Lazy Girl Movie Night: (500) Days of Summer

It's Friday night, so it's safe to assume I would be having a lazy girl movie night, god forbid I'd actually be out. And flicking through the channels I found one of my all time favourite movies - (500) Days of Summer :D I'm generally forbidden from watching this movie with other people now due to me incessantly saying "this is such a good scene!" before literally every scene, however tonight was spent with my baby brothers who did remarkably well at not telling me to shut the fuck up. Don't ya love 'em.

So, a surprising number of people have told me they thought this movie was 'depressing' but I absolutely don't see it. I can't tell whether my adoration for Zooey Deschanel is clouding my opinions here, but for me this is the most honest love story I've seen in a long time. Perhaps ever. I love that someone so derisive of the concept of love can inexplicably have her mind changed by one person. And not the person you think. It is indeed a story of boy meets girl and no it isn't a love story, but instead I think it's a real story of modern dating life, whereby each dating decision we make changes the person we become even and it doesn't matter that every person we date isn't the one we're meant to end up with. And blah blah blah - other crap I like about the movie that makes me sound smart.


But here's some actual stuff I like that makes the movie so fantastic:

1. Grown up Joseph Gordon Levitt
No secret that I was a bit in love with mini JGL in 10 Things I Hate About You and aside from 3rd Rock From The Sun and a bunch of other random crappy movies he did in the late 90s/early 00s, this was the first movie he'd done since 10 Things that I could appreciate! And he got soooo delicious as he got older...just ignore the sappy, clingy character of Tom Hansen (yeah I'm dead inside, whatever).


Baby JGL vs older JGL:

2. Chloë Grace Moretz as Tom's sister

How funny is she?! Best quote from her:

Rachel: Better that you find this out now before you come home and find her in bed with Lars from Norway.

Tom: Who's Lars from Norway?

Rachel: He's some guy she met at the gym with Brad Pitt's face and Jesus' abs.

3. The Dance Sequence
I don't think this needs much explaining. It's genius.

4. iKea
There's not been a single time I've been to iKea since watching this movie that I have not pretended I was sitting in my own living room with a TV that didn't work and being in my own bathroom with 40 sinks. Unfortunately, I'm normally with my mother, rather than JGL/someone equally as yummy...
5. The Entire Soundtrack.Sweet Disposition. The Smiths. Regina. Wolfmother. It is just brilliant.


500 Days of Summer Soundtrack - http link
500 Days of Summer Soundtrack - spotify link

6. The Split Screen Scene

Film students all over the place have been trying to copy this little gem since the movie came out (just try and YouTube this, it's ridiculous). And yeah it's kinda depressing, but also completely realistic. Everyone has imagined how they hope highly anticipated events in their life are going to go, but let's be honest, they rarely live up to our high and often unreasonable expectations. And just by the way, (spoiler alert) I really don't think Summer was a bitch for not telling him she was engaged before she invited him to the party. Yes, it was a less than ideal way for him to find out, but she was only trying to stay friends with him...plus he'd totally invented their connection at the wedding, and possibly on many other occasions, in his head in my opinion! Rant over.




7. Paul's speech on his dream girl
So I've been known to cry at rather odd parts in movies, (the bit in the window in The Artist / throughout most Disney movies) and this Tom's mate Paul's little speech about love and his dream girl really got me on this one! It's such a small part of the movie but it stuck with me, perhaps because I still believe in the same ideal of love and fate that Tom believes in.. Anyways, it's just so adorable and real, and I love it. Here it is:

8. The blackboard in Tom's bedroom

How badly do you want a giant blackboard above your bed?! Where would I even go to get one of these?? I need one so badly for when a piece of paper just isn't fucking good enough.






9. The dramatic voiceover
I'm a sucker for a good voice over. Yeah he sounds like the x-factor-man/cliched-action-movie-trailer-voice-man but I think that just adds to the exquisite strangeness of the movie.


"This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story..."




and finally...


10. PENIS!!!
There are no actual penises in this movie. There is, however, a penis game. I've never been in a position to play this, but if anyone would like to join me in a park, library, shopping centre or restaurant I'm very up for it.

So there we go.


You should see this movie if you'd like to see: Zooey Deschanel playing a slightly altered version of the exact same character she always plays absolutely brilliantly, JGL in all his glory, some pretty awesome quirky-movie graphics, people shouting penis in a park and a confusing moment in a movie theatre with JGL and Zooey on screen speaking French...

(Pictures from: here, here, here and here :)