(3/5 noses in the air)
I liked this movie. It was good. Definitely better than pretty good. Possibly even very good. But, as the first of the movies I will review I can’t very well go buck-wild and fawn all over it. I’ll save that for my review of, “Whip-it”, which is coming up in…I think a few months. Doubtless I will love it. Doubtless.
Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was incredibly likeable. Really, I just wanted to squish him and squeeze him and hang him from the rearview mirror! Summer (Zooey Deschanel) was not especially likeable which (I think) means she was very good. In fairness, I think she’s staying relatively close to home with the part as I can imagine the real life Deschanel wearing the groovy 70’s clothing and hairstyles, listening to the Smiths (holla!) and breaking cute boys’ hearts. She is a beauty, to be sure, but I am happy to say (happy in the bitchiest of ways) that Deschanel is a head-on knockout BUT her profile is pretty “meh”. Not enough chin, I guess. Anyway, back to the movie.
It was beautifully shot and although it was all flashback, flash-forward, present-day, flash-forward, etc it never lost me. Pulp Fiction should have been so well-done! ;) I appreciated the aesthetics of the blueing-up of everything…to bring out Deschanel’s eyes, apparently. Seems a bit over-the-top to me but, fine. It looked nice so, good enough for me.
I liked the inclusion of the dialogue scenes with Tom and his younger sister, Rachel, played by Chloe Moretz. I could have used a bit of background there and would have appreciated seeing a glimpse of her in the photo montage at the beginning of the flick so she didn’t seem like an afterthought but, again, I liked it so, good enough.
Tom’s friend and officemate, McKenzie, was well-played by Geoffrey Arend. Arend is one of those ugly-cute guys. You know, like Seth Rogan or Brad Pitt. His drunken karaoke scene teetered on overkill but I enjoyed all his scenes so, good for him. He should feel free to try this acting thing again. He has my blessing.
Oh, and Tom’s boss Vance, played by Clark Gregg was totally believable as a boss ANYONE would love to have. (shit, I’d be satisfied just to HAVE a boss right now! But I’d be REALLY happy to have a boss like Vance.)
The Good:
1. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s squishy-squeezibility.
2. The music. Did I mention the Smiths?
3. The overall “look”.
The Bad:
1. The “twist” at the end with the girl’s name. Corny.
2. Millie was mentioned once at the beginning of the movie. Then, near the end, Tom & Summer make a big effort to take the train to get to her wedding. Not consistent enough for me.
The Ugly:
· Zooey Deschanel’s profile. Ick. Oh, sorry. Did I already mention that?
What I learned:
· That I never want to work as a writer of greeting cards (and I actually have a journalism degree so, dammit, they’d be lucky to have me!).
· That there actually ARE much worse cubicle configurations than all those to which I have been subjected over the years! There’s something to celebrate, eh? That I’ve never had to work face-to-fucking-face with another person for eight to ten hours per day. It’s the little things, peoples.
· That I don’t especially like being the only person in the theater. It’s weird and a little bit like a scene from a serial killer movie.
FS just pointed-out that I spelled Seth Rogen's last name wrong. What a snob! - fsw
ReplyDeleteMore than a year later, and I finally saw the Film Snob's Wife's first reviewed film. I hate to be the Film Snob, but it is my name, so...
ReplyDeleteI really didn't like this movie at all. I agree with FSW about some of the things she liked. In particular, how can you not like JGL - I hope to get to see him as The Riddler soon (FSW would NEVER see a Batman movie, so who's the snob now?)?
Still, I didn't for a second get seduced by the movie's quirkiness. You can't just throw a million gimmicks at the screen, and try to make us forget that the love story didn't work. Yes, Summer wasn't supposed to be the "sunniest" character (to use some sort of metaphor, I think). But there's a difference between being original and being completely unlikable. I never understood what he saw in her. The way their relationship was portrayed, you would have to believe that she was supposed to be out of his league, and he was desperate to make it work with her - I didn't believe that at all. It was also a little too convenient that she rushed into this marriage at the tail end of the 500 days, so it wouldn't be as devastating when they didn't get back together at the end.
A couple of other thoughts:
1) Do you think Zooey was at all annoyed when she found out that the girl JGL wound up with in the end was such a HUGE step up (physically) from her? I know we're supposed to be happy for him - but, good Lord, I don't think we were supposed to forget about Summer the minute Autumn came along.
2) For a movie that thought it was so cute to reference several classic movies, the one that they completely ripped off in several big ways was noticeably unmentioned. Am I the only one who saw this movie and Annie Hall? (multiple techniques, vulnerable man much more invested in the relationship than quirky woman, a "happy" ending when they realize they're not meant for each other, flashbacks and flashforwards, etc.)