'(500) Days of Summer' fantastic

 (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

3 and a half stars

Rated PG-13

This offbeat romantic comedy was the biggest crowd-pleaser at the Sundance Film Festival. The opening scene serves as a teaser. It takes place on day 488. A handsome man and an attractive woman are sitting on a park bench holding hands with an engagement ring sparkling on her finger. The narrator, in a booming baritone voice, announces that “this is not a love story,” but rather “a story about love.”

On a split screen over the opening credits, we see home movie footage of a boy and a girl growing up from their childhood days. Tom Hanson (Joseph Gordon-Levitt from “3rd Rock from the Sun,” Stop-Loss” and “The Lookout”) dreams of becoming an architect. He has toiled for four years writing jingles for a greeting card company. He is also a hopeless romantic who believes that his destiny includes meeting the perfect soulmate.

Summer Bishl (Zooey Deschanel from “Yes Man” and “Elf”) becomes the new assistant to Tom’s boss. This lovely, witty and intelligent woman with big blue eyes has an immediate magnetic effect on Tom.

This movie will fool you with its rollercoaster ride through hairpin curves. Director Marc Webb in his feature film debut puts his music video background to good use with an arresting visual panache.

The screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber jumps back and forth in non-chronological order and shows highlights from the 500 days of this couple’s rocky romantic relationship. The narrator makes his presence felt with timely play-by-play observations.

Each day is denoted in parentheses before each scene unfolds. You can almost visualize a bar chart of the peaks and valleys similar to the ones used for stock analysis. The random order forces the audience to ride the emotional waves of this realistic, contemporary affair of the heart.

This movie benefits from fantastic original writing, great acting and a fabulous soundtrack. This is the definitive movie for today’s generation on the sting of Cupid’s arrow when the friendship line is crossed and sexual intercourse complicates matters.

There is almost a complete gender role reversal. Shy and insecure Tom becomes emotionally attached and wants to put a label on their involvement in each other’s lives. He takes off in flights of fancy, making something more out of their intimacy. The level-headed Summer sets the ground rules. She just wants to have a commitment-free good time and enjoy the benefits of casual companionship. She doesn’t believe in love and values her freedom and independence.

The movie has a high laugh quotient and is told from Tom’s masculine point of view.

This movie had me at hello with its unique and captivating fragmented style of presentation.

There are many signature moments, but two especially come to mind. One is a choreographed dance number after Tom has slept with Summer for the first time. Everybody he meets on his way to work is smiling. An animated bluebird even lands on his shoulder, drawing immediate comparisons to the delightful movie “Enchanted.” Another outstanding segment involves the effective use of a split screen where the clever contrast between expectations and reality are displayed at a party.

The movie flies by at a breakneck speed that seems shorter than the 95-minute running time.

Anyone who has been in love and had their heart broken will be able to identify with the trials and tribulations of this particular relationship that is put under the emotional microscope. This satisfying movie experience will have particular appeal to those in their 20s and 30s who are still getting their feet wet and trying to figure out the mating rituals of dating.

Now playing exclusively at AMC Town Center 20, Cinemark Palace and the Glenwood Arts.

SERAPHINE

3 and a half stars

Not Rated 

This is the remarkable true-life story of an ordinary cleaning lady who became a world-class painter in the early years of the 20th century.

Writer/director Martin Provost has crafted an intimate portrait of Seraphine Louis (comedienne and performance artist Yolande Moreau), a gifted self-taught artist.

The first half of the movie is set in 1914 and takes place in Senlis, a village near Paris. Seraphine is a large, matronly woman. She lives a hard life, but in her free time enjoys walks in the country and observing the wonders of nature. Her simple-minded domestic chores require little thought.

She previously worked at a convent and supposedly the voice of her guardian angel commanded her to paint. The movie takes you through the unique process of mixing paints. She uses her fingertips and sings religious hymns while painting.

The movie keeps the dialogue to a minimum, concentrating instead on movement and sound. Her eyes convey her single-minded determination during the solitary experience of creating art.

Seraphine goes to clean the apartment of a new tenant who turns out to be a prominent German critic and art collector named Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur, who bears a striking resemblance to John Lithgow). He discovers her unique “modern primitive” style and buys all her paintings.

World War I forces Uhde to flee France.

