Since it initially appeared in the very first Case File of My Year Of Flops way back in 2007, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl has taken on a life of its own, inspiring countless articles, an NPR piece, the subtitle of a book from The A.V Club (but not the My Year Of Flops book, ironically enough), a forthcoming young adult novel, and some very clever video spoofs.
First, there was a video about the state home For Manic Pixie Dream Girls and now comes a short about a "Manic Pixie Prostitute," a new kind of quasi-sex-worker who offers clients not sexual release or gratification but rather, in the words of the video's wonderfully deadpan sad-sack protagonist, a girl to turn his life around with her "whimsical joie de vivre" by singing along to The Moldy Peaches with him, dancing like an exuberant spazz, playing a "midget guitar," and volunteering to crash a parade with him. It's a smart, knowing critique of the adolescent wish-fulfillment element of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype that impishly posits the urge for a life-altering blast of precious, girlish quirkiness as a new form of non-sexual fetish. It's especially inspired in how it condenses the life cycle of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl/Artsy Depressive relationship into a matter of minutes. Enjoy!