This romantic comedy follows the relationship of Tom and Summer, from the getting to know each other as friends to the awkward meeting months after the end and the...well, one shouldn't give away too much. That may sound as if it has been done similarly many times before, but it hasn't. This film brings more fresh ideas to the genre than most others of the last ten years.
Examples? The story is not told chronologically, but with emphasis on what seem to be randomly mixed but very important days from the relationship. Or: The morning after the first sex (Day 35) Tom walks down the street with a big grin, sees himself as Han Solo in mirrors and soon bursts into a musical number including cartoon birds. There are plenty of more cases, like the wise advice-giving teenage sibling, the expectation vs. reality split screen or the beautiful "childhood footage" opening sequence.
All those wonderful quirky ideas, together with an excellent soundtrack, the lovely characters and the very natural acting (especially Zooey Deschanel as Summer is wonderful), make for a charming, funny, sad and true movie experience. And the best part? The movie works for cynics, couples and singles all the same.
Wonderful!

8 out of 10 "Roses are red, violets are blue... Fuck you, whore!" -greeting cards