Bro-Approved thanks for a GOOD chick flick

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2010)

As a movie reviewer I'm very biased in the romantic comedy genre. I give most of them an eye-roll at best. Maybe a light chuckle. But instead of invalidating my reviews of romantic comedies, I'd like to propose that it makes a positive review that much more genuine. It also makes it many times more satisfying to find a truly good one, and that's what 500 Days of Summer is. It is an excellent romantic comedy because it balances all aspects of the genre beautifully. There's romance. That's a given. It's comedic, but not the 'somehow they're both naked and for reason don't realize it but they're about to collide and land on one another and for some reason they're all wet' kind of comedy. No. Take that corny stuff away and keep the cheesiness. The comedy is offbeat and witty and never goes astray.
Best of all is the story. It's completely relatable. Who hasn't had a case of the butterflies when a new love enters your life and you are hopelessly hypnotized by your own infatuation? You are on the highest of highs only to to fall to the lowest of lows when the definitions of "couple", "dating", and "love" complicate things. The relationship isn't perfect. "Is this really how 'love' should be?" you ask yourself. I've gone through all this myself, so 500 Days of Summer really resonated with me. The movie's tagline says it all:
This is not a love story. This is a story about love.
This is a story about a boy named Tom who falls in love with Summer, a girl who doesn't believe in love. He's the hopeless romantic who writes greeting cards and she's the new girl at work. Summer is aloof and uninterested in Tom at first, but when she learns about his feelings for her through their coworker, McKenzie, she kisses Tom. Not exactly out of reciprocation, but out of whimsical curiosity.
What followed was bliss. The highest of highs. They fall in love, or so Tom thinks, and it culminates in sex and a subsequent dance number as Tom walks to work the next morning. All the pedestrians jump in as back-up. Even a cartoon bird comes in the mix. This dance number was a nice touch since it's comedic value contrasted with the rest of the movie.
But not even "love" can violate the laws of the universe. What goes up, must come down. Tom falls to the lowest of lows when he questions where he and Summer are in their relationship. She's not one to be tied down, so she takes off like the free bird she is. Then there was despair. Tom has lost the girl destined for him. He falls in a downward spiral of alcohol and cynicism.
However, seasons change. Autumn. Winter. Spring. Eventually, Summer returns, but now she's engaged and Tom is confused. How can Summer out of all people get married? And so suddenly? She just happened to meet a guy who was right for her, and she saw all the wonderful things about love that Tom has always believed. She explains:
Summer: Well, you know, I guess it's 'cause I was sitting in a deli and reading Dorian Gray and a guy comes up to me and asks me about it and now he's my husband.
Tom: Yeah. And so?
Summer: So, what if I'd gone to the movies? What if I had gone somewhere else for lunch? What if I'd gotten there 10 minutes later? It was – it was meant to be. And I just kept thinking Tom was right.
Tom: *in slight disbelief* No.
Summer: Yeah, I did. *laughs* I did. It just wasn't me that you were right about.
Movies, TV, and music has all brainwashed us into thinking that love is perfect, pure, and simple. And if that wasn't bad enough, they even suggest it is somehow easy to obtain. No. That's bull. It's a lot more complicated than that and it requires a lot more work than we are led to think. Enter 500 Days of Summer. This is a romantic comedy that is telling us just that. It is doing a public service to the love-struck youth by striking them upside the head with some reality.
Tom writes Hallmark style cards for a living. They all contain those cookie-cutter, idealistic "I love you" messages that are so fake. He eventually breaks free to pursue his true passion, architecture. This is also about the time when he breaks free from his false preconceptions about love and finally gets over Summer. Love is complicated, and for a romantic comedy to convey this message so poetically is commendable. Bravo and a big thanks.
PENIS!
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