Am I Right Ladies? The Manic Pixie Dream Girls Must Be Stopped

"Sure, move back to New jersey to be with me so you can see me make these faces all the time."

In a 2005 review of the dreadful Elizabethtown, Nathan Rabin coined the term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”, and hence, there was a beautiful succint term to describe so many cliches. Rabin describes the MPDG as existing “solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” Kirsten Dunst’s character was the perfect example of this: her wackiness was for the purpose of making the dull, lifeless Orlando Bloom appreciate his life. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) will make the boring dude’s life have more meaning, but after the credits roll, will she realize that the guy she’s “saved” is actually void of personality and using her to appear to have one?

"Coming up behind someone and covering their eyes is pretty stupid, but that's just part of my charm!"

Since then, Zooey Dechanel has embraced this and made a career out of it. Furthermore, Natalie Portman in Garden State is another poster child often cited. Why the hell would a girl who wears a protective helmet and holds hamster funerals like a boring, emo guy like Zach Braff?

Since the term has  been named, it’s made me realize that this trope is used across genre. Quite frankly, it can be infuriating because when I root for couples to get together, I want to believe they should be together- and one is wacky for the purpose of “saving” someone, it is obnoxious. Let’s take a look at some of the lesser-known Manic Pixie Dream Girls.

Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, Battlestar Galactica

"A cigar and aviators? It's cool because I'm a girl."

Clearly, I would never claim the greatest show ever produced on television to succumb to such a trope,  but Kara and Lee Adama’s sordid affairs and attractions always did puzzle me. Thrace was a wildcard, flew her plane out of formation and smoked a cigar. She was her own person and everyone that knew her loved her mischievous nature. Lee Adama mostly moped around because he never had his father’s approval and played by the rules. Why the hell would Kara even bother with Lee? She wouldn’t waste her spunky spirit on such a bore. Lee, however, learned to “live free” when he was with Kara. Good for…him?

Maria, The Sound of Music

“How do you solve a problem like Maria?” The problem is that Maria is free-spirited, likes to sing, is wacky and has short hair. She’s just too darn wacky to become a nun! Of course, the Von Trapp children love her instantly. THe controlling, dictator-esque Captain is everything she stands against. So why the hell did they ever get together? They even claimed to have fallen in love with each other when they first met. Maria’s purpose was to show the Captain how to love life, singing and how to raise his children. What did Maria get out of it? Aside from getting to bed a hot military captain, of course, and not have to go back to being a nun.

Ellie,  Up

In the present, we see Carl as an angry old man, but in flashback we see him with his wife Ellie, who has a sense of adventure and is, well, quite the chatterbox. He loved her for her spunk and sense of adventure, and she loved him for- listening to her chatter all those years? I am sure he was a sweet man, but Ellie seemed to provide all the excitement in that relationship. And yes, I didn’t cry during the movie and no, I’m not a robot.

Kate Austen, Lost

"Oh man, I wonder if Jack will ask me out soon. Or, you know, if we're gonna be rescued."

Sure, Kate was less manic and less pixie- she was an escaped criminal after all, but Jack “I cry because I’m sensitive” Shepard seemed to be attracted to her the moment she decided to go with him on one his “secret missions” to track someone or chase a dangerous smoke monster or whatnot. Kate was the adventurous one, and he loved that, considering he was the responsible doctor always being controlled by his father. Kate made him believe in himself and take risks and learn to love life and learn to love…shitting in the woods with the other Lostaways. Not sure how much he gave back to Kate, who seemed to be with him because, well, look at her options (other than Sawyer, of course).

Lila, Dexter

Dexter, as a sociopath, inherently doesn’t know what to give other people in relationships. That’s why Rita was a good choice- all she wanted was to feel protected and taken care of and someone to be nice to their kids. Have you ever heard them have a conversation about anything else? When Lila steps in, her crazy antics teach him to be free with his dark personality, both sexually and mentally. However, I’ve just contradicted my own theory about Lila being  a MPDG because it turned out that she, herself, may have been crazier than Dexter. It was fun while it lasted; Lila was definitely more entertaining than Rita.

Seth Rogen, Knocked Up

See what I did there? In Knocked Up, he fills in the role of the Manic Pixie Dream Boy. He’s the free-spirited, laid back type who teaches uptight Katherine Heigl to let loose. Infuriatingly, the audience is already supposed to assume that he should be lucky to have Heigl, because she’s blond, tall, and worked for E!? She didn’t have much in the way of personality, and seemed to do nothing but judge Rogen’s lifestyle. Eventually, however, she grew to love his goofy ways and he loved her because, well we are supposed to just assume she’s a catch? I actually found it frustrating that they ended up together in the end. But, who’s to say it would actually last?

Please don’t misunderstand my intent; the above characters are pretty darn fun and luckily, some of them get their own side story. It’s just irritating that the no-personality guy/girl seems to use them to be “saved” from their own lives of banality and mediocrity.

"Glasses, overalls and high heels! I'm kooky! Let me show you that there's more to life than money and jobs!"