Line #111 Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer


1	%%
2	%%
3	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
4	%%
5	%%
6
7
8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/500_days_of_summer2.jpg]]
9
10	->"''This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know up front, this is not a love story.''"
11	-->-- '''Narrator'''
12
13	''(500) Days of Summer'' is a 2009 independent {{romantic comedy}} film starring Creator/JosephGordonLevitt and Creator/ZooeyDeschanel, directed by Marc Webb from a script by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.
14
15	Tom Hansen (Levitt) works as a writer for a greeting-card company; Summer Finn (Deschanel) is a quirky young woman hired as his boss's assistant. Tom, a hopeless romantic, immediately falls for her; Summer doesn't believe in true love, and isn't looking for a relationship. They quickly become more than just friends, but while Summer doesn't consider their affair to be serious, Tom believes she's "the one", and wants something more. The film takes a look at their quasi-relationship from Tom's perspective, numbering the days and events that lead to its buildup and eventual downfall.
16
17	The film is now looked back on as a standout romance film of its time primarily through being an outright GenreDeconstruction, taking the genre's conventions and juxtaposing them with the realistic highs and lows (mostly lows) of a modern relationship, as well as the fractured way in which we remember them.
18
19	----
20	!!This film provides examples of:
21
22	* AffectionateParody: Played with in the "Expectation versus Reality" sequences. The Expectation parts follow this by showing what it would be like if it was part of a legitimate RomanticComedy (what Tom ''thinks'' he's in): occasionally emotional, at times cheesy, [[UnreliableNarrator almost always in his favor]]. The Reality parts subvert or deconstruct those, usually by Tom messing up a line, not looking as suave as he thinks he is, or even failing to act at all because he's so flustered.
23	* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Tom and his co-worker friend initially assumed Summer to be this.
24	-->'''Tom:''' That sucks. Why is it pretty girls think they can treat people like crap and get away with it?
25	-->'''[=McKenzie=]:''' Centuries of reinforcement!
26	* AnAesop: This film warns the viewers of what can happen when you put someone up on a pedestal as a romantic ideal rather than viewing them as a real person with flaws.
27	* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: Will Tom find real lasting love with Autumn, or will it be another failed relationship? Since we only see them on the first day of their meeting, guessing in either direction is pure speculation.]]
28	* AnachronicOrder: The film begins on Day 488 and then jumps around among the 500 days as Tom (through the {{narrator}}) recalls them.
29	* TheArtifact: The flashback to Summer cutting her hair off in her teen years is a remnant from when she was conceived as having short blonde hair (you know, a ''[[ManicPixieDreamGirl pixie]]'' haircut) -- as it would have been an ImportantHaircut for her.
30	* AsideGlance: Tom, at the very end of the film, after finding out that [[spoiler:the girl he's just met is named Autumn. It's practically a non-verbal HereWeGoAgain.]]
31	* BenevolentBoss: Vance, Tom's boss, notices the latter's [[invoked]]CreatorBreakdown and makes him use his misery to be more work-productive instead of firing him. [[spoiler: Still didn't work, sadly.]]
32	* BetterThanABareBulb: The movie repeatedly [[LampshadeHanging calls out]] its usage of conventional romantic comedy tropes.
33	* BigBrotherInstinct: Tom starts to act protective over Rachel when she starts listing boy's names in her class.
34	* BiggerIsBetterInBed: In the case of one of Summer's ex-boyfriends, who was subsequently nicknamed [[MeaningfulName Puma]].
35	* BilingualBonus: When Tom and Summer are riding in a car and Tom asks Summer what they are doing there is a song in French playing on the radio. It is "Quelqu'un m'a dit" by Carla Bruni. The chorus of this song is "Quelqu'un m'a dit que tu m'aimait encore, somebody told me that you still loved me." During a lull in the conversation what is heard of the song translates to "somebody told me that destiny doesn't care about us. That it gives nothing and promises everything. It's said that happiness is within reach so we reach out our hand and found ourselves crazy."
