"What Do They See In Each Other?!" Worst Movie Love Interests

[DollEyes]

One of the most toxic couples in modern cinema is Rocketman's Elton John and his then-manager/lover John Reid, who was a physically, mentally and emotionally abusive asshole who only cared about using Elton, even basically forcing him to perform just hours after he tried to kill himself. 

Edited February 29, 2020 by DollEyes

[Spartan Girl]

Am I the only one that wasn't feeling Brad Johnson's character in Always as Dorinda's love interest after Pete died? Don't get me wrong, it was fine for her to move on with her life, but he was just so bland. The film tries to portray him as the perfect guy, but they just made him too perfect. Not really much of a personality. And I kind of have to give him a bit of side-eye for fixating on her when Pete was still alive and then coming back six months later to try his luck with her when he barely knew her. At least that's how it come off to me. Also his repeated John Wayne impression was lame.

Still a good movie though.

[Luckylyn]

13 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Am I the only one that wasn't feeling Brad Johnson's character in Always as Dorinda's love interest after Pete died? Don't get me wrong, it was fine for her to move on with her life, but he was just so bland. The film tries to portray him as the perfect guy, but they just made him too perfect. Not really much of a personality. And I kind of have to give him a bit of side-eye for fixating on her when Pete was still alive and then coming back six months later to try his luck with her when he barely knew her. At least that's how it come off to me. Also his repeated John Wayne impression was lame.

Still a good movie though.

I love that movie and I completely agree about how bland he is.  They really needed someone with more charisma. Also he doesn’t spark enough with Holly Hunter.  It’s the one misstep in an otherwise fantastic movie.  

[giovannif7]

Going back several decades, gotta bring up the musical Xanadu. It was never gonna be a great or well-respected film, but it could have been a solid fun, frothy confection, with its decent concept and a very appealing soundtrack. To make that happen, though they needed the couple at the center of the fantasy to create a believable destined attraction - some reason for the audience to feel their connection and want them to wind up together. Kira and Sonny are not that couple, and I place the problem squarely on whomever made the decision to cast Michael Beck as the male lead. He's actually a decent dramatic actor based on the few things I've seen him in, including The Warriors, but there's no way he should have been the romantic lead in a musical comedy. He seems completely uncomfortable or clueless when asked to deliver comedic, romantic and emotional beats throughout the film. Olivia Newton-John, while lovely and talented, needs a strong genre performer as a partner in order to sell a pairing. Beck was clearly out of his element and entirely miscast as her love interest. If they had chosen an actor that understands what a lead role in a musical comedy requires - someone from that era like Kevin Kline, Barry Bostwick or Treat Williams - the film might have had a chance to shine as what it was meant to be, and would be held in much higher regard all these years later. It's clear from how little he actually appears in more recent promos for the film that he's not considered a selling point.:

 

[Luckylyn]

1 hour ago, giovannif7 said:

Going back several decades, gotta bring up the musical Xanadu. It was never gonna be a great or well-respected film, but it could have been a solid fun, frothy confection, with its decent concept and a very appealing soundtrack. To make that happen, though they needed the couple at the center of the fantasy to create a believable destined attraction - some reason for the audience to feel their connection and want them to wind up together. Kira and Sonny are not that couple, and I place the problem squarely on whomever made the decision to cast Michael Beck as the male lead. He's actually a decent dramatic actor based on the few things I've seen him in, including The Warriors, but there's no way he should have been the romantic lead in a musical comedy. He seems completely uncomfortable or clueless when asked to deliver comedic, romantic and emotional beats throughout the film. Olivia Newton-John, while lovely and talented, needs a strong genre performer as a partner in order to sell a pairing. Beck was clearly out of his element and entirely miscast as her love interest. If they had chosen an actor that understands what a lead role in a musical comedy requires - someone from that era like Kevin Kline, Barry Bostwick or Treat Williams - the film might have had a chance to shine as what it was meant to be, and would be held in much higher regard all these years later. It's clear from how little he actually appears in more recent promos for the film that he's not considered a selling point.:

 

I move Xanadu despite it’s many many many many many flaws.  I enjoyed Michael Beck in The Warriors and agree he was all wrong for Xanadu.  I also think as written the character isn’t that compelling.   Olivia had more chemistry with Gene Kelly than Michael.  I would have happily spent the movie focusing on Gene Kelly who was more interesting to me.

