Move Over Manic Pixie Dream Girl! The Manic Quirky Funny Girl is Here to Stay! From 'Pen15' to 'New Girl' MQFGs Rise Where MPDGs Fail!
"Quirky funny. There you go."
Anna Konkle accepted the title, given to her lovingly by her friend and co-creator of Pen15, Maya Erskine. This declaration came in an Interview Magazine interview after the hilarious show creator reflected that, "I don't think a lot of people would meet me and say that I'm funny." After having seen Konkle's comedic-genius realized in the hit Hulu series, many would find her assertion hard to believe. Yet, many people, specifically women, proudly wear the same comedic moniker.
In the past twenty years, this quirky-funny girl type has been on the rise, seeing increasing representation in television shows and movies. This type is a cousin to the less dynamically complex and highly controversial Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Rather than being a beautiful but off-beat avenue through which the male lead can solve all of his problems, the quirky-funny girl boldly dances to the beat of her own drum while simultaneously seeking the reprieve of societal functionality. The mania and inherent air of chaos that follows this character type, but rather than shying away from society in a vague air of mystery and please-fix-me-isms, she shoulders her way boldly into the eye of the storm (and likely falls over along the way).
And with that fateful fall, the Manic Quirky Funny Girl is born.
Is Manic Quirky Funny Girl a term that has been coined within the textual confines of this article? Absolutely! But everything needs to start somewhere, and MQFGs are starting here. The Manic Quirky Funny Girl succeeds where the Manic Pixie Dream Girl fails. The awkward off-beat standard of a MPDG is humorized instead of sexualized, giving quirky women strong on screen representation through a lens that is not defined by their relationships with men.
The inception of this character type came in early 2000s children's television. Shows such as Unfabulous and Lizzie McGuire were giving the awkward girl screen time wherein she previously had none. After countless movies and shows continued to come out, including Clueless, Heathers, The Babysitters Club, showcased the lives of either the popular kids or kids so average their status never played a role, the sudden representation of MQFGs was an eye-opening change of cinematic perspective. Rather than the cool girl who looked perfect being the lead, we finally caught glimpses of the girl who couldn't quite catch up, who, no matter how hard she tried, fell comedically short from the societally standard surrounding women. Unfabulous focused on a girl, going through the awkward ups and downs of her life, trying to be socially cool but often falling short. Prior to this, women and girls were seldom depicted failing, especially not failing in a funny way. However, as a woman, the countless gaping pit-falls one can fall through give the existence inherently high stakes. This character has also taught women that finding humor in life's mistakes is the best case scenario.
While Unfabulous and Lizzie McGuire were sowing the seeds for the Manic Quirky Funny Girl, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl was having her hay-day on the big screen. In the later part of the early 2000s, films such as Elizabethtown, Almost Famous, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World were solidifying the MPDG in the cinematic vernacular. In light of the simultaneous rise of these two types of characters, it is easy to conflate the two. Both for years have been sheltered under the Manic Pixie Dream Girl umbrella. However, the difference comes in with their relationships and attitudes about life. The Manic Pixie Dream girl has no desire to fit in. She floats through her own world and either seeks rescue or serves as a reprieve to the leading man. MPDGs are often secondary characters, idealized two dimensional concepts of a woman that could not exist in the real world. It is a trope that is thoroughly investigated and deconstructed in the film 500 Days of Summer.
MQFGs, however, tend to be the lead. They are confident in being who they are and sometimes they aren't. Sometimes they try to look nice. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they fail. It's almost as if they are people (woah, shocking, right?). While conflicts and questions in their romantic relationships definitely arise, the central conceit is not wrapped up in a thinly veiled, eternally problematic essence of I-just-think-I-can-fix-them. The danger in conflating MPDGs with MQFGs is that, when the MPDGs get torn down off of the factual bases of being two dimensional ideological concepts of women, MQFGs get torn down with them. However, this distinct denomination allows for the salvaging of the good parts of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl combined with the more human, well rounded modifications.
In 2011 came the most iconic, definitionally perfect example of an MQFG there could be: New Girl. Jessica Day, played by Zooey Deschanel, solidified, without the official title, the prevalence of Manic Quirky Funny Girls in the media today. Befitting of the adjacent genre, Deschanel herself became known for playing the Manic Pixie Dream Girl in films such as Yes Man. However, Jessica Day is no MPDG. In a Bustle interview from August 2021, Deschanel said, "I think that's such a nebulous term...I think that term usually refers to somebody who's the object in a story, not the subject, not the protagonist. Jess is the protagonist in this." Jess is an intelligent character who marches to the beat of her own drum. She is often met with societal pitfalls that leave her in hilariously awkward situations. However, she does not shy away from herself or her awkwardness. She is not looking for anyone to fix her. Instead she confidently and unabashedly leans into these moments of her life. She is a complex and intelligent multi-faceted character. She perfectly exemplifies the importance of the MQFG type: being yourself does not mean waiting for someone to validate you nor does it mean needing to teach someone else how to be themselves.
Furthermore, the MQFG is FUNNY. This niche type has made it okay to laugh at a woman's awkward failings. We live in a time where, while the standard is improving, many still consider women expressly not funny. Additionally, girls, while growing up, are seldom told that they are funny. Boys are told their funny, laughing off any failures or weird sounds or bold movements as a boys-will-be-boys style moment. Girls are instructed to behave better and, by and large, do. Behavior over humor is far more heavily emphasized for women than it is for men. It is what lends itself to the more serious pressures placed on aesthetic, societal prowess, and composure. Every woman has heard a friend say (or maybe she's said it herself) that she is, "not actually funny, just situationally funny." ATTENTION WOMEN: That means you are funny!
There are different kinds of funny. Some people are funnier than others, sure, but women get so little validation that humor is even an option for them so the Manic Quirky Funny Girl is a crucial and substantiating character type for women everywhere. Our problems are also funny. When we see the world giving us the permission to lean into our weirdness and laugh at the absurdity of our day to day problems we tap into a confidence that has been blocked off for many. Recognizing this potential is what allowed for the creation of Pen15. It is a character trope that is bringing women to the forefront rather than pushing them back. The Manic Quirky Funny Girl is changing the world, and we need to be sure that she sticks around!
