If you haven’t seen Zooey Deschanel in a rom-com, you are missing out. She always seems to play the perfect combination of a girl-next-door and witty manic-pixie-dream girl. She is THAT GIRL. And arguably her most beloved film is 500 Days of Summer, alongside equally adorable sweater-vest-wearing Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The two longtime friends are pitch perfect together in one of the best romantic comedies of all time, which is about to mark its 15th anniversary. Ahead of that occasion, Deschanel revealed how the film started a sweet ritual for her, and I couldn't love the rom-com more now.
While speaking with People during a recent interview, the Elf actress fondly reminisced about her time shooting the fan-favorite film film. Aside from talking up the film itself and her friendship with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, she talked about the seriously fun-sounding tradition he started:
That movie was so much fun. We had the best time. I still do this thing where I like to have dance parties in my hair and makeup trailer, and I think that was one of the first movies where I did that. Everyone was into the dance parties. It was a blast.
Plenty of actors have their share of specific rituals when it comes to filming a new project, and some can be more tedious than others. However, Zooey Deschanel's is definitely one of the funnest that I've heard of. I'd imagine that a dance party is a great way for cast and crew members to decompress amid a film shoot. It's hard not to appreciate the fact that the actress has added this specific ritual to her production routine. And, if anything, now I'm also a little jealous that I can't take part in those little parties.
Filmed in 2009 during Zooey Deschanel’s peak movie era, this very late 2000s indie-coded rom-com remains one of the more financially successful entries within its genre.It portrays the classic trope, in which the two leads fall in love but life gets in the way. Right person, wrong time. Seriously, I think this movie walked so La La Land could run. (I could write a whole essay comparing those two movies but I’ll spare you.) Though it's one of the most beloved romantic comedies of all time, there are definitely a lot of differing opinions on the ending, given it's not-so-cheery ending. Still, I greatly enjoy the film and, now that I know the cast was having dance parties and really embracing the whimsical parts of a rom-com, that makes it even better for me.
Director Marc Webb also did a very good job romanticizing LA, even for the everyday young office employee. During her interview, the Yes, Man star said that was one of the best parts about filming the movie:
We also had a great time shooting in Los Angeles, which was really nice. We got to see a lot of beautiful things in Downtown L.A. It was cool.
All in all, it's great to hear that the Trolls actress still loves this movie as much as her fans do, and this isn't the first time she has shown her appreciation for the film. It also seems that she has been living her own rom-com with boyfriend-turned-fiancée Jonathan Scott of Property Brothers fame. The two even recreated the famous 500 Days of Summer elevator scene by putting their own spin on it and went viral on TikTok a couple of years ago. I hope that as time goes on, Zooey Deschanel will continue to speak highly of her sweet rom-com as time goes on, and let's hope she shares clips from any future dance parties she has while filming.
As 500 Days of Summer nears its 15th birthday, do yourself a favor and stream the excellent film with the use of a Hulu subscription.
