What is the “I love the Smiths” meme?
The “I love the Smiths” meme comes from one elevator ride in (500) Days of Summer. Tom has his headphones on, Summer hears the Smiths leaking out, and she tells him she loves the band, twice, because he doesn’t hear her the first time.
On TikTok it means bonding over a shared taste, the “I love X / me too” moment, or a tiny interaction you replay for days. People quote the line, post the film clip, and remake the scene with friends.
The “I love the Smiths” movie scene
In (500) Days of Summer (2009), Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) rides the office elevator with big headphones on. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) says “I love the Smiths.” He doesn’t react, so she says “I said I love the Smiths.” He asks “You like the Smiths?”, she answers “I love ’em”, and she walks out, leaving him frozen as the doors close.
The “I love the Smiths” TikTok trend
The scene has been a TikTok favourite for years and came back strongly in autumn 2026. View counts as of November 6, 2026.
2009
(500) Days of Summer comes out, with the elevator scene where Summer tells Tom she loves the Smiths.
February 1, 2024
Searchlight Pictures posts the scene on TikTok as “I LOVE THE SMITHS” (5.5 million views).
July 19, 2025
@akssoxn posts a lyric edit of the scene captioned “I love the Smiths.” (2.2 million views).
September 29, 2026
@michael.5456 posts a film edit of the scene (1.4 million views), and the meme comes back for autumn.
October 21, 2026
@hanan.selini remakes it on a park bench (758,600 views), and remakes with friends take off.
November 5–6, 2026
CapCut templates and “recreate it with your own photos” posts appear under #ilovethesmiths.
The “I love the Smiths” song and audio
The song in Tom’s headphones is “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” by the Smiths, from their 1986 album The Queen Is Dead. On TikTok, most videos use the film’s dialogue as the sound, often with the song underneath, so the line itself is the audio.
How to do the “I love the Smiths” trend
1. Cast two people
One wears big over-ear headphones and looks ahead. The other stands beside them and does the talking.
2. Find your elevator
An elevator is the classic, but a bench, a bus or a queue works too. Film side by side, from the chest up.
3. Say it twice
“I love the Smiths.” No reaction. “I said I love the Smiths.” Then the talker walks off and the listener freezes.
The joke is in the pause: hold the listener’s blank face for a beat before the second “I said I love the Smiths.”
I love the Smiths meme template: making it with AI
What AI can do
Image-to-video tools such as Seedance or Kling can film the elevator scene from two photos, with the line spoken out loud. You don’t need an elevator, a second person on set or any editing.
Which photos work
Use one clear photo per person, face to the camera and from the chest up. Use yourself and friends who agreed, never the actors, a celebrity or a stranger.
I love the Smiths AI prompt
Add the listener as image 1 and the speaker as image 2, then start from this prompt. We wrote it from the film scene and haven’t tested it, so adjust it for your tool.
Vertical 9:16, about 15 seconds, filmed like a warm 2000s film scene. Use the two people in the reference images and keep their faces, hair and clothes the same in every frame. They stand side by side in a small old office elevator with dark wood panels and brass trim. The person from image 1 wears big over-ear headphones and stares ahead. The person from image 2 glances over, smiles and says “I love the Smiths.” The listener doesn’t react, so they say it again, louder: “I said I love the Smiths.” The listener pulls the headphones down, surprised. The doors open, the speaker smiles and walks out, and the listener stays frozen as the doors close. Natural speech only, no music and no text.