[Spartan Girl]

Can we all agree that Maxim in Rebecca was a messed up, emotionally abusive jerk and a murderer? If your first marriage was that bad, you probably should at least -- I don't know -- TELL YOUR NEW WIFE THE TRUTH instead of snap at her every time she asks? He could have done that much without admitting to the murder. Instead he pushes her away and lets Mrs. Danvers mess with her head. Real Prince Charming, that one.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

47 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Can we all agree that Maxim in Rebecca was a messed up, emotionally abusive jerk and a murderer? If your first marriage was that bad, you probably should at least -- I don't know -- TELL YOUR NEW WIFE THE TRUTH instead of snap at her every time she asks? He could have done that much without admitting to the murder. Instead he pushes her away and let's Mrs. Dancers mess with her head. Real Prince Charming, that one.

It's like, hey, Max? Communication. Is. Your. Friend! Lay all your cards on the table for your new bride! Say something along the lines of,

"Okay, honey, just a few things you need to know: no talking about politics after 4 p.m., don't fart in bed, my late wife was in fact a towering inferno of bitchiness, I don't miss her one little bit, and for God's sake please don't dress up like her ancestor in that portrait because that's how she dressed at the last masquerade and it's a real trigger thing for me, all right? We good? Great! Let's have some bangers and mash after we burn Rebecca's crap and fire Mrs. Danvers!"

 

[Spartan Girl]

Harper in Happiest Season. Being afraid to come out his understandable, but bringing your girlfriend to meet your parents, forcing her to lie about the relationship, leaving her alone and isolated and letting everyone crap on her? And that's just what she did to Abby. What she did to Riley back in high school -- outing her on purpose to hide her own sexuality -- was ten times worse.

Abby really should have just cut her losses and hooked up with Riley instead.

[blugirlami21]

Spartan Girl, you are speaking my language. That movie was not at all what I was thought it was going to be, I was mad disappointed with Harper. She was horrible. She knowingly let that girl come to Christmas knowing that they didn't know she was gay let alone dating and living with a woman. Not to mention she made her sound like a homeless orphan. Why couldn't she just say that she was a friend who didn't have a family to spend Christmas with?

She left her alone, she made her feel abandoned and she just kept doing it. I couldn't believe that this movie expected me to be happy that they stayed together. Abby deserved Aubrey Plaza damn it. Awful movie. Right up there with the Family Stone.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Linnea (Lily Tomlin) and Delbert (Ned Beatty) in Nashville. I don't usually condone marital infidelity, but considering a smart, talented, compassionate woman like Linnea is married to a vacuous, unattractive, unappealing lump like Delbert (who makes little attempt to connect to his deaf children), can you blame her for having a fling with Keith Carradine's Tom? 

Seriously, woman, why did you ever marry this brainless laundry pile of a human being??

[Spartan Girl]

I hate to do this, but the ending to Avengers Endgame forces me to put Steve Rogers on this list. Look, if you love someone, you want them to be happy, no matter what, right? You don’t use time traveling to reinsert yourself back into their lives or create a new timeline when there was nothing wrong with the life they built without you.

Yes, it was sad that Steve and Peggy didn’t get their shot, but she moved on. She found love again with a good guy and had a family. She still cared about Steve but it wasn’t like she spent her whole life pining away for what could have been. When they met again in Winter Soldier, she told him that she had zero regrets and told him that she wanted him to move on and find happiness again. That should have been the end of it.

But NOOOOOOOOO...

People defend it by saying that Past/New Timeline Peggy would have been okay with it, that she CHOSE to be with him... but would the Peggy Carter we knew, she who was so self-possessed and independent, really be okay with Steve going back in time to fix their past to his liking instead of letting her find her own path and destiny? And Hayley Atwell can snark about how she might have been supposedly got pissed if she found out Steve kissed Sharon...but it wouldn’t have bothered her that Steve didn’t bother to track down her niece after sacrificed her career to help him break Bucky out, just let her go on the run and didn’t even bother to find out if she was okay before or after The Snap? Didn’t get her to join his little squad with Black Widow and Falcon? Really? The niece of the woman you love and you just let her twist in the wind?

Steve really does not come off well in either one of these scenarios.

Edited January 7, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[blugirlami21]

I hate Steve and Peggy's ending in Endgame. It's awful. Doesn't do anyone any justice at all. Peggy had a whole ass life without Steve Rogers, career, husband, kids, grandkids.

So for Steve to take it upon himself to go back and try to reinsert himself where he does not belong was too much for me. It was garbage. It erased everything that Steve had learned in the last ten years. Any growth he experienced as a person was immediately washed away.  

Were the writers trying to tell me that Peggy was the only person he cared about after everything that happened? What about Bucky and Sam? The avengers? The world? The Steve Rogers that fought so hard to save Bucky in Civil War was not the same guy who left him on the platform with barely any acknowledgement.

