As I watched (500) DAYS OF SUMMER this past weekend, I started feeling like I was under some sort of weird voodoo spell done by the dark priests working for Fox Searchlight. I've been trying to find films on Netflix that I can enjoy with the wife. I gave up on trying to convince her to watch the more violent and subversive films I enjoy (she is STILL traumatized from watching Edward James Olmos' AMERICAN ME with me 3-4 years ago).  I often can't stand a few of her choices (NOT ANOTHER TEEN COMEDY!?..... really?). So I've been a bit proactive at trying to find movies that we'll both enjoy watching. The last one was WHIP IT. This time around it was (500) DAYS OF SUMMER. Little did I know that both films are from Fox Searchlight. Like I said: voodoo spells. :-)

My reasons for wanting to watch the film were the main actor (who was the kid from that NBC comedy 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN) and the director being recently dubbed as the next Spider-man film director. The main actor (whose name escapes me) was on SNL a while back and seemed like a cool enough dude. He wasn't really the funniest SNL guest, but he had this old Hollywood charm that reminded me of doofy yet classy actors like James Stewart. A few days after watching his SNL appearance, I heard that the (500) Days of Summer director is replacing Raimi as Spider-man director. So my curiosity went past the "mildly intrigued" and into the "let's rent it" status.

For those not in the know (which I assume is probably everybody who's reading this), '(500) Days of Summer' is about a hopeless romantic guy that falls in love with Summer, a pretty girl who doesn't believe in love. You're warned from the get go that things don't end the way conventional love stories do... and then you're jostled back and forth to different moments in the relationship with Summer to simultaneously get a sense of both how the romance began and ended.

Much of the movie's charm comes from the way it plays with time and the limitations of the film medium. By knowing the the relationship won't work, as a viewer, you cautiously invest your feelings into the early stages of the relationship. There are also several nice parallels showing how the things the main character loves about Summer become the very things he hates about her once the relationship ends. One of my favorite movie narrative tricks is a scene using a split screen. On one side is the main character's "expected outcome" on the other is "reality". Most of these non-traditional techniques challenge the relationship between the audience and the movie. When you see stuff like the split screen... it reminds you that you are watching a movie and creates a distance between you and characters in the film. Because of the unconventional nature of the film, it works... but you end up not completely connecting with the characters.

It was also interesting seeing how the city of Los Angeles was shot for the film. As a Los Angeleno, it was pretty trippy seeing the L.A. in '(500)'. For the first 15 minutes of the film I assumed the city in the story was Chicago or Boston. It was like the Director wanted to created a version of Los Angeles that was as ideal as the main character's concept of love. A friend of mine is passionate about the various urban developments happening in Los Angeles. It's a pleasure to see Los Angeles through his eyes... but the L.A. he sees is very different than the one that I live in. '(500) Days of Summer' is the closest thing to the Los Angeles in my friend's imagination that I have seen. I found the portrayal of L.A. to be very refreshing. Yes, it's not true to life... but as creators, I think it's vital to distill the elements of things you love into something inherently your own. Director Marc Webb does that nicely with the City of Los Angeles.

Overall, '(500) Days of Summer' was a decent film. At times, the story and narrative techniques are so biased that you end up not connecting with the characters or story. But you forgive it's flaws for its willingness to try something different.

Now, could Marc Webb do a good Spider-man film? Eh, no... not from what I have seen. Webb has the potential to portray a romantic take on New York (as he has done here with Los Angeles) which is essential to a Spider-man film. There's a pure quality to his directing that could create a timeless look to Spider-man that would ring true for fans of John Romita's romantic take on the character. BUT much of Webb's style comes from unconventional techniques that would not work in a Spider-man movie. Also, there is nothing in '(500)' that shows his ability to shoot action (does a musical ensemble count?). The only rumor going around is that he wants Zac Efron as Spider-man/Peter Parker. We'll see how it all unfolds until it's 2012 release date.