The kids over at The AV Club have hyped us all to a very annoying archetype in film known as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG). This stereotypical character appears in over a dozen movies, from Annie Hall to Garden State. In his review of the Cameron Crowe flop Elizabethtown, critic Nathan Rabin coined the term (also known as the Natalie Portman or Zoe Deschanel role) to describe these vapid creatures. “The Manic Pixie Dream Girl exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures,” Rabin wrote.
Reading through their list of 16 films featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, I wondered if a male equivalent existed, a Manic Pixie Dream Guy perhaps? Than I realized that most movies with MPDG’s are always told from the guy’s point-of-view. There are almost no movies that I can think of where a brooding girl is brought to life by a bubbly, almost whimsical guy sent to teach her about the world’s greatness. Nope, not one.
But than I thought, maybe the guys in these movies are an archetype in and of themselves. For every Natalie Portman role there’s at least one Zach Braff, a non-threatening, sensitive young man who just needs a little lovin’ is all. These characters exist in enough films that they deserve their own name. Gentlemen, I present to you Johnny Sensitive.*
The qualities of Johnny Sensitive include being white, straight, and middle-class. Johnny Sensitive is often highly-educated, even if he bears no evidence of a university education, he will often be very articulate and knowledgeable. His expertise is of the pop culture variety, usually in the guise of indie music or New Wave. Johnny Sensitive is more or less a funny guy, self-deprecating and quick with a joke. He has few if any vices, which usually means he can’t hold his liquor. He falls in love very easily, but is afraid of sex, and don’t be surprised if he’s still a virgin. If he has had sex, it was with one girl and she broke his heart. He’s somewhat good looking, not so good looking that he can get a date without trying, but good looking enough that he has to put in a little effort (see Paul Rudd). He’s often accompanied by a group of guys that try to help him in his quest for fulfilment, usually by trying to get him laid. The trait that defines him, that basically holds him hostage, is that he’s extremely nice. It’s the crux of his problem, but it’s also what endears him to the woman that eventually falls for him.
You’ve seen this character countless times, even if you didn’t realize it. Here are a list of the most prominent Johnny Sensitives in film:
1) Michael Cera (Every Michael Cera movie)
Maybe it’s inaccurate to list every Michael Cera movie as him being a Johnny Sensitive (no wait, it isn’t). Watching him in Juno and Superbad, however, Cera exudes Johnny Sensitiveness. In Superbad, he’s the sweet, boy-next-door Evan, counterpart to Jonah Hill’s crass, sex-crazy Seth. He’s got a crush on another sweet, next-door type, flirting with her awkwardly in the school halls. He goes to extraordinary lengths to score her alcohol, nearly going catatonic when the bottle of Vermouth he’s gone so far to procure explodes in front of him, along with his dreams of getting with her. When he does manage to finally get her alone, all she wants to do is fuck him, but he doesn’t want to take advantage of her. “To respecting women,” he drunkenly declares. Cera’s characters are always non-threatening sacks of ballslessness. “Why do you have to be such a bitch about it?” the object of his affection asks. Why indeed.
2) Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland)
If you were a casting agent looking for a Johnny Sensitive, who’s your go-to guy? Michael Cera you say? Ok, Cera’s busy. Who else? Why, Jesse Eisenberg of course, that nice, non-threatening guy from The Squid and the Whale and Adventureland. Eisenberg typifies Johnny Sensitive. In Adventureland, he’s highly educated, super-nice, awkward around girls, and heavily into indie music. We see him at the beginning of the movie getting dumped by a girl he only had one date with, and he carries this heartbreak with him until he meets Kristen Stewart’s character. “I’ve just had my heart broken,” he tells her, not knowing that no girl wants to hear that. His naivety and earnest approach wins her over in the end, proving that you don’t have to have game if you’re a Johnny Sensitive, because, you know, all girls really want is a nice, sensitive guy that listens.