36	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Tom and Summer [[NoRomanticResolution don't get back together]], but he's on the path to achieving his dreams, she's in a happy relationship, and he might have a good relationship starting.]]
37	* BlindDate: Tom goes on one with a girl named Alison after Summer dumps him; as he's still too distraught to do anything but talk about his breakup with Summer, the date with Alison doesn't go well.
38	* BluebirdOfHappiness: During Tom's HappyDance with half of Los Angeles, a {{Disneyesque}} cartoon bluebird flies in, lands on his finger, and then winks at the camera as it flies off.
39	** In a deleted scene depicting a more depressing version of this moment, a much less adorable bird flits around Tom's head, much to his annoyance. The bird then takes a crap on his shoulder.
40	* {{Bookends}}: The movie begins and ends on Day 488.
41	* BoyMeetsGirl: [[{{Deconstruction}} Deconstructed]]. The {{narrator}} even introduces the film as "[[LampshadeHanging a story of]] boy meets girl", but is quick to note that this is not a love story.
42	* BrickJoke: ''Film/TheGraduate'' gets referenced in the opening narration, and Tom and Summer are seen watching it in one of the final scenes.
43	* ButNotTooBi: One of Summer's previous serious relationships was with a woman, but we only see her being interested in and attracting interest from men.
44	* CassandraTruth: Rachel absolutely nails the flaw in Tom's thinking before he and Summer have even kissed:
45	-->"Just because she likes the same bizarro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate."
46	* CerebusCallBack: Done the other way round. Tom finds a card saying "I love us" and looks at it sadly. It then flashes back to inform us that he wrote the card inspired by his relationship with Summer.
47	* CharacterDevelopment: As the film progresses, Tom matures greatly. He stops seeing women as objects that he can project his ideals onto, and drops his ItsAllAboutMe attitude towards his relationship with Summer. He is also able to turn his life around, quitting his job in the greeting card company and pursuing a job as an architect, which is what he wants to do. His growth in the film is best illustrated in [[spoiler:his final conversation with Summer]], where he genuinely wishes her to be happy, and when he [[spoiler:asks out Autumn without hesitation and doesn't get angry when she initially rejects him]].
48	* ColorFailure: Late in the movie when Tom is depressed over his breakup with Summer, he's depicted in monochrome in one scene.
49	* ColorMotif: Blue is associated with Summer, which according to WordOfGod was done to bring out her actress' blue eyes. Throughout the film, Tom sees and ignores many objects with this color, which serves as {{foreshadowing}} (see below).
50	* ComedicWorkSeriousScene: The climax sees Tom's expectations of getting back together with Summer [[spoiler: shattered as he realizes he's at her engagement party]].
51	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
52	** Tom completely misinterpreted the ending of ''Film/TheGraduate'' as a child, contributing to his tendency to romanticize relationships as an adult. Summer, however, seems to get it, as she leaves the cinema crying and Tom just can't understand why.
53	** It's shown fairly evidently in the [[http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/500-Days-of-Summer.html script]], where it is shown that after his college girlfriend (briefly mentioned in the film) broke up with him in a flashback by using a song he showed her as a metaphor (skipping the song that she used to like), Tom misinterprets it and tells her it's a "great fucking song."
54	* ComingOfAgeStory: The movie is in many ways a story of Tom growing from being a young adult who is in many ways an adolescent (working a job he has no passion for, being naive about how love and relationships work, and even his style of dress) to a (hopefully) more functioning and happier adult who isn't as focused on finding love.
55	* CommitmentIssues: Summer appears remarkably calm about her previous failed relationships, chalking up their failures to "Life." So it comes as quite a surprise when she marries her post-Tom boyfriend within less than a year. You wonder how her lifelong fear of emotional intimacy will affect her marriage down the road....
56	* CoolBigSis: Technically, she's a Cool ''Little'' Sis, but she sure does ''not'' sound or behave like a kid.
