Zooey Deschanel has brought her humor, charm, and vocal stylings to both the big and small
screens.
Now, there seems to be very little on the horizon for her.
So why aren't we seeing more of one of Hollywood's most likable stars?
Zooey Deschanel might not be popping up on your TV screen as much as she used to because,
let's face it, she could really use some time off.
She's been acting consistently since her teen years, when she broke out in the late '90s
and early 2000s with roles in films like Mumford and Almost Famous, along with an appearance
in an Offspring video.
Remember the Offspring?
Yeah, she's been doing this acting thing for a while.
Over the last couple of decades, Deschanel has appeared in dozens of movies large and
small and provided voice work for animated projects.
All that, plus she starred in more than 100 episodes across seven seasons of the single-camera
comedy New Girl.
Deschanel even served as a producer on the project and co-wrote and performed the theme
song.
In short, she's probably a little tired.
She's earned her hiatus and won't likely miss the grind of a 22-episode TV season for a
while.
Zooey Deschanel rose to fame by portraying a movie character archetype that soon turned
into a trite character cliché.
Film writer Nathan Rabin coined the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" to describe Kirsten Dunst's
character in the 2005 movie Elizabethtown, a young woman who, quote...
"...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."
Sounds a lot like the roles Deschanel played in (500) Days of Summer, The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, and Yes Man, huh?
"How did I not see this before?!"
Deschanel is regularly identified with this concept, and the death of its popularity could
hurt her chances to get cast.
She's also nearing 40, a little too old to be playing "girls," and she's honestly too
accomplished a performer to play such thankless roles anymore.
With New Girl taking up most of her time, Zooey Deschanel hasn't appeared in all that
many major movies in the 2010s.
She only co-starred in two big live-action outings during that time: the medieval comedy
Your Highness and the music industry satire Rock the Kasbah.
Not only did both movies flop, but they flopped spectacularly.
Deschanel played the "damsel in distress" in Your Highness, a swords-and-sorcery stoner
adventure, alongside Natalie Portman, James Franco, and Danny McBride.
It earned a disappointing $21 million, less than half of its $50 million budget.
Meanwhile, Forbes named Rock the Kasbah the biggest flop of 2015, for both commercial
and critical reasons.
It grossed about $3 million against a $15 million production budget.
Film reviewers hated it, too: it's cursed with an abysmal 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
"Hah!
Bleh!
Heh heh.
BURRR.
No, that's crazy.
That ain't real!
That's dumb."
After a string of unsuccessful movies, Deschanel might be a bit iffy about returning to the
big-screen, and we can't blame her.
After all, the talent's not always at fault!
Which might be why…
After starring on her own show for the better part of a decade, Deschanel just might have
lost interest in playing supporting roles in the big-budget, high-profile, commercially-minded
movies that made her a household name.
Instead, she might just return to smaller, more intimate films.
Her performance in the low-key 2003 romantic drama All the Real Girls won Deschanel nominations
and awards.
That set the tone for bankable movie and TV star Deschanel's parallel career as an indie
stalwart, with roles in well-received and thoughtful fare such as Winter Passing, Our
Idiot Brother, Gigantic, and The Driftless Area.
It's a safe bet that the next time we see her in a feature film, it might be a festival
entry or some hidden gem deep within Netflix's "independent drama" category.
Zooey Deschanel may have had a hard time scheduling acting gigs in 2013 because her side career
as a musician was so successful.
While filming the 2007 movie The Go-Getter, star Deschanel met major indie music figure
M. Ward.
She acted, he did the soundtrack, and the director thought they ought to record a duet
together.
They did, and their band was off and running.
A little bit folk, a little bit classic country, She & Him play whimsical pop music, with Ward
handling the guitar work and Deschanel taking the lead vocals.
Since 2009, they've released six albums of mostly original music, plus two Christmas
records and a covers collection.
They've had some success with their singles "In the Sun" and "Thieves," and they play
a lot of super-chill music festivals each summer.
Deschanel just can't be delighting fans with movies when she's up there on stage warbling
adorable, old-fashioned love songs.
But, hey, we'll take what we can get!