ROM-COM WITH A DIFFERENCE IS SUMMER SMASHER

THAT good ol' cinematic favourite, the romantic comedy, has taken something of a kicking in recent years, with many a trip to the flicks ruined by a useless, derivative plot or terrible, lazy casting (step forward, Matthew McConaughey).

So it was with much anticipation that I ventured into the darkened confines of Screen 4 for 500 Days of Summer, the self-styled "rom-com with a difference" which had attracted a positive buzz in recent weeks.

I can happily report that I came away far from disappointed. This quirky, bittersweet take on the usual formula romance tugs at the heart strings, rubs at the funny bone and offers just enough originality to make one overlook its few irritating foibles.

Tracing the ultimately doomed relationship of greetings card writer Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and new-girl-in-the-office Summer (Zooey Deschanel, both pictured right) through its ups and inevitable downs across the titular 500-day period, Marc Webb's first feature film provides its fair share of memorable scenes, likeable characters and moving moments.

It is a bitter sweet answer to the dross cooked up by rent-a-writers as a vehicle for this or that star.

And for a Saturday night fix of the flicks, that's good enough for me.

Read the full review in this week's Advertiser.