Amazon.com: (500) Days Of Summer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Marc Webb, Veronica Brooks: Amazon Instant Video

(500) Days Of Summer

An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Directed by: Marc Webb
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
Release year: 2009
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Synopsis: An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel

Directed by: Marc Webb

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

Captions and Subtitles: English Details

Release year: 2009

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual material and language

ASIN: B0031Q0XCA

Rights & Requirements

Rental rights: 24 hour viewing period. Details

Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details

Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

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97 of 108 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 500 Days of Summer April 25, 2009

By D. Smail

Format:DVD

The film's opening makes it clear: This is not a love story. It is a story about love. Told in a non chronological fashion, we see 500 days in the relationship of Tom (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel). For those who have seen 10 Things I Hate About You, this is an evolution of that story told in a more realistic fashion. While Joseph Gordon-Levitt pretty much plays the same character, he adds gravitas to the ups and downs of relationships which all men go through at some point. Zooey Deschanel brings her playful carefree attitude to Summer, which the movie itself is quick to point out has a very strong effect over men. While most people expect this to be a love story, it's not. It's a carefully crafted story about relationships and the highs and lows we all experience and how we focus on the highs more than the lows. The quirky humor and the wittiness brought out in the film covers the very introspective dissection of a relationship. While the ending is somewhat expected, it serves as the movies last laugh. A must see for romantics, indie film appreciators and mainstream audiences alike, this movie is the guide to growing up all boys need to become men. Especially, once they see the Plate scene. Check it out!

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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Still thinking about this movie a month later December 3, 2009

By Barno

Format:DVD

I hate romantic comedies. If they actually have some comedy in there, they are watchable but the relationships are often based some some kind of ridiculous premise that doesn't resonate at all with me. To call this a romantic comedy seems quite misleading. This movie was funny at times. Well directed, at times...A little gimmicky at others. Very well acted by the two leads. The thing that I loved about this movie is that it is completely true to life. It wasn't like "The Break-up" where you have to suffer through the couple arguing through the entire movie. They show (in a very clever way) the highs and the lows of Tom and Summer's relationship. I find myself still thinking about the two leads as if I was in their shoes (We probably all have been on one side or the other in our lives). What do I think of them? What do I wish she would have done differently? What could he have done differently? I don't know. One of those movies that I can't stop thinking about.

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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars she got eyes that cut you like a knife, and lips that taste like sweet red wine June 13, 2010

By The Mad Bostonian

Format:Blu-ray

First off I must confess, I do not like Rom/coms, or Rom/Drams, I would much rather watch anything and I mean anything than these genres, I feel they are stupid, unbelievable, mostly appeal to the female audience who like the unrealistic happy endings and when the guy says sweet nothings in the girl's ear, gag me with a fork....

BUT this movie is not your conventional Romantic Comedy, it's your unconventional, romantic comedy that actually keeps it real and tangible, sorry for all you "The Note Book" movie lovers out there who expect sweet, happy tearful endings.

Plot is simple, boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl dumps boy; Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a Greeting card writer whose hidden talent is architecture, meets secretary Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and we go through his trials and tribulations to win her heart. He's the hopeless romantic, she is the free spirit, wanting to keep things casual, doesn't want to fall into the norms of a relationship. Where Tom questions this relationship, where she wants to keep it simple and not muddle things. So 500 Days of Summer chronicles the bittersweet beginnings, the sudden break up and all the crazy/ befuddled/ frustrating things that go on in between.

Basically that is the plot, what works is how it is presented, we do not get a linear plot like all those other contrite unreal romantic comedies, what we get is a non linear plot that goes back and forth between Tom and Summer's relationship from the Highs to the Lows. This is refreshing.... Where one scene after Tom spent the night with her we see him walk out of the building all smiles the next day (this is his High), as if he can take on the world, he is unstoppable, as if he is glowing, and through out the whole scene we see him do a dance number, shaking hands with people, strangers high fiving him, patting him on the back, he looks in a window and an image of Han Solo looks right back at him... showing him he is the epitome of cool, (what makes it so real is who hasn't felt like that, after spending a night with the one they love, feeling great the next day)

Then we see his Lows, his self loathing, his obsessing on why did they break up, that he thought for sure she was the one, it's gut wrenching real, because again we've been there and done that or had it done to us.

