The Unstoppable Charm of Zooey Deschanel
Zooey shows up as prepared as a Boy Scout for our interview. Not only has she brought apples and bottled water to share, she's mapped out a list of Vancouver's best shopping destinations. The new girl in town (she's here filming
Tin Man, a miniseries for the Sci-Fi Channel) is an expert vintage shopper, and her taste runs toward the cute, as I find out when I ask if a puff-sleeved dress I'm contemplating is too little-girly.
"Never! I'm always looking for school uniforms, trying to squeeze into kids' clothing," she says. "It's sort of a party trick, the way I can get myself into tiny dresses." This girlhood fetishism fits with the label Hollywood has given her: the quirky indie actress, who rides a Hello Kitty bike (seriously) and is more likely to show up on the red carpet wearing her favorite dress from middle school than something styled by Rachel Zoe. This sensibility is reflected in the roles she takes, too: a yeah-right skeptic (
Elf), a free-spirited troublemaker (the TV show
Weeds), a deadpan weirdo (
The Good Girl). Characters who shop at the Salvation Army and have names like Kit, Kat, Zelda and Jovie. Like Parker Posey or Selma Blair, Zooey is the kind of offbeat, unique woman that conventional film execs don't seem sure what to do with—so rather than play the lead in big-budget movies, she becomes the kooky best friend.
Still, Zooey insists, "I never thought of myself as quirky. I was surprised when people said it."
Of course, in some L.A. circles, you'll get called quirky if you don't use your feminine wiles to your advantage. "I'm scared for young women, because we're not necessarily progressing. People think it's good to use sex as power. They think that's new. Flaunting your body, going around half-naked and being sexy to get your way—it's so missing the point," she says. "We're not even talking about the fact that women still don't have a strong enough role in running the country."
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And Lula was amazing stuff.
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