Manic Pixie Dream Girl Movies
Movies containing a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. In some cases, there is a male variant of the trope (Ex. Elf/Benny & Joon/Titanic). In other cases, the trope is subverted and the MPDG is not who they appear to be.
Definition: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl give new meaning to the depressing, brooding, stodgy male's life. She's stunningly attractive, energetic, high on life, full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies, usually including childlike playfulness and often with a touch of wild hair dye. She's inexplicably obsessed with the male protagonist, on whom she will focus her crazy antics until he learns to loosen up and usually fall in love.
Definition: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl give new meaning to the depressing, brooding, stodgy male's life. She's stunningly attractive, energetic, high on life, full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies, usually including childlike playfulness and often with a touch of wild hair dye. She's inexplicably obsessed with the male protagonist, on whom she will focus her crazy antics until he learns to loosen up and usually fall in love.
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- DirectorCameron CroweStarsOrlando BloomKirsten DunstSusan SarandonDuring a hometown memorial for his Kentucky-born father, a young man begins an unexpected romance with a too-good-to-be-true stewardess.
- DirectorHy AverbackStarsPeter SellersJo Van FleetLeigh Taylor-YoungA thirty-something square falls in love with a hippie and decides to "drop out" himself.
- DirectorZach BraffStarsZach BraffPeter SarsgaardNatalie PortmanA quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother's funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.
- DirectorMilton KatselasStarsGoldie HawnEdward AlbertEileen HeckartA blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBilly CrudupPatrick FugitKate HudsonA high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
- DirectorJohn Patrick ShanleyStarsTom HanksMeg RyanLloyd BridgesWhen a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantCharles RugglesWhile trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsBarbra StreisandRyan O'NealMadeline KahnThe accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsAudrey HepburnGeorge PeppardPatricia NealA young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.
- DirectorPat O'ConnorStarsKeanu ReevesCharlize TheronJason IsaacsA workaholic executive, and an unconventional woman agree to a personal relationship for a short period. In this short period she changes his life.
- DirectorJoan ChenStarsRichard GereWinona RyderAnthony LaPagliaRomantic drama about an aging playboy who falls for a sweet, but terminally ill, young woman.
- DirectorTony GoldwynStarsZach BraffJacinda BarrettRachel BilsonMichael, at 30, has a great job, still have his four best friends, and has a beautiful girlfriend, but his life seems predictable. Until he meets a college girl. It seems that everybody's having relationship problems.
- DirectorYann SamuellStarsElisha CuthbertJesse BradfordAustin BasisA sweet Midwestern guy with his life planned out for himself is wooed, groomed, and ultimately dumped by a complicated, elusive gal.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsSteve MartinVictoria TennantRichard E. GrantWith the help of a talking freeway billboard, a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early 1990s Los Angeles.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.
- DirectorKevin LimaStarsAmy AdamsSusan SarandonJames MarsdenA young maiden in a land called Andalasia, who is prepared to be wed, is sent away to New York City by an evil Queen, where she falls in love with a lawyer.
- DirectorBharat NalluriStarsFrances McDormandAmy AdamsCiarán HindsGuinevere Pettigrew, a middle-aged London governess, finds herself unfairly dismissed from her job. An attempt to gain new employment catapults her into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse.
- DirectorShawn LevyStarsBen StillerOwen WilsonAmy AdamsSecurity guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsCharles BoyerJennifer JonesPeter LawfordA free-spirited parlor maid and a Czech refugee surprise an English village with their unconventional ways.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsRuth GordonBud CortVivian PicklesYoung, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
- DirectorRoger AvaryStarsEric StoltzJulie DelpyMartin RaymondThe cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. Despite FFR1000 charged, she's an art student with day jobs e.g. bank. Safecracker Zed meets his junkie friend after 11 years to rob a bank.
