Boy meets girl.
It’s a storyline that has been played out one too many times. A recurring idea in your typical rom-coms, where the intricacies of relationships are reduced to petty conflicts that can be simply resolved by hyperbolic declarations of undying love, or last minute chases to the airport. Boy wins girl, cue passionate kiss, oh and don’t forget the cheesy rock ballad playing in the background.
Which was probably why I found 500 Days of Summer so refreshing. Following a non-chronological structure, the ending is revealed from the very beginning. The couple break up, abruptly serving us a hard dose of reality, that not all silver-screen couples have their happy endings.
Tom embodies the hopeless romantic. He yearns to someday meet “the one” girl-of-his-dreams, who he believes comes in the form of this alluring Summer character. Only, her skeptical views on romance counter that of Tom’s. She is practical, placing love on par with fairytales whereas our leading man remains (quite naively) idealistic. Her philosophy resonates that of many of us today.
“Relationships are messy and feelings get hurt. Who needs all that? We’re young. We’re in one of the most beautiful cities on earth. I say let’s have as much fun as we can.”
Essentially, 500 Days is not about finding the right person — it’s about finding the wrong one. How we can be misguided by infatuation. How’s that for you hopeless romantics?
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