They try to maintain a friendship, Summer invites him to a party and Tom accepts and what we get from this scene is so unique: Where Tom hopes the Universe will finally align itself and his expectations coincide with his reality. A split screen of Tom walking up the stairs to her Apartment, the caption on the Left reads, Expectations, caption on the right reads, Reality, again we as viewers can relate to this scene as it unfolds, Tom's expectations are he and Summer some how reconnect, he gives her a small gift in the form of a book, there's the catching of each others eyes; holding the gaze, the hug, the gentle touching, the laughing, shared moments by themselves, but then he and us viewers are thrust into the reality of the situation. There is no rekindling, she thanks him for the book, through out the party he feels like a stranger in a strange land and he leaves the party in disbelief, in agony, heart broken.... much like what would happen in real life, as we always run through our heads what we think will happen and think will be the perfect evening; finally going to tell her how you feel, you have that nice dinner planned, flowers, she'll be flattered and happy, and say she has the same feelings about you. Thinking it is bullet proof and then to have it all crashing down: either she says she doesn't feel the same way bout you, or she can't make that dinner date, or met someone else, etc etc etc, we so want those events to work and have it play over and over in our minds so the outcome is always positive that when the time comes does it rarely play to our expectations and we are thrust into cold reality. I just had to marvel at this particular scene because one it has happened to me numerous times and I am sure others could say the same thing, A brilliant scene indeed.

What makes this work is the chemistry between Levitt and Deschanel, Levitt playing the forlorn, hopeless, romantic, nice guy, while Deschanel plays Summer as the care free, beautiful, sexy, men take a second glance at her kind of girl, this relationship works so harmoniously even through the tough parts of the break up, we as viewers can't help but think that somehow they do stay together, that even I thought the typical Hollywood ending would come in and they get back together... but then it be classified as your conventional love story and that is not what the filmmakers and actors didn't want it to be, it's about that love is a cold hard bitch slap that we all have felt, which as I said earlier that we all can relate too.

Kudos to the great writing, and chemistry between the actors, making something so real, and honest it's hard to do in Hollywood when everyone wants to see a Sandra Bullock Rom/Com. We all see a little Tom in us and we've all had that one Summer; I guess the message of the movie is people come into your lives for a reason, whether it be friends or the "He's/ She's the one!" moment and it turns out it's not, and that relationships come and go, new ones will be forged, and just hold onto the memories of the old ones no matter how good or bad they were, somehow they made you who you are now, I feel that how it was for Tom's case.

A great movie I must say, worth checking out, what made it so real is because I think we've all been there and felt what Tom felt. Read more ›

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mercury and Pluto July 20, 2010

By David E. Hartman

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

This movie nails three things. That's all you need to know
(1) that first rush of love and passion. The movie's fantasy dance sequence after Tom (Gordon-Levitt) falls for Summer (Deschanel) and that idiotic happiness is just the way it feels .. . I've never seen it done better.
(2) the anger and frustration when it's clear that there is an emotional disconnect between the characters; Tom again - perfect.
(3) The pain of withdrawal and slow recovery - make no mistake, this is love addiction where a character goes cold turkey. It's tough to watch.

I don't know if women relate to this movie in the same way, but this is a movie that is A Good Guy's perspective on finding and losing love without ever really knowing the woman whom he loves and why it doesn't work. As such, Zooey's Summer is an appropriately opaque character. Her feelings, motives intentions, etc., are all below the surface; there are just those amazingly melting eyes. You could argue that her character could be more fully developed, but realistically, I think her character allows Tom to see all that Guys are able to see. Summer and Tom make a good argument for women and men being different species that happen to be genetically capable of reproducing. They are not Mars and Venus; they are more like Mercury and Pluto. Even at their final accidental meeting, Tom is no closer to understanding Summer than he was when he first met her, and it's still not clear how she feels about anything. Zooey's character has a secret heart that is just unknowable to Tom, to the viewer; maybe to Summer as well.

The disjointed, non-linear structure of the movie make the pain easier to tolerate; just a little at a time. It feels like the way you remember a relationship.... Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars Differnt, fun, entertainging.

My fiance talked about this movie for years. We finally bought and watched it. I'm so glad we own it now. Read more

Published 5 days ago by fdagreda

5.0 out of 5 stars You should know upfront, this is NOT a love story

Amazing movie, I had been wanting to buy on Blu Ray for quite sometime. I'm glad I did because it is a great addition to my collection

Published 5 days ago by Matt