Ah, The Cryptic Campaigns of Indie Film
This afternoon, I received a courier package that was obviously too flimsy to be actual media. I opened it, and there was a greeting card with a cupid on the cover image saying “Be Mine: Day (1),” and then same cupid weeping inside with the caption, “Or Not (Day 500).”
On the back: the title “(500) Days of Summer.” This is all I got, along with a URL leading to this:
According to the site, the teaser trailer was based on the trailer for Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt” (Le Mepris):
Perhaps. This looks like a date movie for Staticblog readers. Look for it in 160 days. That would be summer.
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Comments
Sounds like reviewers not reviewing a film (piece of music, art, whatever) on its merits and more on its audience, marketing, affiliation with Starbucks, or other useless, pointless distractions. Pitchforky.
anything based on godard is good for me….i wonder if it ends like contempt does….maybe that’s the sadness of your cupid. hmmm…the scenes at capri are going to be hard to beat.
I think I’ll see it too. I can appreciate where both reviewers are coming from (thanks kev). The Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) romantic comedy formula has been done oh so many times so I can see how it would put off a reviewer if he/she thinks the chemistry is lacking and the lead is a bore. On the other hand, what seems like yet another hackneyed romantic comedy to one person can really strike an emotional chord with someone else. I’ve been on both sides of this debate in this genre.
Me too. My first completed play (in 1998) was a MPDG rom-com. I always wanted to make it into a movie, but couldn’t bear it now, because it plays into all the stereotypes.
I’ve been thinking of re-working it to be told from the perspective of the MPDG instead of the schmoe, exploring what would make a girl like that tick. I dunno. Maybe I’ll just re-watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s instead.
This movie was a crowd pleaser at Sundance, but got mixed reviews from critics.
Here’s the pro: http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/11/25/guest-review-marc-webbs-500-days-of-summer/
and the con: http://tinyurl.com/bgyuqw
A lot of the pre-release backlash seems to come from the idea that it’s a cookie-cutter indie hit, in the mold of Garden State: up-and-coming actor, indie-darling-it-girl, mix-tape soundtrack.
That said, I’m so going to see it.