Tom is a hopeless romantic who falls for a girl who doesn't believe in love. Tom Hansen tells the story of his relationship with Summer Finn. He narrates it from the perspective of the present, looking back at certain events in a non-chronological order.
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At the beginning of their relationship, Tom is a hopeless romantic working at a greeting card company. He falls hard for a new employee named Summer after a brief conversation in an elevator, and believe it to be love at first sight.
He tries to work up the nerve to ask her out but fails until an office outing where they both sing karaoke and end up chatting about love. Summer reveals that she doesn't believe in it. Over the next few weeks spend more time together, going on outings and even shopping at Ikea. Summer repeats that she doesn't want anything serious and Tom agrees but is obviously crazy about her.
One day while they're in a bar Tom gets into a fight with a guy that hits on Summer, leading to a huge argument between Summer and Tom about what their relationship really is. After this their relationship winds down over the next few weeks and eventually Summer ends things.
Tom is brokenhearted and feels betrayed by Summer. His job suffers and he's transferred to the Condolences section as he becomes more depressed. He re-evaluates his beliefs on love and destiny and comes around to the point of view that Summer was right all along, love is not real.
He visits with his sister, who tries to give him some perspective and help him out of his funk. He tries to see the good side of the time with Summer, and begins to look for architectural jobs (his original passion) with little success.
And then he runs into Summer again at the wedding of a mutual friend.
Best part of story, including ending:
It's a very original take on the classic romance story which doesn't get sappy at all.
Best scene in story:
When the two leads sing karaoke together.
Opinion about the main character:
Tom is adorable but you can tell he is deluding himself and has no one to blame for his predicament but himself.
Tom Hansen, a lovesick greeting card writer, meets Summer Finn and proceeds to begin a 500 day relationship with her, revealing to us right at the start that this love story does not end happily. Tom and Summer start dating slowly, getting to know one another over several months. Summer insists constantly that she doesn't want a boyfriend, as she doesn't believe in the existence of true love. Tom, a die-hard romantic, ignores this and continues to see her, behaving like her boyfriend. After nearly a year of spending all their time together, Tom and Summer have their first fight, after Tom gets into it with a guy hitting on Summer. They eventually break up, over their continued debate on what "true love" means. Summer quits the greeting card company, and Tom goes from writing love cards to consolation cards for deceased family members. After a few months, Summer and Tom meet again at a wedding, where they dance and have a great time re-connecting. Summer invites him to a party at her place, and he's excited to go, imagining that this will be where they get back together. However, he realizes that it's actually Summer's engagement party, and she hardly talks to him the entire night. He ends up storming out, emotional, unsure of where to progress. He sinks into a pattern of alcoholism and depression, stops taking care of himself, and quits his job. Tom must dig down deep and find a way to motivate himself to move on with his life without the girl that he loves... which can be a big challenge, as anyone knows who has ever been in love.
Best part of story, including ending:
It's got some terrific moments, specifically when it follows Tom's flights of fancy. However, there is an undercurrent of hatred which gives this film a bitter aftertaste.
Best scene in story:
When Tom attends Summer's engagement party, we see a split screen-- on one side, we see how Tom imagined the party would go, and on the other, how it really goes, which is incredibly clever.
Opinion about the main character:
Tom is a helpless romantic, which does make him likable, but he gets moody incredibly quickly, and he blames Summer for their problems when she was honest the whole time, which is strange.