One could make the argument that, with the Zooey Deschanels and Mila Kunises of the world, we have begun to turn our affectionate sights towards a woman who is intellectually nimble, who makes jokes and keeps up with the boys in a way that challenges them. But even a cursory analysis of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope reveals her to be acerbic only in a non-threatening, sweet way. She challenges you, but only the way a pillow fight might injure you. She remains soft, warm, filled with girlish interests and hyper-feminine clothing which serve to balance out her more sardonic humor or biting wit.
from Thought Catalog
One could also make the argument that the phrase Manic Pixie Dreamgirl has lost all meaning.
But I’m not going to argue that. So long as there’s a concept it needs a phrase to describe it. I keep seeing it over and over in films. Here’s the definition on TV Tropes. Still, I agree that Jezebel has a point: we need to be careful when using that term.
