The blog Girlfriend ‘07 lists ten fictional women who make it difficult to date real women:
Hollywood has a tendency to create female characters who make it nearly impossible to ever be truly satisfied with real women. Because not only do these women tend to be beyond beautiful on the outside, but they’re always unbelievable on the inside too. They’re cool. They’re fun. They always know what to say. And they always have that one little thing that makes you fall in love with them. Maybe it’s because they usually have guys writing their lines and making them perfect, but either way they’re a tough act to follow.
I either don’t agree or I’m not familiar with much of their list, except for Terry Griffith from Just One Of The Guys. That was pretty cool, although disturbing for the male lead. Anyway, I decided to put together a list of fictional women that either have or do set expectations for what I expect out of real women.
Betty and Veronica (Archie Comics) I don’t know how popular they are now, but when I was growing up a boy could be defined by his preference for Betty, the quintessential girl next door, or Veronica, the rich, hot girl. I was always more of a Betty fan, but as I grew up I appreciated how the Veronicas of the world could be really distracting. Now? Let’s see, the girl next door who’s good-looking, modest, compassionate, smart, low-maintenance, and loves sports? Definitely Betty.
Veronica Mars ( Kristen Bell) Intelligent problem-solver. Intuitive thinker. Independent, yet still ends up being a great daughter and a better girlfriend than her boyfriends deserve. She’s a college student who solves murders. What else do you need?
Willow ( Alyson Hannigan in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Great with computers, willing to fight vampires, one of the most powerful witches in the world. For the sake of this list, we’ll ignore the lesbian part. Considering the fact she acts almost the same part in How I Met Your Mother, it just leads to the idea that maybe the character is a real woman.
Inara Serra ( Morena Baccarin in Firefly) A Companion of the future, she’s highly educated, psychologically astute, and a diplomat on a crew that needs one.
Susan Ivanova ( Claudia Christian in Babylon 5) Second in command of the most difficult outpost in the galaxy, Ivanova can charitably be described as “prickly.” That being said, she was honest, direct, and could likely kill you before you realized she was moving. There’s something sexy about that, particularly when it wrapped up a conflicted soul who had felt guilty for most of her life about tragedies she couldn’t control.
Elizabeth Bennet ( Pride & Prejudice) Independent, intelligent, witty, and outspoken, during a time when women were encouraged to be anything but. Played by Jennifer Ehle in a memorable movie version, the written one is still the best.
Susan Vance ( Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby) The best of the screwball comedies, Bringing Up Baby features Susan, a person who, if older, would probably be described as eccentric, looking for a lost leopard with an uptight Cary Grant. Sometimes you need a woman who’s a little crazy.
Wonder Woman ( Lynda Carter) Well, it is Wonder Woman, and we’ll just say there were a lot of guys who were watching this show when they first realized they really liked women.
Drusilla ( Juliet Landau in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Take Susan Vance’s craziness, add to it the ability to rip out your throat, mix in a cool accent, and you’ve got Drusilla. You’d enjoy it, for a little while.
Marion ( Solveig Dommartin in Wings of Desire) Sad, lonely, only one foot in our realm, and able to draw an angel down from heaven just to be with her. Hard to argue with that.
McMurphy ( Dana Delany in China Beach) Sad, lonely, stuck in a war she didn’t start, a compassionate person who was forced to watch people die for little reason she could find, Colleen McMurphy was distant in a way that begged for people to try to get her to open up.
Irene Adler ( A Scandal in Bohemia) Only appearing in one Sherlock Holmes story, Adler is an adventuress who outsmarts the great detective. Holmes called her the woman, and one can only agree.
Rebecca ( Ivanhoe) Completely overwhelming the traditional heroine (Rowena) in Scott’s work, she keeps the protagonist alive and has the antagonist fall in love with her. A classic character, highly intelligent, resourceful, and practical.
Honorable Mention: Lauren Bacall Real person, so she doesn’t really belong on the list, yet throughout her career she played some of the sexiest characters in film, a status she imparted to them.
Luckily, unlike the guys at Girlfriend ‘07, I’ve already found a real woman that I dated and married. Note any common themes above? It’s possible to find smart, resourceful, sexy, caring, independent, a little crazy, and mysterious women in the real world, and I have, thank goodness. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to watch much TV. :)
Original link courtesy of Best Week Ever.
Update: Can’t say I expect this out of real women, but I can’t believe I left out Joy from My Name Is Earl! Yeah, I’m kind of a redneck from North Carolina…Want to make something of it? ;)