Day 24

Today I read J.D. Salinger's short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," and have come to the conclusion that this short story is most likely not what J-Levitt was referring to, though it was a really amazing story. It circles around a woman, her troubled boyfriend, and a little girl. I don't know how well this story parallels or relates to 500 Days of Summer at all, which is why I don't think it is what the "bananafish" in the movie refers to, but it is a really wonderful account of a person not fitting in and becoming terribly disenchanted with the world. I don't think I will ever be as jaded as this guy, but I can definitely see where he's coming from. Sometimes it's hard when the only person who will talk about bananafish with you is a little girl who runs away from you.

Day 14

Today I looked up what a Bananafish is. Expecting to find a yellow species of tropical fish, I was surprised to find that there are no fish called "Bananafish." Instead, I was led to believe that this "bananafish" refers to one of three things: (1) the short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" by J.D. Salinger, (2) the classic manga "Banana Fish" by Akimi Yoshida, or (3) the band Bananafish. There are actually a ton of bands called Bananafish, or some variation on that name, which I thought was super weird. I'm guessing the movie reference is to the Salinger story, because that seems like it fits Summer and Tom's personalities best, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they ended up both secretly being obsessed with vintage manga.

this is creepy and weird.

Day 12

Have you ever looked up the "Memorable Quotes" from 500 Days of Summer on IMDB? I don't know why you would, but if you have, then I bet you will agree with me when I say that they are some of the most boring quotes I've ever read. My favorite:

Tom: My name's Tom.
Girl at Interview: [shaking hands] Nice to meet you. I'm Autumn.

...how is this at all a "Memorable Quote?" Yes, it is memorable as far of scenes of this movie go that Tom meets a new girl named Autumn, but when I'm looking through "Memorable Quotes," I'm looking for truly profound material that sticks with me, even out of the context of the film. This list of quotes is basically just the screenplay for the movie. Another of my favorites:

Tom: [the girl at the job interview agrees to meet Tom for coffee afterward] We'll figure it out. My name's Tom.
Girl at Interview: [Last lines of the film] Nice to meet you.
[Shakes his hand]
Girl at Interview: I'm Autumn.
[Tom looks at the camera in amazement. Film cuts to a title card with a "1" indicating the first day of Tom's relationship with Autumn]

Somebody thought this quote was SO good that it needed to be re-transcribed to include even more significant details. Super necessary! I'm definitely going to need to update this quotes page though, because it doesn't even include the part where Tom says how he and Summer can talk about Bananafish for hours, which is super crucial. Updates to come.