3) Steve Carrell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin)
The 40-Year-Old Virgin remains Carrell’s only Johnny Sensitive role to date, and probably for good reason. After you turn 40, you’re no longer in the right age bracket for this kind of role. At that age, you should really be settling down, have a few kids under your belt, and worry about paying your mortgage - you know, real problems. Johnny Sensitives have the luxury of being stuck in that twenty-something ennui. They don’t know what real life is yet. So Carrell’s character in 40-Year-Old is somewhat of an anomaly. Good thing it’s a comedy. He’s got all the makings of a Johnny Sensitive, especially the being afraid of sex part. Having not gotten laid his whole life, the man should be ready to go on a killing spree, but instead he pushes that repressed sexual drive inward, which manifests itself into the shy, awkward, and totally clueless middle-aged man we see in 40-Year-Old. He also has a pack of bros to help him overcome the pathetic shell he’s carved for himself, with hi-larious results.
4) Zach Braff (The Last Kiss)
I confess, I didn’t watch Garden State, the more Johnny Sensitive Braff movie co-starring MPDG Natalie Portman, but his character in The Last Kiss isn’t that much different I’m told. A thirty-something guy about to get married to his gorgeous, pregnant girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett), he suffers from… fear of commitment? existential angst? You name it, he’s got it. When he meets MPDG Rachel Bilson, his world turns upside down. I mean, wouldn’t yours if a hot, twenty-two-year old co-ed in Rachel Bilson’s body was making you mixtapes and throwing herself at you? Braff isn’t afraid of sex, but rather, fears losing the element of surprise in his life that goes away with marriage and children. I can relate to that I guess. His version of Johnny Sensitive is more brooding and less fun than the other Johnny Sensitives listed above, but still has the core elements that make Johnny Sensitive so archetypal, and so very played out.
5) Max Minghella (Art School Confidential)
Minghella’s character in Art School Confidential is probably the smartest-written of the Johnny Sensitives. He’s not as sweet and naïve as Michael Cera or Jesse Eisenberg. He’s a tad conniving. He’s not above cutting corners and taking the easy road in order to get what he wants - adulation. He knows he’s the best artist in his class, way better than the undercover cop pretending to be an art student, and whose tacky pieces have everyone fooled, including the hot, nude model Minghella secretly wants. So he resorts to dirty tactics, first copying the narc’s style, than stealing another artist’s work in order to win the respect he so desperately craves. The darkest part of the movie involves him taking credit for a string of murders committed by the artist whose work he stole from. There’s a price to pay when you cut corners. I guess if I had to rank all these characters in order, Max Minghella would be number one. He shows us that nice guys can finish first, but you have to break the rules a little in order to get there.
6) Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise)
Before Sunrise is so well-written that you forget that underneath it lies a Johnny Sensitive. Hawke is nice, funny, and a bit of a romantic. He complements Julie Delpy’s character in the looks department too, good-looking enough to be believable, but not super hot that it detracts from the story. He’s my personal favourite of the Johnny Sensitives.
7) Jim Carey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
There’s some debate over whether or not Kate Winslett qualifies as a MPDG. She comes into Carey’s life at a time when he’s most vulnerable and injects some joy into him. But since we see their relationship told mostly in reverse, we get to see just how fleeting that joy is. Therefore, it’s a toss-up. But Carey definitely exudes Johnny Sensitiveness as Joel Barrett, the shyest of the Johnny Sensitives. Eternal Sunshine’s premise is so brilliant though that you can overlook the stereotype and just enjoy the film for what it is.