57	* CreatorBreakdown: In-universe example; Tom writes increasingly caustic and inappropriately cynical greeting card messages as his relationship with Summer deteriorates.
58	--> "Roses are red, violets are blue, [[spoiler: fuck you, whore.]]"
59	* CrowdSong: A Crowd ''Dance'', to be more accurate, since the characters onscreen are not the ones singing: the morning after Tom and Summer spend their first night together, Tom giddily struts down the streets of L.A., where he is joined by a crowd of dancers, a marching band, and animated birds, all set to Hall and Oates' "You Make My Dreams".
60	* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[ForegoneConclusion The audience knows this from the start.]]
61	* DidYouJustHaveSex: One of Tom's friends asks him this, [[spoiler: not realizing that Summer is in the other room, listening]].
62	* DrowningMySorrows: After Tom discovers [[spoiler:that Summer's marrying someone else]].
63	* DrunkenSong: [=McKenzie=] is absolutely plastered at karaoke and completely fails to stay on rhythm during "God Bless the USA."
64	* EmotionlessGirl: How the {{Narrator}} introduces us to Summer. [[spoiler: Probably evidence that he's an UnreliableNarrator.]]
65	* EmpathicEnvironment: Through the changing seasons within the animation that ties the timeline together. Summer: Tom and Summer's relationship begins. Autumn: It begins to fracture. Winter: They've broken up and he's depressed. Spring: [[spoiler:He meets Autumn and realizes life goes on.]]
66	%%* EntitledToHaveYou: What Tom thinks of Summer.
67	* EpunymousTitle: On Summer being both a name and a time.
68	* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: When Tom at least tries to get over his break-up with Summer, he now wears his hair slicked back. Summer's hair is worn up when she sees Tom after their break-up. [[spoiler: After she's been married]] she appears with her hair slightly longer and curled, and the fringe swept to the side.
69	* TheFaceless: [[spoiler: Summer's husband.]]
70	* FalseSoulmate: Summer, for Tom. She basically has to tell him to his face that she wasn't actually the one for him, despite his conviction.
71	* LeFilmArtistique: During his post-break up depression, Tom sits through a collection of European monochrome movies that strangely resemble events from his own life.
72	* FlatCharacter: Appropriately enough, since we're only really seeing her through Tom's eyes, we don't know all that much about Summer beyond her taste in books and music. We know Tom's career aspirations and meet his family members and close friends, but Summer doesn't get any of these. Even in her professional life, Summer is defined by her proximity to another man, being Vance's assistant.
73	* ForegoneConclusion: The {{narrator}} tells us right near the start, "This ''is'' a story of BoyMeetsGirl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story. "
74	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Summer has an art installation of paper cranes in her apartment. [[spoiler:All but one are blue (a colour strongly associated with her throughout the movie), and the odd one out is red (the color that Autumn is wearing when Tom meets her). Guess which crane Tom picks to fidget with?]] Also an example of ColourCodedForYourConvenience.
75	* FourthDateMarriage: The entire story, including Tom's [[spoiler: post-break-up depression]], takes place over a little less than a year and a half. Consider how Summer spends less than half that time (days 288-500). Most couples spend more time between the engagement and the wedding than Summer [[spoiler: took meeting a total stranger and getting married to him... which suggests that her big LoveEpiphany might be just another whim]].
76	* FreudianExcuse: According to the {{narrator}}, Summer's parents' divorce when she was young is the reason she's become an EmotionlessGirl, unable to form any permanent attachments. But see also UnreliableNarrator.
77	* FreudianSlip: Summer [[{{Pun}} fakes]] one in order to gently tease Tom [[spoiler:and to let him know that she overheard the DidYouJustHaveSex conversation between him and his friend.]]
78	* FriendsWithBenefits: Summer resists Tom's efforts to put a label on their relationship; she prefers to enjoy things the as they are without an implied commitment she isn't sure she can give.
