Finally, A Decent (Summer) Movie

My God, it is safe to return to the multiplexes.

At first glance, "(500) Days of Summer" has the looks of a movie that would scare me away. It got decent reviews and that fact no longer means a thing to me. "The Hangover" got good reviews. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" got good reviews. "Knocked Up" got good reviews. And, in my humble opinion, they all sucked.

"Summer," from its trailer, looks to be cut from the same cloth. Dating angst for a couple of twenty-somethings. Yawn. If it's like anything else from the grimy hands of director Judd Apatow and the ultra-annoying Seth Rogan, I envision a movie that spends two hours on some drunken asshole throwing up in his girlfriend's sneakers.

But, a funny thing happened on the Road to Horrible. "(500) Days of Summer" is good. Oh, actually more than good. This is a wise and astute motion picture worthy of comparison to some of the best romantic comedies ever filmed. Funny, sad, and, as a result, authentic. And how is that all achieved? By simply showing us some decent folks with real emotions. And making it so identifiable that it hurts. Literally.

The movie is done in semi-documentary style and is exactly what the title says it is. A depiction of 500 days of Summer. Not the season. Some chick who works in the office of our hero and protagonist Tom, who endures a "relationship" with for about 500 days. Unlike most films of this ilk where the story is told from both the perspectives of the guy and the girl, this completely focuses on the male of the connection. The anti-chick flick. And, as I looked around at some of the folks in the theater for my showing, they were all guys older than in their 20s. So, there was something going on here.

Everything rings true in "Summer." The infatuation and doing nothing about it. The exhileration. The confusion. The depression. It's all there and I felt like the filmmakers had positioned a surveillance camera on my social life. The excitement is real. So is the deep dark pain. Former TV sitcom actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom captures every layer of a guy enduring a tough relationship and does it remarkably. Gordon-Levitt's grandfather is Michael Gordon, who directed one of my favorite movies ever, "Pillow Talk," so the pedigree has obviously been handed down. Grandpa's movie was terrific, and so is this.

The movie has stayed with me because it was so incredibly authentic for me. I've been through exactly what Tom goes through in this film. I've done it five times. From each one, I learned a little about myself and I learned a lot about nothing. The last one damaged me so much that the manufacturer no longer makes the replacement parts. I'm eternally broken and it's one of the few things I can't write about here just yet. "(500) Days of Summer" brought that all back for me one more time. And, in the truest sense of confusion, that return was a good thing and a very bad thing for me.

But, still, this is a movie that a guy should see. Perhaps alone. Why ruin it by going with a date? Who is probably messing with your mind as you speak...

Dinner last night: Salami sandwich and salad.