shoop and (500) days

I've seen two great movies lately--one in the theatre and one "on demand." At first I thought I'd tackle them both in one entry, but I think I'll divide them up. Because "(500) Days of Summer" got me thinking about romantic comedies in general, Zooey Daschenel in particular, and why this movie works so incredibly well.

You've probably noticed that without trying, you've seen a lot of trailers for a lot of "rom-coms." This despite the fact that by definition, this genre is really limited. The couple meets--yes, we can mix it up now with gay couples, but that doesn't make the situations any more fresh--they like each other, and there's an obstacle or two. And either they part ways (the occasional American indie and most European variations on the theme), or they stay (or get back) together--traditionally, what audiences tend to want. There's no way all of them can work, and many of them rightfully get ignored or shoot straight to DVD. So why are there so many in the course of a movie-going year?

The potential payoff is huge.

The rom-com is relatively cheap to produce, by Hollywood standards. So a $75-100 million take rocks everybody's world. And you never know when it's going to happen. Critics who have dismissed the last three "rom-coms" as "typical" all of a sudden write reviews that producers would write for themselves if they could, favorable word of mouth spreads, and bang! Big score for Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Was "The Proposal" that fresh and that funny? Well, it was fun. But the huge take came from nowhere. And sometimes, you don't need the critics to win. Shortly after "The Proposal" came "The Ugly Truth," which critics universally hated, and with two stars you wouldn't think anyone would want to see together (I'm having trouble remembering their names). Not as big a score as "The Proposal," but a solid score nonetheless. So when "(500) Days of Summer" promised something a little different, one had a right to be skeptical.

Terrific movie. Nor am I saying this simply because I've been crushing on Zooey D. since "Failure to Launch" (NOT since "Mumford," I should add. Yes, I saw "Mumford," but it was one of those movies that seemed to disappear as I was watching it, and I had no idea I was seeing anyone or anything special. I might or might not give it another chance one of these days). And not just because Joseph Gordon-Levitt nails the Hall and Oates number--a delirious song-and-dance sequence that echoes and trumps the musical number in "Enchanted." And not even because the movie makes L.A. romantic in a way that, say, "L.A. Story" failed to do, largely because the of the relative coldness of the two leads, Steve Martin and that actress who used to be with Steve Martin. There's a slew of great ideas and shrewd writing in this film--it would justify its existence if it only proved that guys get together and obsess about girls the way girls do with guys (something my wife didn't know. Oh, yes, hon, we surely do). The kicker, though, is how the two leads relate to each other--they really seem to enjoy each other's company. Amazing concept. And if you think about rom-coms that work, there's the common denominator.

It also helps that "(500) Days of Summer" has one of the coolest last lines ever. Wait for it, and smile.