New Girl Review: It's Jess!
(source: tvfanatic.com & YouTube)
New Girl is based around a simple premise: Zooey Deschanel is adorable. Sorry, adorkable, as the six million Fox ads that hyped this new sitcom have told us for weeks.It's a basic concept, and it's one that will likely leave viewers split into two camps after watching the series premiere: those that truly do find Deschanel adorkable, and those who wish to bash a guitar over her head every time she sings.
Me? I am proudly on Team Zooey is Awesome, making New Girl my favorite new comedy of the fall.
Come on, Deschanel's Jess has her own theme song, unabashedly references Lord of the Rings and is open about her desire for rebound sex. What's not to love?
Granted, it's impossible not to compare
this frumpy, nerdy, dating-challenged character to Liz Lemon, but is it
really a bad thing when my biggest criticism is that Jess reminds me of
one of TV's funniest women?
It always takes a few episodes - or even a full season, as was the case with Parks and Recreation
- to get into a sitcom. Unlike a drama that can hook you with a major
mystery or cliffhanger, most laughs for a show of this nature stem from
established characters and their quirks or personalities. And there are
definitely a few things I'd change about New Girl, most notably the number of times Schmidt acts like a douchebag.
Yes, the series at least acknowledges this
change of personality when it occurs, stopping short of making the
self-aware roommate an actual douchebag, but still. Lose the jar and
tone it down a bit or else I'll start to wonder why Coach (Damon Wayans
Jr., who will be replaced with Lamorne Morris going forward) and Nick
are actually friends with Schmidt.
Still, that's a small complaint after just
one episode. Deschanel is cute and hilarious, whether she's simulating
cartoon bug eyes upon spotting a hot guy or trying to come up with a
stripper name. Below, I've listed a few of the best New Girl quotes from a strong opener:
Jess: I was going for like a hot farmer's daughter kind of thing, like, oh, I'm gonna go milk my cows.
Jess: Who's that girl? It's Jess.
Nick: Did you just make up a theme song for yourself?
Jess: Well, I guess I can't hide my crazy.
Nick: I don't you're trying that hard.
Jess: Pink wine makes me slutty.
Schmidt: I'll take you through the whole thing. I'll be like your guide.
Jess: Like Gandolf through Middle Earth?
Schmidt: Probably not like... Okay, first of all, let's take the Lord of the Rings references and put them in a deep, dark cave, where no one's gonna find them. Ever.
Jess: Except Smeagle. He lives in a cave.
Cece: What's your stripper name?
Jess: Uh, Rebecca Johnson.
Cece: Your stripper name is Rebecca Johnson?
Jess: Boobies Johnson. Two Boobs Johnson.
Jess: I'm doing sexy things with the pillow.
Star Smile mad