- DirectorBronwen HughesStarsSandra BullockBen AffleckMaura TierneyA soon-to-be-married man encounters an exciting stranger after his plane suffers an accident on takeoff.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsSteve BuscemiThora BirchScarlett JohanssonTwo eccentric best friends graduate high school and respond to a man's romance-seeking newspaper ad as a gag, only to find their lives becoming increasingly complicated.
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsVal KilmerStacy PeraltaDaniel AdesAn uptight teenage prodigy enters a top engineering college, but feels awkward among the freewheeling students. When a professor aims to turn their laser project into a military weapon, he and his offbeat roommate plot to ruin the plan.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsWill FerrellEmma ThompsonDustin HoffmanI.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsBill NighyMiranda RichardsonEmily BluntA mature man rethinks his life when his daughter begin to ignore him.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsSteve MartinGoldie HawnDana DelanyCon artist Gwen moves into Newton's empty home without his knowledge and begins setting up house, posing as his new wife.
- DirectorGene SaksStarsWalter MatthauIngrid BergmanGoldie HawnA dentist pretends to be married to avoid commitment, but when he falls for his girlfriend and proposes, he must recruit his lovelorn nurse to pose as his wife.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
- DirectorPeyton ReedStarsJim CarreyZooey DeschanelBradley CooperA man challenges himself to say "yes" to everything.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsWill FerrellJames CaanBob NewhartRaised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsBrigitte LinTakeshi KaneshiroTony Leung Chiu-waiTwo melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsSally HawkinsAlexis ZegermanSamuel RoukinA look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsJohnny DeppMary Stuart MastersonAidan QuinnA mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
- DirectorLuke GreenfieldStarsEmile HirschNicholas DownsElisha CuthbertA teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love.
- DirectorJohn HamburgStarsPaul RuddJason SegelRashida JonesFriendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But, when his insta-bond with his new B.F.F. puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after?
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsEmily WatsonStellan SkarsgårdKatrin CartlidgeOilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKevin CostnerSusan SarandonTim RobbinsA fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
- DirectorPaul SoterStarsCillian MurphyLucy LiuJason SudeikisA film noir buff to the extreme is given a taste of his own medicine and has his life turned upside down by a kooky femme fatale with a big adventure in mind. Sometimes love is stranger than fiction.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsElliot PageMichael CeraJennifer GarnerFaced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
- DirectorZach HelmStarsNatalie PortmanDustin HoffmanJason BatemanThe young apprentice of a magical, eccentric toy store owner learns to believe in herself, and in her friends, upon learning some grave news about the future.
- DirectorWillard CarrollStarsGillian AndersonEllen BurstynSean ConneryEleven articulate people work through affairs of the heart in Los Angeles.
- DirectorAdrienne ShellyStarsKeri RussellNathan FillionJeremy SistoJenna is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaCharles CoburnA trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsLiza MinnelliWendell BurtonTim McIntireAn eccentric girl forces a reluctant college student into an affair.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsMichael CeraMary Elizabeth WinsteadKieran CulkinIn a magically realistic version of Toronto, a young man must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes one by one in order to win her heart.
- DirectorMark WatersStarsParker PoseyJosh HamiltonTori SpellingA mentally unbalanced young woman - who is convinced she is Jackie Kennedy - flies into a murderous rage when her brother returns home to reveal he is engaged.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsAnthony HopkinsDebra WingerJulian FellowesC.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham from the U.S.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
- DirectorAndrew BlackStarsBenjamin GourleyMila KunisJon HederAiming for the top, law intern Rick tells his boss that he'll do anything--such as driving the boss' cute niece from Miami to Los Angeles and returning three days later well-prepared for the the bar exam.
- DirectorNicholas StollerStarsKristen BellJason SegelPaul RuddDevastated Peter takes a Hawaiian vacation in order to deal with the recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know, Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex - and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.
- DirectorJohn HamburgStarsBen StillerJennifer AnistonDebra MessingA buttoned-up newlywed finds his strictly organized life descend into chaos when he falls in love with an old classmate.
