Zooey Deschanel is a bit of a marmite figure. In the past few days I have heard her being described as “the most beautiful girl in the world” to “BITCH! Have you seen 500 Days of Summer?!” Admittedly, the latter was a quote from someone who evidently has a little difficulty discerning between fact and fiction, but nonetheless shows Ms Deschanel’s divisive nature. As for me, I’ve always been torn. On the one hand, she is a little twee – I hold her entirely responsible for the word “adorkable” (excuse me readers, as I vomit) as well as the growing tendency for British women to style their hair with “bangs” (it’s a FRINGE, i.e. the thing on your forehead that you mum cut for you as a child – giving it a cool new American name does not change this). On the other hand, she doesn’t court publicity, chooses her films carefully and – as far as I can tell – holds no offensive views. To be honest, bar the odd film or two and the She and Him Christmas album which seemed to follow me around like a stray dog, I hadn’t given much thought to her. However, in sitting down to watch Deschanel’s latest televisual outing New Girl, I knew that I would be discovering which side of the fence I lay on in a debate that has raged far more than those in the past; Labour or Conservative, City or United, Blur or Oasis and now: fan or hater. Judging by the passion and anger that she stirs in people, I assumed that within a mere half an hour, I would either be tying some ribbon in my hair and raiding my local vintage shop or I would be having a ceremonial bonfire, burning every flat shoe, 80-denier tight and Salinger book that I could get my hands on in rejection of all things Zooey.
As it happened, well… I liked it. Admittedly, the title sequence had me reaching for my lighter (stick to acting, Zooey) but the show itself is rather sweet; not as original as its name would suggest, but nonetheless a humorous series with a by-and-large endearing set of characters.
It tells the story of Jess, a kooky (come on, what were you expecting?) young primary school teacher who moves in with three guys after catching her boyfriend cheating on her – therefore making her the ‘New Girl’ of the title. Like Jennifer Aniston or a more glamorous Ray Winstone, Deschanel does have the habit of playing one character – herself. Even Jess’s clothes are pure Zooey (which, without wanting to sound too Daily Mail, do seem a little inappropriate for a primary school teacher, although to be fair, it is set in Los Angeles rather than Rochdale so I suppose I can let her off). Despite churning out the same performance, I can’t help but warm to her. Yes, at times her personality reads like a book on how to be quirky, but she is also funny – a rarity in female sitcom characters. She watches Dirty Dancing on repeat in attempt to get over her ex-boyfriend and has a penchant for putting on a hick accent in awkward situations. It’s silly fluff, but it did make me laugh.
Whilst Jess is clearly the strongest and most developed of the main quartet, I was also amused by Schmidt, whose tendency to use terrible puns reminded me of the banter-tastic idiots you see on university campuses across the country, “you got Schmidt on your face”. Whether this is a good thing I suppose depends on the number of students you know and your ability to cope with them – I took it as an opportunity to openly laugh at them, hence my fondness for the character.
Rather disappointingly, one of the original three flatmates’ Coach, was written out and swiftly replaced by the second episode and so his successor, Winston, whilst likeable, has yet to make a resounding impression. Hopefully, his character will progress over the next few episodes.
My only real criticism of the show has to be the final flatmate, Nick. On paper, this tousle-haired, Black Keys fan is plainly the one we should be rooting for, the one most likely to get into a relationship with Jess. Sadly, he is one of the most charmless characters I’ve ever come across. Sarcastic without being funny, with a whiny voice and a permanently pissed-off expression that suggests you’ve just told him that indie music is for losers, he has few redeeming features. Five episodes in, I have yet to warm to him so I’m hoping that his contribution to the show is minimal, although this is admittedly unlikely.
So, what’s the verdict overall? Zooey haters should stay well clear, but you know that anyway, right? If you have a high tolerance threshold for ‘quirky’ and can overlook one pain-in-the-arse character, then I thoroughly recommend it. It might not be laugh-a-minute, but certainly will put a smile on your face and makes for great, easy hangover TV.
Now, where’s that headband…?
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