibly pass up Tom Hansen played by the ever-adorable Joseph Gordon Levitt. That's the one question that puzzles me about this movie. I suppose I felt as confused as he did about the events that transpired.
Personal Reflection:
"I love how she makes me feel like anything is possible and life is worth it."
I fell for Tom, so it was hard for me to understand the movie at times, which is actually really meta since "(500) Days of Summer" is about the dissolution of a relationship built on idealism. We see all the good parts: their trip to Ikea (a personal metric: if you can leave Ikea without a fight, you could end up together long-term), looking through records, and other ridiculously cute things.
What we don't see is Summer's askance looks when Tom makes a joke that doesn't quite land. His blinders are wrapped so tightly around his periphery he can only see ahead, to a future where his one-true-love waits behind a wedding veil. We only see Tom's view. Even when his younger sister urges him to see the ugly, it's not enough. Without seeing Summer's side, I can't remove the blinders showing Tom being anything other than perfect :p
"200 Pounds of Love" touches on the 'pretty girl effect'; pretty girls get special treatment. Jenny got into a car accident in which she caused the other driver to bleed, yet he was more concerned about her safety as was the traffic controller who wanted to give her the number of the best garage in the area. Summer also enjoys the 'pretty girl effect', in that every apartment Summer has ever rented, she’s been able to rent for an average of “9.2% below market value”.
So in the end, Summer Finn goes from being a cynic about love to getting engaged to be married to someone who she just knew was the right person. She tells Tom he was right about everything else except her. Tom then meets someone named Autumn who seems perfect for him. The message is that fate/love/soul mates exist.
I felt like the issue of fate/love/soul mates was an after-thought, a question posed at the beginning that gets lost in trying to untangle the reasons and non-linear events leading to the dissolution.
"Who cares? I'm happy, aren't you?"
Rom-Com Tropes:
1. Manic pixie dream girl who makes the protagonist come alive but wreaks havoc on his life. (Summer's yearbook quote comes to mind: "...color my life with chaos").
2. Song and dance numbers - "You Make My Dreams Come True" with the animated blue bird.
Soundtrack:
Some of my favourites:
1. "Us" - Regina Spektor
2. "Vagabonds" - Wolfmother
3. "Here Comes Your Man" - Pixies
4. "Bookends" - Simon & Garfunkel
5. "Mushaboom" - Feist
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