Images of Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Deschanel has to be one of the most underrated and underused young actresses today. She has starred in various movies that ranges from the most independent to the most mainstream, but strangely, she has failed to garner the attention or accolades that her lesser contemporaries has received. My best guess is that her lack of accolades may be associated with the fact that she does not always choose to be part of a potential critic's darling. But what makes her role choices interesting is that it seems that she chooses roles that she personally seems to be passionate about, no matter how silly or weird the film or the role might be. She is not acting to solely make money or win awards and that is a rare quality in today's box-office obsessed film industry.

Deschanel first caught my eye as Patrick Fugit's rock-and-roll loving sister in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. Apart from being incredibly gorgeous, there was something about her that was amazingly magnetic. When her face filled the screen with those great, blue eyes and convinced her little brother that he is going to be cool someday, I believed her every word.

Several years later, she delivered a gloriously bewitching performance opposite Paul Schneider in David Gordon Green's lyrical All the Real Girls. The film had a triumphant script to start with, full of the painful and joyous obstacles of young love, but the heart of the film was the development of Deschanel's character. For Deschanel's character to go from a sweet small-town girl to a mature but confused young woman was fantastic to behold. Deschanel nailed the part by making it her own. I cannot bear to imagine any other actress in the role.

Aside from being a great up-and-coming actress, she has a beautiful voice that was rather unknown until she did some singing in the 2003 Christmas film, Elf. Her indie rock band, She & Him (with M. Ward), released an album earlier this year, optimistically titled Volume One. (It is a truly fantastic album, so I urge everyone to check it out.) Deschanel is also part of If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies with fellow actress Samantha Shelton, a cabaret act that often performs around the Los Angeles area.

Deschanel is a woman of endless talents. But I miss the days where she really transformed herself into her roles. Has anyone noticed that she looks exactly the same in all her roles now? Hairstyle, make-up, etc.? That wasn't always the case in the past...

She rocked the black eyeliner look in Mumford.

As the memorable big sister in Almost Famous.

Looking casual in Big Trouble.

She rocked the black eyeliner look in Manic (again) in the promo images, but her innocent hairstyle here is rather fitting.

She looked a bit like Amy Adams in The New Guy. I remember that I wanted the main character to end up with her instead of that one popular girl...

She was adorable in retail store employee attire in The Good Girl.

She was blonde and wore the cheerful department store elf attire in Elf. Despite their age difference, Deschanel and Will Ferrell had surprisingly believable romantic chemistry. No kidding.

She was simply charming as the girl-next-door in All the Real Girls. Deschanel even sported two different hairstyles in the film. By the way, the movie itself is beautifully photographed.

She looked extremely young in Abandon for some reason.


"She's Got Issues" and "Idiot Boyfriend" music videos, respectively. She acquired a completely different "look" for both roles.

Basically, her early career was filled with various of transformations. She was like a young female Gary Oldman or Johnny Depp but somewhere down the road, it seemed like either her or her directors decided that she must look long-haired and brunette for every single movie she participates in. Not that I'm complaining much since Deschanel looks fabulous and has the talent to back it up, but I miss the chameleon part of her.

But it is great to see that Deschanel's career is flourishing. 2007's critically-acclaimed festival darling, The Go-Getter is finally getting a limited release and M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening will be hitting the theaters this summer (I'm going to cross my fingers and hope it doesn't suck too much). Later this year, Deschanel has several projects lined up, more prominently in the independent film, Gigantic, and a Jim Carrey comedy vehicle, Yes Man.