Forget you ever saw Maid in Manhattan.

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2009)

This, my friend, is not your typical romantic comedy. As a matter of fact, there's nothing typical or cliché about this movie at all (apart from maybe the main character's dimwit friends). The tag line, "Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't.", really sums it up. And it's not only the plot that is unusual for this genre, everything from the witty dialog to the pleasing visual effects is outstanding. Not to mention Joseph Gordon-Levitt - seriously, where has this kid been since 3rd rock from the sun went off air? Glad to see you back, Joe.
Tom Hansen (Gordon-Levitt) is working a dead-end job at a greeting card company, biding time while waiting to find the love of his life and live happily ever after. When he meets quirky Summer (Deschanel), he thinks he's found what he's been looking for. And sure, at first things are rosy. Unfortunately for Tom, Summer soon grows tired of the relationship and moves on. Tom doesn't. Plenty of post-breakup hilarity ensues, and whilst feeling for our main boy you also find yourself laughing your pants off. A Valentine's day card reading "Roses are red, violets are blue - F*** you, w****" would've come in handy at some point to the best of us, right? The relatively unknown Marc Webb and the brilliant cast manage to create realistic yet highly likable characters, which is so rare to see in a romantic comedy (I'm looking at you, Matthew McCounaghey). The film also has a very natural flow to it, which isn't a given considering the constant leaps in time and oddities like an awesome dancing scene, not to mention the short tributes to old cinema classics. The best part, however, is that despite (or perhaps thanks to) the lack of a fairytale ending, (500) Days of Summer is definitely a feel-good movie. It's really all about moving on, no matter how horrible the heartbreak.
So do yourself a favor and drop your prejudices towards the "romantic comedy"-label. This is a through-out entertaining and enjoyable movie with very few flaws, plus an introduction to what's possibly the funnest game since Twister (you'll see). Against all my expectations I left the theater smiling, so I'm giving it 8/10. Don't miss out.