I used to really like Zooey Deschanel. I think she’s a good actress, smart and funny. I followed her website Hello Giggles! and enjoyed her performances in films. I got annoyed when people didn’t like her as Summer in (500) Days of Summer, when they said she was a bitch or messed Tom around. To me they missed the point. We never got to see Summer through her own eyes, she was a fragment of a character, only seen through Tom’s. When he loved her we did, and when he disliked her, so did we. It’s not her story, it’s Tom’s. She’s quite up front with him about her feelings. She doesn’t believe in love, doesn’t want a relationship. I was a little invested.
So I thought I’d really enjoy her new TV series, New Girl. I’d read fairly decent reviews, though of course they added the caveat that how much you enjoy the show will depend on how much you like Zooey D. After watching the first two episodes, I totally get that. It’s great that there’s a sitcom with a female lead, and that it’s doing well, but does she have to be that girl? The one who can’t really function? The one who needs men to protect her and can’t really stand up for herself? The one that prefers to act like a little girl, rather than a grown up? I admit, I’m not always the most together person, but I don’t walk around making big eyes at everyone, pouting and singing. I know that in last night’s episode, Jess eventually got mad at her ex and got her stuff back, but god, have some backbone. And I used to live with girls who sang and it drove me mad. (They were opera singers so doing scales at 7 am on a Saturday had a point, but it didn’t make it any less annoying.)
I preferred her earlier roles in Almost Famous and The Good Girl, when she was more edgy had less ‘kook’. Those characters had bite, used sarcasm and were fairly deadpan. They didn’t waft around twirling their skirts and sobbing to themselves on the sofa while watching Dirty Dancing. Yes, a lot of ladies do that when heartbroken, or some equivalent, but that’s the best you can do? You can’t come up with another way to show her as a well rounded character? The fact that she’s a teacher is actually quite terrifying. How on Earth does she control the kids, surely they walk all over her? A lot of this could be overlooked some if the show were even remotely funny, but I didn’t crack a smile during the last episode until the very end, and that was due to Schmidt. I’m just a little over the so cute you could die aspect of it. If her character could be a little more together, a little less zany, and more a complete and true person, I could maybe keep going with it. But at the moment I just want to grab her and shake her.
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Tags: new girl
I’m actually grateful I read this. I kept hearing about this show and wanted to give it a try, but now that I know what’s wrong with it, “no, thank you”. I agree with you, no backbone girls are no fun.