Literary Analysis Of Marc Webb's '500 Days Of Summer'

Often time’s Hollywood romance movies have taught us to believe that when two people fall in love, a happy ending is inevitable. While it would be comforting to know love could be so simple, unfortunately, reality takes it upon itself to make a bit more complicated than that. In the 2009 romantic comedy, (500) Days of Summer by Marc Webb, there is an exceptional representation of how difficult and unpredictable love can truly be. While the movie may not end the way most people would it expect, it is far more relatable than the fairy tale happy ending we’ve become accustomed to. (500) Days of Summer is a good movie because it playfully yet truthfully illustrates the realities of falling in and out of love, finding oneself, and allowing fate

Tom truly believes he will never be happy until the day he meets “the one”. Summer on the other hand, has the belief that “There’s no such thing as love. It’s a fantasy.” Despite being completely opposites of each other, they create a sort of relationship without necessarily putting a title over it. In the beginning of their romance, Tom recalls every little detail he loves about Summer. He says, “I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love her heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love the way she sometimes licks her lips before she talks. I love the sound of her laugh.” When people start to fall in love, they begin to notice seemingly insignificant traits about the other person as unique and beautiful ones. By the end of a relationship, however, those once seemingly unique traits now turn unbearable

In the beginning, it seemed very clear Tom and Summer would end up together by the end of the film. There was even hope that after they had broken up, they would be able to able to rekindle their romance after fate brought them back together to attend an ex coworker’s wedding. The pair danced, laughed, and Summer even caught the bouquet, however a happy ending for them was not the case. Fate did want Tom and Summer to be part of each other’s lives, but not because they were meant to be together, but because they had a purpose to fulfill. At the end of the film when Summer finds Tom sitting at his favorite spot in the city, she explains to him that she is grateful to of had him as a part of her life and that because of him she was able to know what she was never sure of with him, true love does exist. And as for Tom, after following Summer’s advice to pursue to become an architect, he attends an interview where he meets a beautiful girl by the name, Autumn. Fate has a funny way of showing us that if we’re patient enough, happy endings can be