79	* HappyDance: Tom after his first night with Summer... along with [[SpontaneousChoreography everyone else in the street he's walking down.]]
80	* HereWeGoAgain: The film ends with Tom meeting a new girl at a job interview. [[spoiler:Her name? Autumn. Day 1.]]
81	* HeroicBSOD: Tom's response upon learning that Summer [[spoiler: has gotten engaged to someone else.]]
82	* HeroicResolve: Days 456-476 shows Tom somehow starting to get his act together again.
83	* HollywoodCalifornia: Set in Los Angeles; Tom, having trained as an architect, takes Summer on a tour of his favorite buildings around the city. This doesn't include any instantly recognizable Hollywood landmarks.
84	* {{Homage}}: Specific scenes from ''Film/ChildrenOfParadise'', ''Film/{{Persona 1966}}'', ''Film/TheSeventhSeal'', and ''Film/TheGraduate''. More generally, the films of Creator/WoodyAllen, especially ''Film/AnnieHall''.
85	* HowWeGotHere: The first day of Tom and Summer's relationship we see is Day 488, near the end of it -- [[spoiler: in fact, exactly two hundred days ''after'' she dumped him, and several days after she married someone else]]. The rest of the movie [[AnachronicOrder jumps back and forth through the five hundred days]] to explain HowWeGotHere.
86	* HypocriticalHumor: Incessant.
87	-->'''Summer''': All we do is argue.\
88	'''Tom''': That's bullshit!
89	* InMediasRes: Related to the AnachronicOrder, we see the effects of their breakup in the first scene, before we even meet the couple.
90	* IronicEcho: Because of the film's AnachronicOrder, we often hear the echoed version first. One of the reasons the movie is in some ways BetterOnDVD. One in particular has them at a hardware store and Tom makes a joke about the uselessness of showfloor appliances, which Summer is apathetic over. It then jumps to earlier in their relationship when they sort of became a couple after an afternoon of goofing around in the same place making the exact same kind of jokes. One was cute and charming, the other incessant.
91	* ItIsDehumanizing: A variant. A {{Jerkass}} at a bar who failed to pick up Summer saw her with Tom and lashes on him/them with this trope.
92	-->'''{{Jerkass}} guy:''' I can't believe ''this'' is your boyfriend!
93	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Tom, ultimately.]]
94	-->'''[[spoiler: Tom]]''': [[spoiler: Summer]], I really do hope that you are happy.
95	* JustFriends: Despite being FriendsWithBenefits, the core of the tension between Tom and Summer is his desire to be more than JustFriends, and her desire not to.
96	* KaraokeBondingScene: At an office party, Tom sings the Music/{{Pixies}}'s "Here Comes Your Man" for the benefit of his crush on co-worker Summer.
97	* LampshadeHanging: Of RomanticComedy conventions. Usually (but not always) by the {{narrator}}. Usually (but not always) [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] or [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]].
98	* LemonyNarrator: Certainly a mild example compared with the TropeNamer, but the {{narrator}} is definitely odd and quite possibly at least a little [[UnreliableNarrator unreliable]].
99	* LoveAtFirstSight: Tom's taken with Summer the moment he sees her. Summer seems to evoke this response from most men she meets.
100	* LoveHurts: The primary theme of the movie.
101	* LovingAShadow: It's made very clear in the movie and by WordOfGod that Tom is more fixated on an idealized version of Summer as his desired ManicPixieDreamGirl and doesn't see the actual flawed human being in front of him. Naturally, this blows up badly in his face when his inability to let it go leads to some painful heartbreak for him.
102	* LuckyCharmsTitle: The brackets for the number (500).
