I first thought that 500 days of summer was a lowly b-movie, a romcom in a he's-not-just-that-into-you level. Sometimes i do judge movies based on their posters, which is becoming a pretty bad habit. I didn't expect that it would create this much buzz, which made me itch to see it, the same way i badly wanted to see Drag Me to Hell because of the good reviews. Thankfully though, unlike Drag Me to Hell, 500 Days delivered. Reality definitely exceeded expectations.

Expectation: Buff, handsome guy and sexy lady meet, fall in love, have conflict, resolve conflict, and live funnily ever after, typical hollywood style, except not, because someone dies/gets sick/loses a puppy (I had been warned that movie has sad ending). Reality: Guy with cute smile but narrow shoulders fall in love with carefree beauty who’s uncomfortable being anyone’s anybody, and life happens.

Expectation: Modern, cinematic summer romance, where summer lasts 500 days or something,  with a twist title (peg: 50 first dates). Reality:  Girl’s name is Summer. That makes the title literal. Interesting use of the name there, high five.

Expectation: Lots of little laughter, and a few tears (expectation caused by early warning) Reality: Lots of little laughter, a couple of big ones, and no tears (hey, the ending’s hopeful)

Expectation: Fun characters which reinforce american individualistic and consumerist culture Reality: Fun, relatable characters which reinforce general truths. Use of non-famous leads adds to the quaintness of movie. Summer has that look which is not striking at first, but become more and more beautiful as the movie progresses.

Expectation: Engaging storyline with several insights. Reality: Engaging storyline - really relatable situations with a lot of insight.

Expectation: nothing out of ordinary visual-wise Reality: Split screens (wow it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one); time-lapses! <3 Use of the bird animation which I think was unnecessary.

Expectation: some witty dialogue but interspersed with a couple of tired, cheesy ones Reality: dialogue is more on the side of.. natural,  not cheesy; and quotable.

Expectation: Linear storyline Reality: Non-linear but a totally witty way to show its non-linearity. It may take some difficulty in remembering the day numbers but story chronology is still weavable. That also makes the revelations interesting; the plant-and-payoffs definitely make a jolting impact.

Expectation: MegRyan/Julia Roberts/Drew Barrymore romcom feel Reality: Amelie feel, what with its use of voice-over narration and color and that touch of whimsical magic (the OBB, the “what-is-love” video..)

Expectation: Watching it once is enough Reality: Watched it twice already, and I plan on watching it again.

 
Watch it if you hadn’t, watch it again if you had.  