A new Zooey Deschanel movie came out last weekend. But is it the one where she plays a “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” opposite Paul Dano or the one where she plays a “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt? It’s the former, and it’s called Gigantic, which is also not to be confused with this coming week’s new DVD release, Yes Man, in which she plays a “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” opposite Jim Carrey.
Sure, Deschanel has range and talent (see this fan-made montage of some of her more varied performances), but she also has a certain repetitive nature to her characters. And this “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” nature became all the more confusing recently when trailers for Gigantic and (500) Days of Summer (the Gordon-Levitt one, which is actually her second romantic pairing with the actor) appeared online around the same time. Maybe instead of worrying about people confusing her for Katy Perry, the actress should worry more about people confusing her characters and films for each other.
Or, maybe not. Plenty of us can’t get enough of Deschanel’s quirky, free-spirited performances. In his Yes Man review, Roger Ebert noted that two critics proposed marriage to the character at the end of the film. We wouldn’t go that far, but we have crushed on the actress since All the Real Girls and haven’t yet gotten sick of her or her similar, typecast roles. In fact, to us, the problem is not that indie films too often employ the MPDG character; it’s that they don’t cast Deschanel for every such part. So, instead of wishing she’d broaden her career to include other types of characters (it didn’t work well for her with The Happening, after all), we’ve selected ten MPDG characters that she should have additionally played.
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What is the first thing you’d do if you found out you had super powers? Save someone? No, you’d probably try something selfish first, just because you could. You’d likely say you’ll use the powers for good after that initial all-for-me trial run, but there’s a good chance you’ll get greedy instead. After all, you’re only human — you’re just more powerful than the rest of the race.
This is exactly what happens to David Rice (played by Max Thieriot then Hayden Christensen), a kid who discovers he can teleport, or jump, anywhere he’s been before. Yes, he’s kind of like the X-Men character Nightcrawler, someone David is likely familiar with since he references Marvel comics and therefore has a good self-awareness of the fantastical sort of life he’s a part of, or ought to be a part of. But unlike Spider-Man, another exemplary Marvel character, he doesn’t believe in the whole “with great power comes great responsibility” crap. Although the first time he robs a bank he tells himself he’ll pay it back one day, he eventually stops kidding himself. He doesn’t even contemplate using the money to help the needy. He’s no Robin Hood or Longfellow Deeds. He’s just your average follower of Objectivism. …Read more