The second half of the film picks up in 1927 with Uhde living with his sister Ann-Marie and young lover Helmut in a rented Chantilly country home. Uhde goes to an exhibition of local artists at the town hall in Senlis. After noticing the familiar distinctive style and use of colors in a few paintings, he realizes that Seraphine has survived the war. These two societal outcasts reunite.

Wilhelm becomes her patron. Money and fame seem to be right around the corner as Seraphine’s life becomes better.

When Seraphine has an extravagant bridal gown made of taffeta and silk, she inexplicably descends into madness.

This movie debuted at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. It won seven Cesar Awards (the French equivalent of the Oscar) for Film, Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Music, Original Writing and Production Design.

Moreau gives a dominating, award-worthy performance. She has already received acting accolades from five different venues. The combination of the beautiful scenery, musical score and art work resonate into a sensory epiphany for the audience. The movie’s deliberately slow pace and the two-hour running time may be a turnoff to those favoring action over spirituality.

The dialogue is in French and German with easy-to-read English subtitles. Opening exclusively at the Tivoli in Westport.

FUNNY PEOPLE

2 stars

Rated R

The third time in the director’s chair for writer Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”) is not a charm, but rather a gigantic misfire. This vanity project is an opportunity for Apatow to stroll down memory lane where he started out doing stand-up comedy and writing jokes for famous comedians like Garry Shandling and Jim Carrey. He also gets to use his Hollywood clout to proudly show off his real-life wife, Leslie Mann, and their two daughters, Maude and Iris.

His lifelong good friend and former roommate Adam Sandler is the drawing card at the top of the marquee. He parlays the goodwill Sandler has built up over the years in more likable roles.

This darkly serious movie is a weird mix of humor and morbidity. George Simmons (Sandler) is a successful movie star and comedian. He is also a selfish jerk with no close friends. He has many acquaintances in the same line of work to chew the fat with, a staff of servants at his palatial mansion, a legion of diehard fans wanting photo ops and young women anxious to bed a celebrity.

His world gets turned upside down when the results of a blood test indicate he has a terminal disease similar to leukemia.

Ira Wright (a slimmed-down Seth Rogen who has shed over 20 pounds of fat) works behind a deli counter and has aspirations of becoming a famous stand-up comedian. He meets George by accident at an improv comedy club. George hires Ira to be his assistant, but he really needs him to be a friend and confidante as he seeks closure to his life.

The struggling Ira sleeps on a pull-out couch in an apartment he shares with his two more successful roommates Leo (Jonah Hill) and Mark (Jason Schwartzman).

George laments about Laura (Mann), the only woman he truly loved. They broke up 12 years ago after he cheated on her. Laura is now married to Australian businessman Clarke (Eric Bana) and has two daughters.

George reaches out to Laura, who takes pity on him. When experimental drugs cause George to go into remission, he sets his sights on a second chance at winning back Laura and breaking up her marriage.

A jumble of ideas seems to have been thrown together into a mishmash script that lacks a cohesive narrative. There is a lot of ad libbing and improvising that jerks the audience’s chains as the movie drags on for nearly two and a half hours.

The movie goes overboard with below-the-belt humor with an emphasis on the male genitalia. The movie is full of pop culture references and mentions titles of far superior movies.

There is not a single character in the entire movie worth caring about. The most genuine laughs come when the cast plays the peanut butter game. A person lies on the kitchen floor, spreads peanut butter on his or her face and has a dog lick it off.

Sandler seems uncomfortable and out of his element doing serious drama. He disguises his voice with strange accents meant to be funny. Mann has a beautiful smile that lights up a room. Her character makes some immoral, spur-of-the-moment decisions. She cheapens her image with unladylike gutter talk after extended exposure to Sandler’s character. Rogen is merely a second fiddle playing a gullible, nebbish individual. He is like the referee caught up in the lying, cheating, jealousy and bitterness between Sandler and Mann.

Cameo appearances are made by James Taylor, Sarah Silverman, Andy Dick, Ray Romano, Paul Reiser, Eminem and Norm MacDonald.

Rather than waste your time with this empty caloric dud, your better bet is to have a few alcoholic beverages while patronizing a local comedy club featuring up-and-coming stand-up comedians.

Top 5 Flick Picks

1. (500) Days of Summer

2. Seraphine

3. The Ugly Truth

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

5. The Hangover

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