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Plot: Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) at the greeting card company in LA where they work. The movie tells the story in a non-linear way -- skipping from their flirty & dating phases to their breaking-up & broken-up phases. The twist is the Tom believes in True Love, and wants a long-term relationship, and Summer does not; she just wants to be friends. Of course usually its the girl who believes in True Love and who wants to get married. Summer's real feelings are unclear, and she often seems to lead him on.
Crew: Directed by Marc Webb
Rating: 2.5 flasks - just barely.
Plot: Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) at the greeting card company in LA where they work. The movie tells the story in a non-linear way -- skipping from their flirty & dating phases to their breaking-up & broken-up phases. The twist is the Tom believes in True Love, and wants a long-term relationship, and Summer does not; she just wants to be friends. Of course usually its the girl who believes in True Love and who wants to get married. Summer's real feelings are unclear, and she often seems to lead him on.
Review: This is a light confection that tells a pleasant story pleasantly. The star of the movie is the script (by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber) which gives us a romance without the usual stereotype plot twists and ending. I did like the ending, even the cutesy pun that they work in.
The movie is about Tom not Summer, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers a solid performance.
The problem with the movie is Summer's motivation because there is no good reason why she just wants to be friends. I kept waiting for some secret in her past that explained it. I kept expecting to learn that she is a lesbian, or has a terminal illness, or has a husband in Iraq, or was a child abuse victim, or something like that. I would even have bought it if she just want to have fun and be a hedonist. Zooey Deschanel is perky and likeable, and gives a reasonable performance; the gap with her character is in the script.
The movie is about Tom not Summer, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers a solid performance.
The problem with the movie is Summer's motivation because there is no good reason why she just wants to be friends. I kept waiting for some secret in her past that explained it. I kept expecting to learn that she is a lesbian, or has a terminal illness, or has a husband in Iraq, or was a child abuse victim, or something like that. I would even have bought it if she just want to have fun and be a hedonist. Zooey Deschanel is perky and likeable, and gives a reasonable performance; the gap with her character is in the script.
Tom's kid sister Rachel (Chloe Moritz) is funny as she dispenses worldly-wise advice that no middle-schooler could know.
Cast: Joseph Gorden-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Crew: Directed by Marc Webb
Rating: 2.5 flasks - just barely.
More: I hated the opening split-screen sequence with the little kid videos. It made me want to close my eyes. Very disorienting video. Zooey sings the song that plays during the opening. My wife likes the song, but it was not my style.
Even More: I liked the art direction especially the when Tom becomes a silhouette and an artist erases the background -- nice detail. I'd buy a poster of that.
Yet More: I loved the first day of Autumn. Great ending.
