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The writing in this film is admirable. The script is a neat blend of the humorous and the poignant and for the most part provides the actors with great characterizations and dialogue. Tom Hansen comes across as very real. I think everyone knows a guy just like him. And although I would have liked to have seen Summer's character more thoroughly fleshed out (What does she want to do with her life?), it makes sense that she's not quite complete because of the point of view. Tom idealizes Summer and although he may or may not know what her aspirations are beyond being a secretary, it is never an important reveal within the story because Tom's memory (the only way we can know Summer) is more preoccupied with how being with her made him feel and eventually how that relationship affects his life and his growth. In that respect, his idealization of her is more important than whom she might really be.

Armed with a great soundtrack and script, a game and willing cast and a collection of charming LA locations, veteran music video director Marc Webb makes an impressive jump in his feature film debut. He's definitely the right choice. The music in this film is just as an important component of the movie as is the storytelling device. Tom and Summer's first interaction is over a song by The Smiths. Their first hang is during a karaoke blow-out. The first Morning After is celebrated – as it should be - by a big, fat Broadway-style musical production number. Webb's choices are never intrusive. He displays a light, deft touch with his actors and the scenes. Tom and Summer are shot so closely together and in such a way it made me feel like I was peeking in on the secret of their romance. It should be interesting to see what Webb will do for an encore.

The creative team behind this film seems determined for (500) Days to not resemble the usual rom-coms the studios are pumping out these days – movies with idiotic hooks involving women marrying strangers in order to keep a good job or being so neurotically obsessed about a wedding that the only real denouement should include intensive psychoanalysis and mind-altering drugs. As someone who enjoys a good romance and likes to laugh, I often find a lot of the recent offerings insulting. I found a lot of (500) Days definitely funny, if not always romantic. I remember reading a blurb somewhere by Gordon-Levitt where he declared that they wanted to avoid the trappings of other rom-com movies on this movie and create something different. I think that was achieved. The audience is told from the outset by the Narrator – "This is not a love story" and indeed it is not. It's more of a chronicle, really - of how a relationship between one man and one woman eventually made that one man better prepared for life and made that one woman better prepared for love.

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