6. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
The Happy Ending... The great thing about
500 Days of Summer, which starred Joseph "I'm Taking Over The Movies" Gordon-Levitt and Zooey "Please Be My Girlfriend" Deschanel, was the fact that it didn't embrace any of the frankly boring rom-com cliches we've all become so well accustomed to these days - it was an intelligent and careful meditation on the expectations of love and how difficult and ultimately painful relationships can be. That is, until the ending, when the movie decides to incorporate a horrible moment with JGL's character, Tom, who, having severed his ties with Summer (Deschanel), meets somebody else all of a sudden... and guess what? It's a girl and her name is (brace yourself) "Autumn." "Ha!" we're supposed to go, I guess, but no... that's not funny. That's lame and cheap and I hate you for making that the last thing I'll ever remember about
500 Days of Summer.
What We Really Needed... The film could've ended on a far simpler (and more realistic note), with Tom simply moving on with his life not knowing what the future will bring. Much of the movie is based around the fact that our expectations are always so far from the reality that occurs in real life situations, and implementing Autumn just seems to kick that notion square in the teeth. I know the movie wanted to end on an optimistic note because it's essential a rom-com, but c'mon, Tom's a big boy, and I really doubt that a handsome, intelligent, caring architect with great prospects and awesome dance moves is gonna have trouble finding a new girlfriend.