Defend the Indefensible: films in which gorgeous, independent, "edgy" women have nothing better to do than break uptight whiny squares out of their bubbles

How many examples are there of "Manic Pixie Dream Guy" in film? Maybe that should be a separate thread.

― Cunga, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:16 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Elias Koteas in Crash

loooooool

Mathieu Amalric in Kings and Queens
Ethan Hawke in the early nineties.

'Big'?

Yes, thanks.

great call on Big

Also "Elf", in the same way as "Big"...

And, hey, while we're at it: "It's a wonderful life"

Hawke was never a pixie. Grungy.

I think there's a broader device of "somewhat 2-d character whose sole role is to teach the main character a lesson/break the main character out of a rut," but too often this device is fulfilled either by a woman, a black person, an old man, a homeless guy, etc.

Waltz in django unchained

I suggested Big because a stuffy yuppy with a stuffy boyfriend meets a man/boy, makes her jump on a trampoline etc., leading her to change.

Trying to think of other Tom Hanks films. I don't think 'Joe Vs the Volcano' counts. Splash?

obi wan.

gandalf

Santa or Santa's son in at least three made-for-TV Christmas movies that I can't remember the name of.

Steve Guttenberg was in one of them.

I've seen a lot of v bad Christmas movies.

Drop Dead Fred

http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/premium-rush-blu-ray-box-art.jpg

manic fixie dream guy

Trying to think of other Tom Hanks films. I don't think 'Joe Vs the Volcano' counts. Splash?

― the so-called socialista (dowd), Wednesday, January 23, 2013 11:01 AM (44 minutes ago) Bookmark

larry crowne

philadelphia

saving private ryan

Forrest Gump

haha larry crowne is very manic pixie middle aged man yeah

Wait, how on earth can you argue that Splash is manic pixie dream guy? It's so bloody obviously mpd girl.

Bosom Buddies

Ace Ventura

That one where it starts off animated, then the princess gets 'banished' to real-world, meets guy with young daughter, prince follows her, etc. Lots of Central Park scenes..

my big fat greek wedding

john corbett is a mellow pixie dream boy in a lot of roles

that really bad peter sellers movie

being there!

Most of the work of Johnny Depp to thread.

.. "Enchanted", there you go.

Enchanted is so great tho

We're not knocking any of these films are we?

(sarcasm not intended.)

Wait, how on earth can you argue that Splash is manic pixie dream guy? It's so bloody obviously mpd girl.

Sorry, my mind wandered a bit. I was just wondering if TH had any other MPDX movies.

Ferris Buelller is your male pixie.

Oh, good choice. The odd thing is that the male pixies tend to be films from the male pixie pov, which isn't the case with female pixies. Of course, 'odd' depends on how you approach it, I guess.

FBDO is kind of a weird example. Even though Ferris is the "main character," it's actually Cameron that goes through the Screenwriting 101 character arc.

You could say that Christian Slater is the male pixie in Heathers.

Cameron is the object of Ferris' manic pixie, I guess. Which would work with the thesis that male pixies get films written from their perspective whereas female ones don't.

I'm not sure that Heathers would count - he is presented initially as a manic pixie dream boy, but the ultimate outcome is that she realises the falsehood of that MPD attraction.

how bout Jason Segel in I Love You Man

nah not really

That's part and parcel of the pixie archetype though, they liberate the hero, but always go too far into the realm of self-destruction. The hero "wins" by incorporating the "pixie within" etc, but usually ends up rejecting or being rejected by the actual pixie.

heath ledger in the batman

Interesting example is True Romance in which the hero, inspired by the pixie into a dangerous world of adventure is ultimately consumed by that world, leaving the pixie to take up the mantle of the hero alone.

The shift of POV over to the pixie symbolized by her wearing the hero's signature Elvis sunglasses. Do you see?

That's part and parcel of the pixie archetype though, they liberate the hero, but always go too far into the realm of self-destruction. The hero "wins" by incorporating the "pixie within" etc, but usually ends up rejecting or being rejected by the actual pixie.

― Ask The Answer Man (sexyDancer), Wednesday, January 23, 2013 7:53 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't think that's necessarily true. A lot of these are rom-coms with a traditional happy-ever-after ending.

saving private ryan

― turds (Hungry4Ass), Wednesday, January 23, 2013 8:47 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol