Thanks to a constant stream of offbeat, uncoordinated roles, Zooey Deschanel has slowly been building her own archetype: the awkward yet uncontrollably cute dork—the type whom you can be attracted to yet who can also make you feel vicarious embarrassment with her every move. Maybe it's her beaming stare, her peculiar voice or the fact that her movements are a collision between Kristen Stewart and a kindergartner during recess, but even when the 32-year-old actress plays the most functioning members of society (functioning in the sense that they're mature enough to say "penis" and aren't in a band named after a form of child abuse), you can't help but feel a little antsy watching her.
With the colossal success of New Girl, the hilarious FOX sitcom returning for season two tonight, Deschanel now officially wears the crown as the indisputable postergirl for all-things "adorkable." Pretty soon, endearingly gawky actresses who come after her will be described with her name—like the way batshit crazy starlets nowadays are referred to as "pulling a Lindsay Lohan."
New Girl has enthroned Deschanel as the Queen of Quirky, but her character Jess Day isn't entirely ripped pants personified nor is she quite as gauche as a kid who just hit puberty. See how Day scales in comparison to Deschanel's other biggest roles on The Zooey Deschanel Awkward-O-Meter.
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