Let's pretend that we go with the absurd fan theory that he was always meant to be Peggy's husband.  Am I also supposed to believe that he just let things unfold like they did before? He just left Bucky for Hydra and let Hydra grow inside shield for 70 years?

Did no one think if the implications of Steve going back in time to fix something that wasn't his to fix? Not one woman in the writers room was like no that's terrible? Peggy gets no say.

Ugh it makes me so angry. I legit pretend that the movie ended after the funeral and I will continue to imagine that. I refuse to acknowledge the misogynist ending that they gave us.

 

Edited January 11, 2021 by blugirlami21

[Spartan Girl]

17 hours ago, blugirlami21 said:

Were the writers trying to tell me that Peggy was the only person he cared about after everything that happened? What about Bucky and Sam? The avengers? The world? The Steve Rogers that fought so hard to save Bucky in Civil War was not the same guy who left him on the platform with barely any acknowledgement.

I really wish Steve had just left that stupid compass picture on Peggy’s casket in Civil War because all those scenes in Endgame of him simping at it made me want to kick him in the balls. It was so inappropriate, given the circumstances. Peggy wasn’t killed by Thanos, stupid! She died peacefully in her sleep, and she wasn’t “your girl” anymore! Why are you moping over her more than Sam, Bucky, or even Sharon?! 

I know people didn’t like Sharon, but she had some good moments and Emily VanCamp didn’t deserve all the crap she got from the Stucky trolls. I really hope they do right by her in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

[Danny Franks]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I know people didn’t like Sharon, but she had some good moments and Emily VanCamp didn’t deserve all the crap she got from the Stucky trolls. I really hope they do right by her in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

If they try to make her Bucky's love interest, the same Stucky fans will probably moan about her again... after they morph into Sucky (Sam/Bucky?) shippers, of course. I imagine Emily Van Camp got the scripts with her fingers crossed that she's not got any romantic stuff with either Bucky or Sam.

Sharon played a significant role in the Winter Soldier storyline in the comics, but it was based on her very long-standing connection to Steve that she doesn't have in the MCU. She's still pretty much a blank slate for them to do whatever they want with her character. 

[methodwriter85]

Everytime I look at the ending, I think, "Does this mean Captain America and Peggy had kids who weren't supposed to exist? Or did Peggy remain childfree?" Sharon was a great-niece instead of a granddaughter so I always figured that meant Peggy never had kids in her OG timeline life. I loved the idea that Peggy lived a full and awesome life without becoming a suburban housewife mother.

Edited January 13, 2021 by methodwriter85

[Shannon L.]

Am I forgetting something?  Why is it assumed that Peggy became a suburban housewife?  All of the super heroes had their own homes, so who's to say that weren't living in a suburb of Washington DC or London while still working for the government?  FWIW:  I'm not crazy about the ending either.  I'd have been happy if we'd seen him get to take her on a date and get the dance they promised each other (before she married), then come back.

[Spartan Girl]

18 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I'd have been happy if we'd seen him get to take her on a date and get the dance they promised each other (before she married), then come back.

That would have been perfect. Unfortunately the Russos are idiots.

[Spartan Girl]

Olivia in The Prestige. Now, yes, both Angier and Borden were both dicks, but Olivia was very two-faced. First, she hooks up with Angier, but after agreeing to spy on Borden for him, she dumps him for Borden and totally stabs him in the back. Now presumably, in addition to falling in love with Borden, she’s motivated out of spite that Angier used her as a pawn. Yet oddly enough, she has zero issues with being Borden’s side piece, knowing full well he’s married with a kid. It isn’t until Borden’s wife kills herself that she suddenly gets moral scruples. Don’t get me wrong, she was right to tell Borden off and say that he and Angier deserved each other…but at the same time, it took her long enough. Before that point, she was only upset when he appeared guilty at one of their trysts. What did she expect?! She was more upset then than that awful dinner scene where he treated his wife like crap in front of her! That should have been a big fat red flag.

And yes, the fact that she was played by ScarJo (whom I’m not crazy about) didn’t help my opinion of her.

Edited February 18, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Ms Blue Jay]

Picture Perfect (1997) starring Jennifer Aniston is a movie I've always loved.

But rewatching it now I'm realizing that Jay Mohr's character Nick, the love interest in the movie, is a complete asshole.

Jennifer's character Kate offers to pay Nick $1000 to have him portray her fiance and help her with her career.  NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT, Nick's character refuses the money and says he'll help Kate anyway.