- DirectorBrandon CampStarsJennifer AnistonAaron EckhartDan FoglerA widower whose book about coping with loss turns him into a best-selling self-help guru, falls for the hotel florist where his seminar is given, only to learn that he hasn't yet truly confronted his wife's passing.
- DirectorMiguel ArtetaStarsMichael CeraPortia DoubledayJean SmartWhile his trailer trash parents teeter on the edge of divorce, Nick Twisp sets his sights on dream girl Sheeni Saunders, hoping that she'll be the one to take away his virginity.
- DirectorSteve BuscemiStarsCasey AffleckLiv TylerMary Kay PlaceFailing to make it on his own, twenty-seven-year-old Jim moves back in with his parents and deals with crippling family obligations.
- DirectorTom HanksStarsTom HanksJulia RobertsSarah MahoneyAfter losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college.
- DirectorPaul FeigStarsKristen WiigMaya RudolphRose ByrneCompetition between the maid of honor and a bridesmaid, over who is the bride's best friend, threatens to upend the life of an out-of-work pastry chef.
- DirectorMichel LeclercStarsSara ForestierJacques GamblinZinedine SoualemA young, extroverted left-wing activist who sleeps with her political opponents to convert them to her cause is successful until she meets her match.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerGeena DavisAn emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.
- DirectorNnegest LikkéStarsMo'NiqueKendra C. JohnsonJimmy Jean-LouisAn edgy comedy about two frustrated plus-sized women obsessed with their weight while struggling to find love and acceptance in a world full of "hot-bodied" babes.
- DirectorSavage Steve HollandStarsJohn CusackDavid Ogden StiersKim DarbyAfter his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.
- DirectorRandall MillerStarsSinbadPhil HartmanKim GreistIn hot water with the mob over an unpaid debt, a con man poses as a family friend in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb.
- DirectorJonathan DaytonValerie FarisStarsPaul DanoZoe KazanAnnette BeningA novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
- DirectorJean-Jacques BeineixStarsJean-Hugues AngladeBéatrice DalleGérard DarmonA lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsColin FirthMinnie DriverMary SteenburgenA brokenhearted English artist travels to Hope, USA, hoping to get on with his life. He starts by drawing faces there. He befriends the cute Mandy. But then his scheming ex shows up and wants him back.
- DirectorPat O'ConnorStarsKeanu ReevesCharlize TheronJason IsaacsA workaholic executive, and an unconventional woman agree to a personal relationship for a short period. In this short period she changes his life.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJohnny DeppLeonardo DiCaprioJuliette LewisA young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
- DirectorDominic SenaStarsBrad PittJuliette LewisKathy LarsonA journalist duo goes on a tour of serial-killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.
- DirectorGeorge NolfiStarsMatt DamonEmily BluntLisa ThoresonThe affair between a politician and a contemporary dancer is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsEvan Rachel WoodScott SpeedmanJ.K. SimmonsThe "black sheep" son of a wealthy family meets a young psychiatric patient who's been raised in isolation her entire life; he takes this naive young woman home for his brother's wedding.
- DirectorNic BalthazarStarsMarijke PinoyGreg TimmermansCesar De SutterAs an alternative to getting bullied at school, an autistic teenager retreats into the world of online role-playing games.
- DirectorRoy BoultingStarsPeter SellersGoldie HawnTony BrittonIn their sexual game, an egotistical and womanizing television host meets his match, Marion, who seeks to remain one step ahead of him.
- DirectorSteve PinkStarsJohn CusackRob CorddryCraig RobinsonA malfunctioning time machine at a ski resort takes a man back to 1986 with his two friends and nephew, where they must relive a fateful night and not change anything to make sure the nephew is born.
- DirectorRaymond De FelittaStarsAndy GarciaJulianna MarguliesSteven StraitPrison guard Vince tells Molly from acting class, that one inmate is his 24 y.o. love child. Vince takes him home to stay with his family - straight A son with fat girl fetish, college dropout/stripper daughter and cute wife.