The answer to my love-hate relationship with rom-coms

So don't get me wrong, I love a good romantic comedy as much as the next gal. Problem is, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find "good" movies within this genre. Most of the rom-coms out there these days follow the same generic formula and are: A) Not funny, so can barely be classified as comedies, and B) So unrealistic that they bear little resemblance to actual relationships and make us all question our existence as imperfect people. That being said, it's hard to even consider "(500) Days of Summer" a romantic comedy because it is: A) Funny, and B) A truly realistic depiction of a relationship -- the ups and downs, the exhilaration and the depression. If you've ever fallen in love or had your heart broken, you'll be able to relate. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel play Tom Hansen, a hopeless romantic looking for the love of his life, and Summer Finn, an aloof young woman who is not, as it turns out, the love of Tom's life. Don't worry, I didn't just give away the ending. "(500) Days of Summer" begins at the point of the couple's break up and then examines the relationship in reverse through Tom's eyes, from the initial attraction to the point where things went wrong. In that sense, it reminded me of sort of a less depressing version of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which is a great film and one of my all-time favorites, but let's be honest, kind of a drag. (Speaking of, I can't find my DVD copy of "Eternal Sunshine." If you borrowed/stole it, please return. You can just drop it on my doorstep -- no questions will be asked.) Tom's first attempts to win Summer over and then his later efforts to cling to her as Summer becomes obviously bored with him were played with such charm that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, the kid from "Third Rock from the Sun") has definitely solidified his place as one of my new favorite actors. And of course, Zooey Deschanel is always a pleasure -- Bonus: you get to hear her sing in one scene. I think what I loved so much about "(500) Days of Summer" also is that it avoided the traps that many independent films tend to fall into. It was intelligent without being pretentious, and it was off-beat without being inscrutable. I get tired of movies that try way to hard to be "artsy" and end up sacrificing anything that would have made them actually enjoyable to watch. "(500) Days of Summer" proves that a film can be witty, original, AND entertaining.