Bah!  Instead, he just tries to get in her pants.  Kate is just focused on her career and Jay tries to torpedo it for the chance to date her.  Why?  Because he just finds her really attractive.  He's crazy about her after only meeting her ONCE and it's all about her looks.

Nick is trying to "Nice guy" Kate into submission.  She says to him flat out I don't want you, I'm not interested in you, this was a deal just to get my career going.  He doesn't care and he doesn't listen because he knows better than her and fuck her career.

I'm realizing that the message of this story is so bad, that when a woman pursues a career instead of love, she should be punished for it, and cowed into submission, until Nick can get what he wants.

I noticed that a lot of romantic comedies starring women force women to give up their career for love. And often, the woman is very smart and so career focused.  Until some man enters the picture, that is. Also, most Hallmark movies about women are like this.

This is worse though , because the whole movie Nick is trying to make Kate feel guilty about her life and her choices and Kate is portrayed as "the bad one".

Edited March 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[magicdog]

On 2/27/2020 at 1:09 AM, DollEyes said:

One of the most toxic couples in modern cinema is Rocketman's Elton John and his then-manager/lover John Reid, who was a physically, mentally and emotionally abusive asshole who only cared about using Elton, even basically forcing him to perform just hours after he tried to kill himself. 

Sound like he and Col. Tom Parker (Elvis' manager) would get along nicely!

On 7/3/2020 at 2:21 PM, giovannif7 said:

If they had chosen an actor that understands what a lead role in a musical comedy requires - someone from that era like Kevin Kline, Barry Bostwick or Treat Williams - the film might have had a chance to shine as what it was meant to be, and would be held in much higher regard all these years later.

I can totally see Treat Williams in that role!!!   I agree that Olivia had more chemistry with legendary Gene Kelly.

 

On 1/6/2021 at 2:56 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Linnea (Lily Tomlin) and Delbert (Ned Beatty) in Nashville. I don't usually condone marital infidelity, but considering a smart, talented, compassionate woman like Linnea is married to a vacuous, unattractive, unappealing lump like Delbert (who makes little attempt to connect to his deaf children), can you blame her for having a fling with Keith Carradine's Tom? 

Seriously, woman, why did you ever marry this brainless laundry pile of a human being??

They rarely start out that way.  Although point is taken when you see certain couples and wonder,  "What did he or she see in him or her??"".  

[Spartan Girl]

So I hate to bring up the infamous 1980 Popeye, but in the Musical Hell review, Diva has a perfect assessment of Olive that just belongs in this thread:

”Olive is the sort of woman who’s normally described as ‘having a nice personality,’ only her personality is pretty horrible as well.”

[magicdog]

20 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

So I hate to bring up the infamous 1980 Popeye, but

I remember when the movie was released!  It was always a mile long line from the theater (mostly for Robin Williams who I think nailed the role).  

When I saw it I thought the execution could have been done better, but I did think the actors seem to fit their parts [physically].  

One could argue the cartoons had the problem as well - why two guys found Olive Oyl so gorgeous is beyond me - even if she was a nice girl!  

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, magicdog said:

One could argue the cartoons had the problem as well - why two guys found Olive Oyl so gorgeous is beyond me - even if she was a nice girl!  

Granted. But in the movie she treats everyone like something she stepped in, even her own family. There’s never any clear moment where she starts to soften towards Popeye, not until than the “He Needs Me” bit. He tells her about his dad, she’s barely listening. Even the “bonding” (using that term loosely) over Sweet Pea is peppered with her insulting him. Repeatedly. Sometimes being faithful to the cartoon isn’t always a good thing—you could at least TRY to make her less of a bitch.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Rashida Jones in "I Love You Man".  She mocks her own fiancee for not having any male friends and makes fun of him with her girlfriends behind his back (except he actually does overhear it).  Why doesn't she mind her own business and go look for a dress.  Why does he need specific friendships in his life to impress you?

I have a list of these but I don't have a very good memory.  

Jeanne Tripplehorn in Mickey Blue Eyes - is this because she gaslights Hugh's character and won't be honest with him?

Robert Downey Jr. in Only You - he's a manipulator and Marisa Tomei is kind of a stalker.  LOL.

Andie McDowell in Four Weddings and a Funeral. - I don't remember.  Probably my own jealousy because Hugh is the perfect man in that movie.

Both the main characters in Serendipity. - Kate Beckinsale constantly runs away from John Cusack, telling him, if it's meant to be, we'll meet again.  LOL.  Hippie bullshit.  And everyone is cheating on the partners they currently have, right?  I hate this movie and it's been a while.

