500 Days of Summer

It's exactly those thoughts that hopeless romantics want to get caught up in over and over again, finding "the one" by fate as the cosmic stars connive in its attempt for "happily ever after" to start taking its course.

Then a movie called "500 Days of Summer" comes along. Like a needle out to burst hopeless romantics' bubbles, it tries to defy formula. The line "this is not a love story" greets you shortly after the movie has started. Most romantic comedies have girls as hopeless romantics. This one tries to take on a different landscape as it has the boy hopelessly clinging on to destiny.

Whether you have been through really bad breakups or never had to be on the losing end in the game of love, this movie will give you that moment of clarity. It makes you want to explore the other side if you've been playing mostly Tom Hansen's character in real life or Summer's.

Never has a movie been so devoid of any cheesy lines. There are no airport scenes with one of the leads professing his/her realizations that it's love after all and how stupid he/she has been for figuring it out at the last minute.

This movie tries to keep it real. You want real, here's real.

Summer: I woke up one morning and I just knew.

Tom: Knew what?

Summer: What I was never sure of with you.

Pretty heart-wrenching!

My take in all of these is simple. The movie clearly shattered our idea of fate and destiny. In the end, everything's just coincidence and if something's meant to be, then it's bound to happen.

Everything may just be coincidence. This should not in any way hinder us however from taking chances for in taking chances, we could be finding the very thing or person that can make us happy for the rest of our lives.

Is there a happy ending for the Tom Hansens in us? There should be! For one, no one is in the losing end when he/she loves. Expectations may not coincide with reality. That's just how it works sometimes but in the end, you will learn to heal and move on.

Love is truly unpredictable. You or your partner may wake up one day and feel differently. With this as the case, we should never rely on anyone to keep us happy.

Rating: 5/5