103	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Subverted/deconstructed; Tom initially thinks of Summer as one, and pursues a relationship with her even though she flip-flops between being clear that she's [[FriendsWithBenefits not interested in anything serious]] and [[TheTease leading him on]], which leads to getting his heart broken when [[spoiler:she dumps him and marries someone else]]. Thus are explored the very [[TruthInTelevision true-to-life]] hazards of treating a woman as a romantic ideal rather than a human being. Arguably, Tom [[spoiler:may have been a Manic Pixie Dream ''Guy'' to Summer, who tells him at the end that he taught her that love is real]]. WordOfGod on the subject:
104	-->"Yes, Summer has elements of the ManicPixieDreamGirl -- she is an immature view of a woman. She's Tom's view of a woman. He doesn't see her complexity and the consequence for him is heartbreak. In Tom's eyes, Summer is perfection, but perfection has no depth. Summer's not a girl, she's a phase."
105	* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: From Tom's point of view, Summer. It seems like every time she tells Tom she's not interested in something serious (and despite it being obvious that he is), she immediately throws a curve ball in the form of hand-holding, kisses or sex. Just before she breaks up with him, she impulsively kisses Tom in the street. The worst example is when they have a huge fight, Summer tries to tell him they are JustFriends, he storms out, and Summer goes over to his place in the morning, in the rain, and has sex with him, which he interprets to mean she wants to stay in the relationship. However, from her perspective she is very clear with what she wants, not putting labels on their relationship and holding the understanding that things might change overnight.
106	* MatchCut: In one transition, a happy, just-got-laid Tom enters an elevator...and on a later day, a depressed Tom walks out.
107	* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler:Tom and Autumn. An interaction starts between them at the end, but what becomes of it is up in the air.]]
108	* MeaningfulName: Summer [[spoiler: and her possible successor, Autumn]]. Also, the names '''Tom''' Hansen and Summer '''Finn''' are a ShoutOut to Tom Sawyer and Literature/HuckleberryFinn.
109	* MeetCute: [[spoiler:There are two examples in the film, and they have something in common: one party was already interested beforehand while the other was oblivious to that person's existence. The first time, it's Tom who's already interested and Summer who's been oblivious; the second time, it's Tom who's been oblivious (too caught up {{angst}}ing over Summer) and Autumn who's already interested.]]
110	** On Day 4, in the elevator, between Tom and Summer.
111	** [[spoiler: On Day 500 of Summer[=/=]Day 1 of Autumn, another more standard example occurs between Tom and Autumn as they wait to interview for the same job.]]
112	* MoodWhiplash:
113	** Between romantic elation and romantic disappointment. Repeatedly.
114	** Tom's reactions to breaking up with Summer is both funny and heartbreaking.
115	* {{Narrator}}: The movie's narrator frequently comments on both the events and themes of the movie.
116	* NeverTrustATrailer: The title and trailer imply that the movie is about the 500 days in the relationship between Summer and Tom. [[spoiler:In fact, Summer breaks up with Tom on Day 288, and the remaining days document his attempts to get over her.]] Furthermore, most viewers of the trailer expected Summer to be a straight portrayal of a ManicPixieDreamGirl instead of a {{Deconstruction}} of the trope.
117	* NiceJewishBoy: Tom was originally written to be explicitly Jewish, speaking fluent Yiddish and attending Rachel's bat mitzvah.
118	* ObliviouslyBeautiful: Summer attracts many male admirers while simply going about her day, and she never seems to notice any of them.
119	* ObliviousToLove: Summer is pretty obtuse about Tom's feelings for her.
120	* OnlySaneMan: Rachel, who points out that "just because some cute girl likes all the same bizarro crap you do... that doesn't make her your soulmate." To Tom's surprise [[ForegoneConclusion but not the audience's]], she's right.
121	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Tom can tell something's up with Summer in the days leading up to their breakup. She's much quieter than usual, she ignores his attempts at joking around, she avoids physical contact, and she even bursts into tears out of nowhere (possibly lamenting the conversation she knows she must have with him).
122	* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: Parodied with the SuspiciouslySpecificDenial cited below.
123	* PerspectiveReversal: In the beginning, Tom is hopelessly romantic, while Summer does not believe in love. By the end of the movie, their dispositions toward love are inverted.
