I don’t see how the ending wasn’t true to the movie. At some point after a breakup, we all move on and search for our next relationship. The non-linier format keeps this from feeling abrupt. If the problem is with the new girl’s name. Its a conceit, but one the film has earned.
Yes, I agree, the ending was cute etc but it completely contradicted the theme of the film (being against the idea of “the one”). Despite the fact that the rest of the film was executed so well, that was the singular thing that kept it from being truly great.
Wasn’t it just the girl who was against the idea of the “one?”
I also thought the last scene prevented the film from being a true success. I still enjoyed it, though.
Was it against the idea of “the one,” if you think about it? Summer didn’t believe in that but then once she leaves him she finds another guy and gets married just like that. She wasn’t what he thought she was, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t another one out there. And that’s what the ending was trying to say.
No I understand what was the meaning of the ending but I think the movie will have been a lot better and powerful if the last scene would have been cut off. I still enjoy it very much thought.
Let me start by saying: I do not go into RomComs to leave depressed. Now, while the film wasn’t a RomCom in the traditional sense, it still is one. The message was clear: There is no “One.” And that message was conveyed perfectly. He didn’t end up with the “perfect” girl for him. Though in actuality, the only trait they seemed to have in common was their music taste, but for some, that alone will constitute as the perfect relationship. Though in the end, that wasn’t enough to keep them together, and the misery he ensues afterward are perfectly understandable.
But I digress, his finding a new girl, is closure. I became invested in his character, enough that I want to see him happy. For the film to end on a downer, would have left me with a sour taste in my mouth, and feeling of emptiness, like there should have been more. I’m not one that needs closure, but there are certain films that call for it, and this one screams and chants for closure.
Imagine, if you will, a sports game, and your home team is losing big time, but begins to make a rally back, and right near the end, your power goes out. You don’t know if they won or lost. That’s how I see this film. I want to see it to the end, and see him bounce back, and “win.”
The ending was good, and the messaged was conveyed.
I think it was a terrible ending that sealed the film’s status as a conventional romantic comedy with nothing interesting to say.
Law, hahaha. Every time, man. You’re fortunate, I must say, that you haven’t gone through a love by you that is not shared by the other end…
Savvy
Zach, I have. (sad face) But I still think the film is bad.
“(500) Days of Summer is a vastly inferior version of Annie Hall, borrowing the premise of a non-chronological “story about love but not a love story” but unfortunately failing to deliver.
To start off on a mild note, the non-chronological timeline was definitely much better done in Annie Hall, where days were not specified and motifs were well spread out and witty, as opposed to the motifs in (500) Days of Summer, which merely serve as transitions or brief jokes. But the film cannot be faulted for trying to break from conventional Hollywood material, and this is not my main gripe.
My main gripe is that the film is an ideological mess. It purports to be a rather subversive and unconventional take on love stories, but only succeeds in conforming to conservative and overly romantic notions of love. Here, we have a female character who rejects the dominant ideology of true love, soulmates etcetera. However, by the end of the film, she gives into the dominant ideology, claiming to have “woken up”. This is a sneaky implicit attack on the non-dominant and rather cynical reading of love, slamming it as immature. Perhaps one might argue that the scriptwriters balance this out by having the male character have a change of heart to. But the film’s form disagrees. What is presented to us is a series of romantic encounters from the male’s perspective, solidifying our beliefs in the dominant ideology (thus becoming a typical love story), yet as soon as he has a change of heart, we are no longer so focused on him; the camera no longer cares about what he does and the editors cannot be bothered to show this conversion. Rather, the film is focused on the female character’s marriage and her change of heart.
And to rub it in, the film even tacks on a ridiculous happy ending where the main character suddenly switches back to the dominant ideology again. Thus throughout the entire film, we witness characters basking in the dominant ideology of “true love”, of exaggerated romance, which is reaffirmed by the ending. This is blatantly no more than the conventional Hollywood method of promoting dominant ideologies without any real thought for subversion and this film is blatantly just a love story and not a story about love.
The prescription is to save your 90 minutes and watch Annie Hall, which is a much better and much funnier film."
Law, okay. I must say that I’m sorry you’ve had to go through that. For that reason alone, I find this film endlessly fascinating, and very close to my heart. I liked the ending for the character’s sake; it’s not, I believe, that he wins, per se, but almost that he just never learns. That, I believe, is very sad.
Either that, or just the fact that I believe that the same thing happens to people in real life, and so I don’t see the issue here. Frankly, believe that the same thing happens to people all the time (myself included), and so, even if this is the “conventional” ending, I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.
But, if you didn’t like it, you didn’t like it. You obviously got it, so there’s no issue there! :D
Savvy
I’m having an intense internal debate on where I liked this movie or not.
If you don’t like it you’re wrong!
David, hahahaha. Well, I think that’s being a bit harsh, don’t you? ;)
Savvy
By the way I meant to say ‘whether’, not where.
I just had to fix it. I guess that’s why they called me ‘anal girl’ in high school. (My first official (500) Days of Summer movie reference!)
Robley, NICE!
Savvy
No, the end is the best thing of the film, it means it will happen the same thing over and over.
Eloi MV
SPOILER!!!!!!!!
Is it me or the last scene at the job interview just ruin the entire movie. It is one of the best movie about love (not a love story;)) I’ve ever seen but I would indeed have been perfect without that scene that contradict totally the message vehiculed in all the movie (when Thomas made his speech before quitting his job about love in pop music and movie). THe love story despict here is real and amasing. Ending the movie with the scene in the park when Thomas is officially turned down but knowing that in the end, he was right, seem a perfect real ending, with a little hope touch. But after my 2nd viewing, the ending annoy me even most. Still, on of the best movie of 2009 in my opinion. Anybody feels the same way? The movie is so well written and intelligent that I simply think that an ending like this seems forced by some nasty producer….:(