By Anna Hovet, Staff Writer
Zooey Deschanel as Jess Day is a breath of fresh air in New Girl. From the creator that brought us No Strings Attached and from the director that brought us Bad Teacher and Sex Tape comes New Girl, a comedy TV series about an elementary school teacher, Jess Day, who just found out that her boyfriend of six years, had been cheating on her. When she moves into an apartment with three guys around her age, we are introduced to Nick, Coach, Schmidt, and Jess’s best friend, Cece (played by Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans, Jr., Max Greenfield, and Hannah Simone, respectively).
The humor in the show is light, actually funny and without any tricks or annoying tunes that try to convince me that what just happened is funny. While the premise may not be the most original or realistic, the shenanigans the four get themselves into keep bringing me back for more. Three of the four seasons are available on Netflix and Hulu (the show is still going on Fox).
After a few episodes, the characters get more relatable. Jess is a dorky, mess of emotions and half the time it seems like her head is stuck in the clouds. Don’t let her extroverted nature stop you from watching because it gets more manageable as her character progresses. Zooey Deschanel is very comfortable in quirky roles and maybe that has to do with her being quirky in real life. She has almost become Jess Day because her role in Elf in 2003 was anything but eccentric. She became known for her deadpan roles but she embodied Jess perfectly.
Nick is a 30-something bartender that dropped out of law school, and he is portrayed as not living up to his potential, yet his grumpy manner still draws you in. Jake M. Johnson, from Let’s Be Cops is one of my favorites. His character is a gruff bartender who secretly has a heart of gold.
Coach is a long time best friend of Nick and Schmidt, but we don’t get much out of him, seeing as Damon Wayans, Jr. quit the show to go back to Happy Endings. Wayans, who costarred with Johnson in Let’s Be Cops, was only in New Girl for about an episode and a half, but the chemistry he shares with the roommates is unbelievable.
Schmidt, although he reeks of player, is the most realistic character with a very well thought out history as an ex-fat kid. His arrogance is always depicted in a humorous way. Max Greenfield (from Veronica Mars) as Schmidt is probably my most casting from anything ever. He portrays Schmidt with that type of arrogance that never annoys you.
Cece, a model, has been Jess’s friend since the preteen years and somehow Cece’s ‘bad girl’ attitude blends flawlessly with Jess’s eccentricity. Hannah Simone, or Cece, does not have very much acting experience but you wouldn’t know because she created the perfect ‘hot best-friend’ to Jess.
Similar to 2 Broke Girls and Suburgatory, It’s not an addictive kind of show that you wait for on the edge of your couch, but a show that will relax you and put you in a good mood. The actors in the show are not the most famous, but they are incredibly talented and you’d never think that they existed outside of their loft apartment in L.A.
Overall, this show isn’t very suspenseful or dramatic and that’s why I love it so much. Like most sitcoms, you don’t have to watch every single episode, like Revenge or Sons of Anarchy. There are no final destinations or huge expectations; hence, I can never be disappointed. It’s an upbeat, light-hearted show, to be enjoyed for what it is.