8) Joseph Gordon-Levitt ([500 Days] of Summer)
Oh man, was I so ready to cry when I watched Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500 Days). I mean he fits the Johnny Sensitive archetype almost to a T. The man falls so head over heels in love with Zoe Deschanel, the queen of MPDG, I wish I could’ve pulled the man aside and slapped some sense into him. You know from the start this relationship won’t work, the movie tells you as much, but neither you nor Gordon-Levitt can help but be sucked into this pit of despair about to unfold, as we see Joseph and Zoe talk about The Smiths, hang out at IKEA, attempt shower sex, and other loveablely dorky things, until she realizes she’s had enough (as have we) of this lamest of lame Johnny Sensitives. (And there’s no way on earth he should get to go from Deschanel to Minka Kelly. That’s just not right).
9) Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous)
Fugit’s a bit young to be Johnny Sensitive, but he’s got the makings of one in Almost Famous. He’s so filled with hope and optimism as he travels with Stillwater, the fictional 70’s rock band, that you almost want his cloud to burst, but it never does. Instead, this guy gets to live every young man’s wetdream. Hanging out with a cool rock-band, getting laid, and experiencing life – all within the course of a summer. It’s his safe, insecure looks that gains him access to Stillwater and their groupies, and although it doesn’t win him MPDG Kate Hudson, it at least got him as close as he ever could.
10) Woody Allen (Every Woody Allen movie)
And the grand-daddy of them all is…
Ok, so I haven’t seen every Woody Allen movie either, but you gonna tell me this guy has played anything different? Granted, Allen’s characters aren’t as sickly-sweet as the others on this list, but he still inhabits that nice, non-threatening role a bit too much. Witness his character Cliff Stern in Crimes and Misdemeanours, a man who by all rights deserves to be with Mia Farrow, but loses out to Alan Alda’s more successful, playboy Lester. Allen’s face when he sees the two of them together is priceless, like a wounded puppy almost. One of the realest depictions of Johnny Sensitive in film.
* Anthony came up with the name.
they key to the MPDG archetype is that men yearn to be with these unrealistic ideals. i can't say the same for women and these guys... these guys appeal to the men in the audience who think women will appreciate them for the tortured souls that they are.
The REAL key to the MPDGs is that the women themselves have no inner life. Everything they do in the story is in service of the male leads' emotional journey. I totally agree with all your choices here except for maybe Eternal Sunshine. I think Clementine is a fully realized character on her own emotional journey... but I think even that can be debated (as the story is told via the male lead).
What's interesting is how many women like and watch these movies. Do the Johnny Sensitives mirror real men more so than the usual movie male lead? My feeling is yes. Do the MPDGs mirror real women more so than the usual movie female leads? Personally, I don't think so. What's the difference between a bond girl and an MPDG? Both are on screen in service of the male character(s).
I'm freaking whimsical, but it's all for me.
Hah, well, that's because men have been neutered these days. You've got two weaksack types of men.
First, the needy loser who doesn't actually love women. Oh, no, he has a secret hatred for them and how they seem to hold power of her him, hence his insecurity around them. No, having no real sense of his own independence and masculinity, he searches around for a host he hopes he can parasitically leach a sense of meaning and self-worth from. He's about 2 steps about from sprouting ovaries. If these guys decided to go gay, they'd be bottoms. They don't create meaning for themselves. Oh no, they are slaves in the Nietzschean sense. They need external approval and validation, and will likely be so weaksack they'll go with any pathetic woman that'll have him, or suffer from the one-itis.
Second, macho/aggressive angry dudes. These come in several varieties, the most obvious of which is the douchebag who, since he's afraid of women, will turn that fear into anger or hatred. Of course, he's no different at the core from the limp-wristed guy above. His sense of worth is still contingent on other people or ideas, and yes that includes women. Men of strong emotions, like little boys.
So, dudes, remember that being an angry douche who gnashes his teeth is not a solution -- it's a coping mechanism. You've got to remain detached and independent. Woman aren't a piece of you, and they don't complete you, so stop being a spiritual weaksack. And stop gnashing your teeth, you'll destroy your enamel, and it doesn't make you more of a man, just a desperate, angry and mediocre douche who's full of resentment because he ultimately feels powerless in the face of reality.
garden state is overrated anyways