The Go-Getter

It's Zooey Deschanel week here at Go-Go-Rama. After being charmed by her once again in Our Idiot Brother, I scoured Netflix for some films I haven't seen her in. It turns out she's been in a lot of movies I've seen but forgotten about, but there are a few I've missed, including The Go-Getter, from 2007, written and directed by Martin Hynes.

Deschanel is perhaps the epitome of what Jezebel.com dubbed the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"; a cute, eccentric female that gives hope to the brooding lead male character. This kind of girl exists only in the movies, and stems from the fevered imagination of male screenwriters who have taken the opportunity to create bring their ultimate and elusive fantasy to life. Deschanel has played several of them, and plays another one here in this listless indie road picture that bears little resemblance to real life.

To show how unrealistic her character is, Deschanel plays a woman whose car is stolen, but she doesn't call the police. She calls the thief, our "hero," (Lou Taylor Pucci) on the cell phone she left in her car and the two form a long-distance relationship while he drives around the West, searching for his brother to tell him their mother has died. This loser, who says he is inspired by Huckleberry Finn, starts the movie with a decision that would put most of us in jail, but he ends up with a quirky girl falling in love with him over the phone.

Pucci ends up finding an old classmate (Jena Malone), who, having nothing better to do, accompanies him on his journey and takes his virginity, a pet store by run by potheads, and a commune of potters. Deschanel doesn't appear until the middle of the film, and she's not given much to work with. It's hard to fathom how she could have a crush on a guy like Pucci, who not only doesn't understand Mark Twain but also lacks any kind of fortitude.

There are a lot of familiar faces in the cast, including Maura Tierney and Judy Greer, and Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation plays two unrelated quotes quite well. But they must have done the movie for love or art, as it only grossed $11,000. That's about right.