124	* PostModernism: Plenty, including the [[AnachronicOrder nonlinear narrative]], the [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment spontaneous dance sequence]], the onscreen count of the actual 500 days, and one scene which contrasts "Expectations" vs. "Reality" via SplitScreen.
125	* PursueTheDreamJob: Tom eventually makes something good of his heartbreak, refreshing his architecture portfolio and applying for jobs at local firms. We don't know if he ever gets one, but he does seem to get a few interviews, so we know it's not totally hopeless.
126	* RavenHairIvorySkin: Summer's beauty and very dark hair have been noted several times.
127	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Tom's and Summer's boss.
128	* RedHerring: In a sense. One of the opening shots shows Summer with a ring on her finger. [[spoiler: It turns out not to belong to Tom but another man]].
129	* TheReveal: At a party Tom already finds just about unbearable, he suddenly notices Summer's [[spoiler:engagement ring.]]
130	* RivalryAsCourtship: Downplayed; Tom meets Autumn as they are both waiting to interview for the same job, and they jokingly wish each other bad luck.
131	* RomanticComedy: A {{Deconstruction}} of the genre in the general vein of ''Film/AnnieHall'' and ''Film/{{Manhattan}}''.
132	* RomanticRunnerUp: The main character is one of these. While he was completely in love with her, she wasn't at all in love with him. The key theme is the difference between his expectations and the reality of the situation.
133	* RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue: "Roses are red, violets are blue, / [[spoiler:[[SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion Fuck you, whore]]." Arguably qualifies as a PrecisionFStrike, too.]]
134	%%* RunningGag: Plenty of them.
135	* SeasonalMotif: Summer, of course, who's fun but flighty and unpredictable. The bereavement card project Tom works on [[spoiler: when he's depressed after their breakup]] is called The Winter Collection. [[spoiler:The girl Tom meets at the end is called Autumn.]]
136	* SecondaryCharacterTitle: While Tom and Summer are equally billed as co-leads, the film focuses more on Tom than Summer.
137	* SlidingScaleOfBeauty: Summer is considered World Class beauty.
138	* {{Shorttank}}: Tom's younger sister, Rachel.
139	* ShoutOut:
140	** The {{Meaningful Name}}s '''Tom''' Hansen and Summer '''Finn''' are a ShoutOut to Tom Sawyer and Literature/HuckleberryFinn.
141	** See also SuspiciouslySpecificDenial for an incredibly obscure ShoutOut in the guise of a fake TakeThat.
142	** Summer calls Tom "[[Literature/TheSorrowsOfYoungWerther young Werther]]". Notice the potential parallel?
143	* ShowerOfLove: Tom and Summer did this to emulate a porn movie. [[SubvertedTrope It doesn't go too smoothly.]]
144	* SingleTargetSexuality:
145	** Tom for Summer. Even on his blind date, he can't stop talking about Summer (albeit not exactly the nicest things, but still).
146	** [[spoiler:Tom's obliviousness towards Autumn, who had seen him before, but he never noticed her until they meet.]]
147	* SlowClap: Subverted; after Tom gives an impassioned speech and quits his job at the greeting card company, his friend and coworker [=McKenzie=] begins to clap, but quickly stops when nobody joins him.
148	* SoulCrushingDeskJob: Tom wants to be an architect, but he ends up at a greeting card company. Although there is no hostility in the office, Tom feels that his job is monotonous and boring. Moreover, he has no passion for it. The upside is meeting Summer. By the time Tom and Summer break up, Tom undergoes a downward spiral, and the final straw for him that drives him to quit this job is a boardroom meeting with ranting about inspirational quotes on love.
149	* SpitTake:
150	-->'''Summer''': They used to call me Anal Girl.\
151	(''Tom spit-takes'')\
152	'''Summer''': ...I was very neat and organized.
153	* StalkerWithACrush: Very early in Tom's relationship with Summer, one of his friends teases him that he's one of these toward Summer. [[spoiler: Of course she overhears.]]
