(500) Days of Summer

The Film: (500) Days Of Summer
The Participants: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, a quirky soundtrack.
The Dealio: Don't say you weren't warned: the movie begins with the statement 'This is not a love story.' Still, despite the clear warning, one hopes. Told with the swashbuckling insouciance of a Vegas dealer after a shot glass full of adrenalin, the story flips, wildly, between the present, the first meeting, the grinding end, throws you a coupla days in a row, just to settle you down, then hits you with a leap forward, then back into the salad days. In addition, there are split screen scenes ('reality' on one side, 'imagined' on the other), the insertion of a rouncy-bouncy s & d (song and dance. Don't make me have to stop and explain everything) that features choreography, animation and the funniest use of a post-snog ear-to-ear grin evuh. Still, interesting to note that this was billed as a chick flick; Prendie thought it did not have an unauthentic moment to it (as long as we were talking about the relationships). And that soundtrack! How about that for lagniappe?
The Grading Session: Let's see about 4. 37 stars out of 5 here. Two very appealing actors, good music, entertaining, engaging story with just enough quirks to keep you interested, and not so many you want to slap the writers for being so self-impressed.
Lessons Learned: Never assume that both halves of a couple are on exactly the same page. Or even, in the same book. And, also, how heart-breaking is it when someone who has said,basically, 'Not interested in anything permanent', goes off and, in the course of 4 weeks, winds up walking down an aisle dressed to the nines, towards someone not you? Oh, baby. That'll leave a mark.