Top 10 "Not Like Other Girls" Love Interests (She's Special!)

#10: Samantha Montgomery

“A Cinderella Story” (2004)

We really have nothing against Sam. She’s genuinely a kind, intelligent, and hard-working young lady. It is Austin Ames who’s the problem. On the outside, he’s the popular jock with the head cheerleader, Shelby Cummings, on his arm. In reality, he wants to go to Princeton and pursue a writing career. The only relationship he finds intellectually and emotionally fulfilling is with his pen pal, Sam. When they finally meet, he wants to figure out who she is, using some questionable means to do so. So Austin likes the cache of the conventionally attractive girl friend, but looks down on what she might have to do to fit those standards? He’s either clueless or callous. Sam can do better.

#9: Frances Houseman

“Dirty Dancing” (1987)

You know a film suffers from poor writing when the only thing that makes the female lead stand out is her being a decent human being. Frances “Baby” Houseman is portrayed as the poster child of purity. She looks at the world with wide-eyed wonder, but is also socially conscious and wants to do good in the world. The privilege is undeniable, but there’s nothing wrong with her noble intentions. However, almost every other female character in the film serves as a foil for Baby, spotlighting her unwavering virtue. Her compassion, which is notable only because it isn’t expected, softens Johnny’s edges. The man is in his twenties, and only a teenager can fix him because she’s different? Something’s not right here.

#8: Gracie Hart

“Miss Congeniality” (2000)

This film presents the ‘not like other girls’ trope only to subvert it. Sandra Bullock plays Gracie Hart, a fearless, no-nonsense FBI agent. She grew up tough, which lent itself wonderfully to her career, but it also made her turn her nose up at things she considered girly. So, when she must enter a beauty pageant undercover to prevent a terrorist attack, it feels like enemy territory to her. She rolls her eyes at her fellow contestants for being image-conscious and, at one point, even seems to insinuate that Cheryl has an eating disorder. Once she’s able to work through her internalized misogyny, though, she develops genuine friendships with the girls. We love a feminist awakening.

#7: Maria

“West Side Story” (1961)

As a doe-eyed girl in a dark world, she’s one of a kind. Maria’s brother leads the Sharks. He’s overly protective of her, so she doesn’t know how ruthless the world can be. Her inexperience translates into innocence, which is what draws Tony to her. Despite his association with the Jets, a rival gang, they fall in love. After all, Maria’s heart is untainted by the reality of gang wars, unlike the other Jet or Shark girls. Her idealism gives Tony hope for a better life, which he so desperately strives for. Unfortunately, this hope is a fragile illusion. If Maria were more like the other girls, maybe things would’ve turned out differently.

#6: Ramona Flowers

“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010)

This character is the perfect parody of the manic pixie dream girl trope. With her cool, dyed hair and mysterious personality, Scott sees Ramona as an unattainable ideal. Her uniqueness jumps out at us because we’re seeing her through Scott’s eyes. If he knew more scene kids, then she’d fit right in, but that’s a different conversation. In the film, Scott romanticizes Ramona, but soon finds out that there’s great depth and complexity behind her guarded exterior. As they grow closer, he helps her heal her inner wounds, but he doesn’t do it because she’s not like other girls. Their relationship pushes both of them to mature, breaking the MPDG stereotype.

#5: Samantha

“Garden State” (2004)

Here we have an actual case of the manic pixie dream girl syndrome. Zach Braff, who wrote, directed, and stars in the movie, even admits to this. Speaking with The Independent, he revealed that he created the character when he was living with depression and fantasized about the perfect woman rescuing him. For his character, Andrew, this perfect woman is Sam – quirky, drop-dead gorgeous, and a compulsive liar with a passion for originality. We’re going to go out on a limb and say most people are definitely not like her. She single-handedly revives Andrew’s will to live, but to the audience, she remains a one-dimensional character until the end.

#4: Summer Finn

“500 Days of Summer” (2009)

This movie is the one-sided story of a glorified situationship gone wrong. Tom and Summer connect over music, and he is instantly smitten. She is spontaneous, whimsical, laid-back, and full of life – how refreshing! The fact that she doesn’t believe in love makes him want to be with her even more, and perhaps change her mind. However, when she doesn’t change, Tom’s manic pixie dream girl fantasy starts to fray at the edges. Instead of saving him, like he expected her to, Summer leaves him disenchanted. Throughout their relationship, he fails to see her perspective and even resents her for being … well, herself. In director Marc Webb’s words, Summer’s a ‘phase’. Well, this ‘phase’ probably made Tom swear off the NLOG type.

#3: Katarina Stratford

“10 Things I Hate About You” (1999)

Back in the nineties and early aughts, this movie was the pinnacle of romantic comedy. Kat Stratford was the ultimate edgy, cool girl. As a staunch feminist with artistic talent and a distaste for social norms, she was unbothered by popularity and high school shenanigans. We love that for her, but to make like the movie and paraphrase Shakespeare, sometimes this lady doth protest too much. She was openly disdainful of ‘other girls’, who embraced traditional femininity, and considered herself superior to them. She had a similar outlook toward romance, but by the end of the film, she had written a whole poem about Patrick Verona. That’s when we knew she was exactly like every other girl swooning over the Aussie bad boy. No shame in that!

#2: Anastasia Steele

“Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015)

To Christian Grey, a billionaire with an affinity for domination, Ana is a challenge. She’s an unpolished and inexperienced college student who can’t get through an interview without stumbling over her words. Yet, as he soon finds out, she has a strong personality and isn’t the obedient type. The man is used to women throwing themselves at him and submitting to his whims, but Ana demands romance and meaningful connection. She’s open-minded and curious about his world, but doesn’t lose herself in it. He is fascinated by her defiance and independence, qualities he clearly hasn’t encountered in his love life before. Most importantly, she seems genuinely interested in Grey as a person. Ana’s quite ordinary, but his past experiences with women make her stand out.

#1: Bella Swan

“Twilight” (2008)

This iconic heroine is infamous for her NLOG tendencies. Bella is popular without trying, prefers books over makeup, and doesn’t try to impress 108-year-old vampire, Edward Cullen. He’s intrigued anyway because he can’t read her mind. Okay, we see why that might be of interest. But the other appeal she holds for him is a straight up red flag. What’s also questionable is how, in Edward’s entire existence, she’s the only person who understands and selflessly cares about him. The argument that she’s mature for her age feels a bit icky, too. Truth is, Bella is like many other girls, which is why she’s such a relatable character. Edward puts her on a pedestal because his perception of other girls is shallow. A centenarian should know better.

Which of these NLOGs do you secretly love? Tell us in the comments!