JESSICA SAYS:
I moved into my current apartment in Los Angeles just over two years ago. It’s a v. cute, old building – Art Deco, built in the 1920s, etc. However, it is in a neighborhood that has its sketchier bits. It seems that the combination of Art Deco and a slightly dodgy neighborhood attracts hipsters like moths to a flame.
Anyway, I quickly learned that people like to film in my building…a lot. The first thing that was filmed there after I moved in was (500) Days of Summer. I looked it up on IMDb when I saw the notice of filming signs and was not all that surprised to find that it seemed to actually be a film about LA hipsters. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel (the reigning queen of hipsterdom) as two young Angelinos, who meet, fall in love, yadda, yadda. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not entirely anti-hipster (as I’m realizing I might sound). It’s just that I tire easily of the whole aren’t-I-cool-the-way-ironically-like-things-from-two-decades-ago. So, I was intrigued by the movie, not only because I knew it would feature my home, but also because I find Zooey Deschanel to be quite charming. Did you see her sing in Elf? Adorable! Here’s a shot from the film of Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt on my roof:
(500) Days of Summer won me over fairly easily. It’s a pretty charming little story. The opening narration warns you that, “this is not a love story,” and that is true, kind of. It is a love story, just not a story of everlasting love. I’ll give kudos to Marc Webb (director), Scott Neustadter (writer), and Michael H. Webber (writer) for managing to tell the story of a man getting his heart broken without being overly sentimental or depressing. The title, (500) Days of Summer, refers to the 500 days the relationship between the main characters, Summer and Tom, lasts.
The film has a great soundtrack, even if it does heavily feature songs by The Smiths, a band of which I am not a huge fan. I have been known to rock out to the blue-eyed soul styling of Hall & Oates on many an occasion, so imagine my joy when there was an entire dance sequence in the film choreographed to their hit, “You Make My Dreams Come True.” Awesome!
I recommend seeing (500) Days of Summer, but you should try to go quickly because it’s been in theatres for a while now. It would make a good date movie.
Two Blondes Walk Into a Blog 