Day 1: Boy meets girl. Day 2 : Boy does not fall in love, break girls heart and then end day 500 with an engagement ring. Move over Meg Ryan and Jennifer Aniston, here we get a backwards rom-com where the guy, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls for the bright-eyed seemingly innocent Summer, (Zooey Deschanel). Told in flashbacks and jumping various days that will total 500, we quickly learn that Tom is the girl in the movie, yet the chemistry between the two leads is fantastic and natural. And Gordon-Levitt’s character, a greeting card designer who believes people should be able to say what they feel without him putting fake words in their mouths, seems comfortable as a young Tom Hanks with just a touch of an Americanized Hugh Grant. The story follows the question: Is life a cosmic cruel fate or meant to be all coincidence. In the end we realize the movie is about the ‘what if’s.’ What if I never walked in this room tonight and met you? What if I never was sitting on this bench when you walked by? It examines soulmates, destinies, and not figuring out, or sabotaging what’s meant to be or not. Four tiarasbecause this is what summer romance movies should be.
