100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #15
15. Summer Finn, as seen in 500 Days of Summer, portrayed by Zooey Deschanel
True confession time: I don't really "get" Zooey Deschanel. I don't really like the whole "manic pixie dream girl" trope, I find her "quirkiness" very manufactured, and I'm fairly anti-hipster. That being said, everything I love about Summer Finn is the deconstruction of the very things I dislike about her portrayer.
Summer certainly has the makings of a MPDG, but she isn't; Summer doesn't show Tom how to truly embrace life and make him better for it while teaching him valuable life lessons. Summer doesn't "save" Tom. Summer is the "bitch" who obliterates Tom. And you know why?
Because Tom didn't listen.
Everyone I know who has seen this movie inevitably feels bad for Joseph Gordon Levitt's character, and I understand why: he's handsome, he's adorable, he's earnest, why wouldn't that bitch love him?! But Summer tells him from the start that she doesn't want a serious relationship, doesn't want a relationship at all. She doesn't string him along or play head games; she says she doesn't want a relationship, just wants a casual thing, and Tom agrees. But, in this reverse romantic comedy, it is the man who thinks he can change the woman and make her want to be with him forever. His reaction to her engagement to another man shows Tom the hard truth most women have to learn in romantic comedies: It isn't that Summer didn't want to get married; she just didn't want to marry you.
And that's why I love Summer. She never wavers from her initial assessment, is very matter-of-fact in her dealings with Tom, and is ultimately only true to herself, not buckling to what Tom wants.
And for a romantic comedy? That's pretty kick-ass.
True confession time: I don't really "get" Zooey Deschanel. I don't really like the whole "manic pixie dream girl" trope, I find her "quirkiness" very manufactured, and I'm fairly anti-hipster. That being said, everything I love about Summer Finn is the deconstruction of the very things I dislike about her portrayer.
Summer certainly has the makings of a MPDG, but she isn't; Summer doesn't show Tom how to truly embrace life and make him better for it while teaching him valuable life lessons. Summer doesn't "save" Tom. Summer is the "bitch" who obliterates Tom. And you know why?
Because Tom didn't listen.
Everyone I know who has seen this movie inevitably feels bad for Joseph Gordon Levitt's character, and I understand why: he's handsome, he's adorable, he's earnest, why wouldn't that bitch love him?! But Summer tells him from the start that she doesn't want a serious relationship, doesn't want a relationship at all. She doesn't string him along or play head games; she says she doesn't want a relationship, just wants a casual thing, and Tom agrees. But, in this reverse romantic comedy, it is the man who thinks he can change the woman and make her want to be with him forever. His reaction to her engagement to another man shows Tom the hard truth most women have to learn in romantic comedies: It isn't that Summer didn't want to get married; she just didn't want to marry you.
And that's why I love Summer. She never wavers from her initial assessment, is very matter-of-fact in her dealings with Tom, and is ultimately only true to herself, not buckling to what Tom wants.
And for a romantic comedy? That's pretty kick-ass.