500 Days of Summer

The tagline for 500 Days of Summer claims that it is not a love story, but rather a story about love. The movie is about the relationship between Tom and Summer, a young couple seemingly meant to be together. Indeed, it is less a romantic saga than a commentary on the meaning of love, destiny and commitment.

Tom, raised on sentimental pop songs and romance novels, falls in love at first sight with Summer, an alluring young woman who is haunted by her parents' divorce. Though the two are quite compatible, sharing favorite songs and movies, Tom's yearning for a serious relationship is continually brushed aside by Summer, who refuses to call him her boyfriend. When a reunion fails to rekindle their spark after a breakup, Tom is left to contemplate the legitimacy of everything he ever believed in.

The film is bubbly and cheerful at some points and melancholy at others, mirroring nicely Tom and Summer's relationship. This interplay of lightheartedness and gravity in the movie, as well as fresh and passionate acting from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel makes it worth watching.