The film
The 500 Days of Summer elevator scene
(500) Days of Summer is a 2009 film about a relationship told out of order. The elevator scene is one of its smallest and most quoted moments.
The film
Directed by Marc Webb and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the film premiered at Sundance in January 2009 and opened in the US in August. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom; Zooey Deschanel plays Summer.
The scene
On Day 4, Tom is listening to The Smiths in an elevator. Summer recognizes the song, says “I love the Smiths,” and sings a line when he pretends not to hear her. It is the first time they connect.
The song
The track is “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” from The Queen Is Dead (1986). The lyric Summer sings — “To die by your side, such a heavenly way to die” — is the hook the scene is built around.
The meme afterlife
The clip became a TikTok sound and a two-photo AI template. The film’s own ambivalence about shared taste is part of why the trend keeps working: it is romantic and a little ironic at the same time.
Make the two-photo version
Two photos, 18 seconds, about 30 minutes. Failed runs are refunded.
Make the two-photo versionFAQ
When was the film released?
It premiered at Sundance on January 17, 2009, and opened in US theaters on August 7, 2009.
Who plays Tom and Summer?
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
What song plays in the elevator?
“There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” by The Smiths.
Keep reading
- The I Love The Smiths elevator sceneA line-by-line breakdown of the I Love The Smiths elevator scene: the setup, the dialogue, the song, and why it became a video trend.
- “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” and the elevator sceneHow “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” became the song behind the I Love The Smiths elevator scene, and why the lyric still lands.
- The I Love The Smiths trend, explainedHow the I Love The Smiths trend started, why the elevator scene went viral, and how two-photo AI templates turned it into a repeatable video format.