9. Zooey Deschanel
Style: Manic Pixie Dream Girl Critic Nathan Rabin coined the phrase Manic Pixie Dream Girl after seeing Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown. The term describes that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists that exists to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures. If you ask me, this aptly describes almost every role Zooey Deschanel has appeared in to date. That may not be
who Deschanel the human being is exactly but its certainly what weve come to expect from a Deschanel character. Sure, Manic Pixie Dream Girl may be a slightly diminutive, even misogynistic term from certain angles, but is it really any more reductive than the term Hollywood Leading Man? Amongst Deschanels first appearances was the Offsprings music video for Shes Got Issues (which further pushes the Manic Pixie Dream Girl label) and in many ways each character shes played since seems to be an extension of that. Typically, shes bubbly, unpredictable and palpably girly, while also remaining vaguely deadpan in her delivery see: Almost Famous; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; Yes Man; New Girl. Now again, I dont
dislike Deschanel; far from it in fact. I actually find her delightfully charming and effortlessly likeable in almost all of her roles. That said, you cant deny that shes decidedly similar throughout her Filmography. I mean, youve never completely forgotten you were watching a Deschanel movie, as you might if you were watching say, Winslet in
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, have you?