A New Kind of Romantic Comedy

Rating: 9/10 (15 February 2010)

One of the negative aspects of most Romantic Comedies is that they appear fake. The cliché endings and the unrealistic relationships between characters are repeated in movie after movie. So after viewing (500) Days of Summer I'm relieved to say that there is now at least one film that explores the realism of relationships and break-ups. There are so many times in this movie where I could relate to the main character. I often found myself screaming out at the television, "Oh My God the exact same thing happen to me." The film follows the relationship between Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). According to Tom everything seems to be going fantastic and he honestly believes that Summer is the woman for him. However, after less than a year of dating she decides to end things. Tom is shocked to say the least and goes through an era of depression almost as long as the relationship was itself. Let's face it, it happens to everybody and (500) Days of Summer shows how quickly your feelings can change from being completely in love with someone to hating them beyond words. There are so many interesting scenes that each explore different aspects of relationships. For example, in one fantastic sequence the filmmaker divides the screen in half, one-side showing what Tom expects to happen and on the other side displaying what actually happens. Tom expects that Summer and him will get back together and have a romantic evening. However, in reality she simply invited him to the party just to be nice, and already had another love interest. (500) Days of Summer is unlike any other romantic comedy ever made. This is because its focus is not on presenting a feel good movie or giving the audience a happy ending, but it is to demonstrate that everyone goes through the hardships of relationships and break-ups. However, by the end of the film another realistic aspect is shown, which is we learn through the hard times and most of the time things work out for the best. Overall, if you've ever been in a relationship you should do yourself a favor and watch (500) Days of Summer. It's honest, clever, funny, and one of the best films of the year.