I just watched this movie and may I say I cannot belieeeve the amount of men who told me that "Summer is such a bitch" "he deserved better" "he should've never removed his headphones in the elevator".

I went through reviews on letterboxd and they are all overwhelmingly defending Summer, but if you scroll back to a couple years ago you're going to find all of the bitter men talking about how Tom is sUcH a nIcE guY, and that Summer is a bitch and she's too insufferable because... because why ?

Honestly I think they're mad for the following reason : Tom, despite being a "perfect" boyfriend in their eyes (disregard his few misogynistic lines here and there), did not get rewarded with the hot quirky popular girlfriend who happens to love everything he does. He did "nothing" wrong, but she still refused to fall head over heels for him. Instead, she dumped him and then had the audacity to get married before he even had a chance to get over her. I love this movie because it forces men to understand that women are actually people. You can't just push a bunch of buttons and have a long lasting and happy relationship. She doesn't have to fall in love with you just because you did. Life is not a Hollywood movie where the guy gets "the chick" at the end every time. They are mad because Summer was not crying, apologetic, or begging Tom for forgiveness. She was okay with him, then she bounced, and became even happier, and that was all there was. There was nothing Tom could say or do to "control" her back into a relationship from the start, and they know it.

It's just wild to me that a movie made in 2009 had such a good depiction of the nice guy trope, and such a good breakdown of it. The ending where Tom asks a girl out, leaving us hopeless romantics hoping for more, and she first says "no sorry" is in my opinion really good, because Tom just smiling and walking out shows he has matured and learned that it's life, rejection happens and it's not necessarily someone's fault. Him liking a girl doesn't mean she's fated to him.

The movie held Tom accountable every step of the way and that's what I love the most about it. Let me know what you thought of it !