500 Days of Enjoyable

I'm a big movie and television fan. Pair my love of movies with a summer of funemployment (now over....boo!) and you have a happy Mary and my following movie recommendation. In a upcoming blog post I'll rave about my new fav Fall TV show, but for now, let's talk film. If I like a movie a lot, I will usually see it once in a theater, then rent it again on Netflix. Of course, I will then watch it again repeatedly once it hits cable TV. Witness my recent afternoon viewings of Working Girl, Sliding Doors and Blue Crush. (Not all viewed in the same afternoon......I'm not a complete shut in...ah, yet) So, what made me see my favorite film of 2009 so far, '500 Days of Summer' three times in the theater? (you are most welcome Fox Searchlight Films). It could be the cool soundtrack, (fans of The Smiths, rejoice! You have two chances to hear Morrissey) the great young cast, (Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since that super-annoying 3rd Rock from the Sun) the out of chronological order story-telling structure, or just the general concept. It's a romance, but it's not a love story. In the film, Tom falls for Summer. Summer likes Tom, but from the get go, she makes it pretty clear that she doesn't want a boyfriend and is not looking for a serious relationship. Tom is so smitten with Summer that he basically ignores everything she tells him and all the not-so-subtle signs that she is "just not that into him". Boy, have I been there and more recently then I would like to admit. We've all done it or are still doing it. We make excuses for lame romances that aren't giving us what we want or need because we think we can will it to be something it isn't. Time and time again, we hang on too long. But, like Tom in the film, hopefully we leave each soul-crushing experience a little bit wiser and a little less apt to make the same mistakes the next time around. This movie will make you laugh, and maybe cry (I did) and you'll absolutely adore Tom's joyful post-nookie dance choreographed to a much beloved Hall & Oates song (great to see you back in pop culture Daryl and John! I missed ya). Mostly, it will make you think twice about wasting time in a relationship that just wasn't meant to be. Check it out.