154	* StealthParody: See StockCharacter and WiseBeyondTheirYears, below.
155	* StockCharacter: Rachel, the absurdly WiseBeyondTheirYears younger sister of main character Tom.
156	* StupidestThingIveEverHeard: Tom's thoughts about Summer's "PENIS!" game.
157	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The film's opening disclaimer: "AUTHOR'S NOTE: [[ThisIsAWorkOfFiction The following is a work of fiction]]. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch."
158	* TakeThat:
159	** Parodied in the SuspiciouslySpecificDenial.
160	** Played straight when Tom complains about a kind of fashion that isn't even present in the film.
161	* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: [[spoiler:One integral moment for Tom is a disgruntled speech he gives in a meeting about how greeting card companies offer nothing but superficial statements that, by commodifying them, devalue the genuine emotions they're supposed to evoke, creating falsehoods no dissimilar from hyper-romantic films and pop songs. He tops off the rant by quitting and walking out, saying that "there's enough bullshit in the world without my help."]]
162	* TeenGenius: Or rather, pre-{{Teen Genius}}; Rachel, Tom's kid sister. In her case, WiseBeyondTheirYears by ''so many years'' that she acts more like a CoolBigSis (see above).
163	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: After Summer dumps him, Tom leaves the diner in a fury without so much as a bite of the pancakes the waitress just delivered.
164	* ThinksLikeARomanceNovel: Tom was raised on "sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie 'The Graduate'", and it shows.
165	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch:
166	** "Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch."
167	** [[spoiler:"Better luck next time... bitch."]]
168	* TimeTitle: The film takes a look at Tom and Summer's quasi-relationship from Tom's perspective, numbering the days and events that lead to its buildup and eventual downfall.
169	* TokenWhite: Tom and Summer attended a wedding of a co-worker (former in Summer's case) near the end of the film. The wedded couple and their guests are almost all African-Americans. [[spoiler: Since Tom and Summer already broke-up at this point, they no longer count as a TokenMinorityCouple.]]
170	* TragicHero: Both Tom and Summer. [[spoiler:By the end of the movie, they decide to make their lives less tragic by going their own way, with Tom himself becoming a great architect.]]
171	* TranquilFury: Tom, going through post-breakup depression, smashing plate after plate with a blank expression.
172	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: Tom is notably creeped out that Rachel, who is a preteen, has knowledge of how relationships work (not to mention PMS).
173	* TrueBlueFemininity: Summer most of the time.
174	* TruthInTelevision: Applies to most of the movie, but the Expectations vs. Reality scene is so excruciatingly truthful that it's heartbreaking.
175	* UnreliableNarrator: A lot of things the {{narrator}} says about Summer turn out to be, if not flat-out incorrect, then at least skewed. [[EpilepticTrees It's as if the narrator were Tom himself, looking back at the relationship from years later.]]
176	* ViewersAreGeniuses: The AnachronicOrder, of course. In addition, the film includes throw-away allusions (including {{running gag}}s) to [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]], [[Creator/ReneMagritte Magritte]], [[NighthawksShot Hopper]], Serrano, [[Creator/IngmarBergman Bergman]], [[Creator/OscarWilde Wilde]], and [[Creator/JohannWolfgangVonGoethe Goethe]]. Plus, you know, ''obscure'' stuff.
177	* WhamShot: Tom seeing [[spoiler:Summer's engagement ring]].
178	* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Summer is first defined through her seeing no long-term meaning in love, a sentiment that Tom disagrees with, seeing it as something very real but only knowable when you feel it. [[spoiler:Through finding and marrying another man, Summer grows into and acknowledges Tom's original stance, although Tom has since moved on from it.]]
179	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Tom's pre-teen sister Rachel is possibly the wisest character in the whole film.
180	* WrongGenreSavvy: Many of the characters think they're in a conventional romantic comedy, but Tom most of all.

Context Film / FiveHundredDaysOfSummer