(500) Days of Summer is One of The Best Films of 2009

The other day, I had a few pennies in my pocket, so I checked out (500) Days of Summer.

The film has been out for a while and should be ready to go to DVD soon, but from very first frame, this clearly one of my favorite films of 2009, if not of the decade.

This is not your usual "boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, boy holds boom box on the top of the Empire State building to get girl back" kind of film.

A traditional romantic comedy this is not.

In some ways, "(500) Days" is like a faux documentary with a hint of Woodie Allen's "Annie Hall", as we follow the love affair between fictional characters Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Dechanel).

First time director Marc Webb use of flash forwarding and going backward to tell their story is pretty smart (the film begins on day "488", goes back to day "1" and zig-zags like an episode of "Lost" and ultimately ends on day "500")

I agree with famed film critic Roger Ebert who says that when we think about our past loves, we don't think about it in chronological order, because it is always jumbled and depending on our mood or how the relationship ended, we either focus on the very good or the very bad.

However, the centerpiece of the film (outside of the dance number) is the split screen scene.

I won't spoil it for you, but for any person who is deeply in love with another, the expectations that we have are at times are very different from what reality actually tell us.

As I watched the film, I saw a lot (maybe too much) of myself in Joesph Gordon Levitt's Tom, a greeting card writer who believes that Summer is the only girl for him.

Gordon-Levitt's approach as the lovestruck Tom is a throwback of sorts.

He's not a bumbling, romantic like Hugh Grant or a suave, smooth talking player like George Clooney, Tom is like most of us, a regular guy who is trying to find his place in the world, while trying to find someone who truly understands him.

Tom thinks that he found that woman in Summer.

Looking like an early 70's version of Linda Rondstadt with a pinch of Katy Perry, Zooey Deschanel plays a character who is not bitchy or mean, but one who is fun loving, but also not the hopeless romantic like Tom, (even though her displays of affection says otherwise).

Although Summer is very honest with Tom about her feelings, Tom chooses to hear what he wants to hear (and see).

It's a shame that "(500) Days of Summer" has not been a blockbuster hit, (it has only made $31.6 million since its July 17th release, however with a budget of only $7.5 million, "(500) Days" has made a profit)

But like Summer, maybe the film is too honest for film goers who still believe that four acts are the best way to find love on the silver screen.

I hope "(500) Days" will get some love during Oscar time and maybe then more people will embrace the film on DVD, like I did during a bargain day at a movie theater in Akron, Ohio.