Hollywood's Lost Its Grasp on 'Quirky'

Hollywood loves to make movies about allegedly quirky people—think 500 Days of Summer—but most characters are so similar they don’t seem quirky at all, writes Linda Holmes for NPR. “It may be that at this point, the quirkiest person in a Hollywood movie would be someone who wore clothes from The Gap and listened to Dave Matthews.” Her list of traits that just aren’t quirky anymore:

• Unusual transportation method (scooter, tricycle, Segway, etc.)
• Obsessive fear of the government
• A love of junk food
• Wearing headphones a lot
• Being oblivious to social cues
• Having a strange pet
• Ironic T-shirts
• Band T-shirts
• Ironic band T-shirts
• Comic books, action figures, superhero sheets
• Scruffy facial hair
• Bow ties
• Knowing basic scientific facts
• Constantly making lists
• Reading books

(More Hollywood stories.)