500 Days of Summer

Unique. Unlike typical romantic comedies, this one stuck to the last two words of its tagline. And that's just one of the reasons why I liked it.

For a change, the movie dared to irrevocably break its two main leads up. It's heartbreaking not to have a happy ending, I know. But it gave the story some semblance of reality. After all, it's not that easy to find 'the one'.

"Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't."

I also liked the way the story was told. In fact, the manner was quite risky. Choosing to bring your audience back and forth through the timeline of the story may cause confusion, if not headaches. But the movie made it brilliantly well. Using the nth Day of Summer to prompt the point in time the scenes occurred was smart and effective.

And I must say, the actors did great, considering that the lead actress was able to make her character really as charming and mysterious as it needed to be. The lead actor could also make you feel how devastated he was when the relationship didn't work out.

Of course there were some downside, like the laughs that came far between and that one out-of-place dancing scene that made me wonder whether I was watching Mamma Mia or a non-musical film. Ultimately though, I give the movie a thumbs up. It's not up there with my all-time faves (Notting Hill, The Cutting Edge) but it's a good watch.