Edited April 2, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

Ok, I'm rewatching Four Weddings.  Andie's character (CARRIE) hooks up with Hugh's character and then gets married a few months later, then leads him on throughout the movie.  Ugh!!!

Okay, finished the movie.  Now that I've seen the whole picture again, the whole story kind of all comes together.  I think part of the reason that Carrie is not a popular character is because the writing for her can be so bad sometimes.  Her dialogue can be really cheesy and feel inauthentic.  Maybe it's a Brit trying to write American.  Once I finish the whole movie I don't think she's so bad.  

It's just that typical stereotype where a man simply sees how a woman looks and falls head over heels for her.  It's asking a lot of the audience to try and understand this.  

Edited April 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[andromeda331]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Both the main characters in Serendipity. - Kate Beckinsale constantly runs away from John Cusack, telling him, if it's meant to be, we'll meet again.  LOL.  Hippie bullshit.  And everyone is cheating on the partners they currently have, right?  I hate this movie and it's been a while.

Yeah, they were currently cheating on their partners. I hate when that happens. Really, John should have moved on when she told him that if it's meant to be crap. Why would you want to wait to see if you might happen to meet up again? Move on with your life. Find someone who wants to be with you now. Also, it's not fate Kate, when you chose not to keep dating him. Maybe look up what fate means you idiot.

[Danny Franks]

12 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Both the main characters in Serendipity. - Kate Beckinsale constantly runs away from John Cusack, telling him, if it's meant to be, we'll meet again.  LOL.  Hippie bullshit.  And everyone is cheating on the partners they currently have, right?  I hate this movie and it's been a while.

Serendipity is a dumb movie, but if Kate Beckinsale told me, "if we find each other again, we're destined to be together," I'd definitely look.

9 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Ok, I'm rewatching Four Weddings.  Andie's character (CARRIE) hooks up with Hugh's character and then gets married a few months later, then leads him on throughout the movie.  Ugh!!!

Okay, finished the movie.  Now that I've seen the whole picture again, the whole story kind of all comes together.  I think part of the reason that Carrie is not a popular character is because the writing for her can be so bad sometimes.  Her dialogue can be really cheesy and feel inauthentic.  Maybe it's a Brit trying to write American.  Once I finish the whole movie I don't think she's so bad.  

It's just that typical stereotype where a man simply sees how a woman looks and falls head over heels for her.  It's asking a lot of the audience to try and understand this.  

It just seems like a very shallow romance - which is fine, I guess, it is a romcom, after all. Charles barely knows Carrie. They have one night together and then she's with someone else, and I get that the mystery and the fact she was a sexy, vivacious "exotic foreigner" really buttered his toast, but it's not a movie that stands up to a whole lot of scrutiny.

I don't think much of Richard Curtis' writing does, to be honest. It's very frilly and nice and full of lovely people who end up together, but there's not a massive amount of depth to any of it. When you get someone as charming as Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts, it works, when it's someone who isn't quite as charming, like Andie MacDowell, it falls a bit flat.

[katha]

Four Weddings also suffers from the fact that the friendships in the group are so well written and acted. You really believe that all these people love each other and have a bond for life. And then there's Andie and she's neither well written nor well acted and...eh. What adds to it is that it is a star-making turn for Hugh Grant. IMO one of the great comic performances and rightly made him famous. MacDowell can't keep up in any way. 

[Browncoat]

Andie MacDowell was absolutely the weakest link.  I love the movie except for her.  But thank goodness Charles didn't marry Hen in the end!  That was also a terrible match.

[Spartan Girl]

If I may detract to another Hugh Grant movie:

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Jeanne Tripplehorn in Mickey Blue Eyes - is this because she gaslights Hugh's character and won't be honest with him?

Oh yeah, Gina sucked. Pretty hypocritical of her to be mad at Michael for lying and keeping stuff from her when she did her fair share of secrets and lies for most of the movie, and the beginning of their relationship. Because you should probably let him know that you have a mafia family way before he proposes marriage to you.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

If I may detract to another Hugh Grant movie:

Oh yeah, Gina sucked. Pretty hypocritical of her to be mad at Michael for lying and keeping stuff from her when she did her fair share of secrets and lies for most of the movie, and the beginning of their relationship. Because you should probably let him know that you have a mafia family way before he proposes marriage to you.

Thank you.  I know that she was on my list but I have a horrible memory.  That being said, even though I know MBE is flawed, I have some kind of sickness that forces me to watch it every few years.  My definition of a guilty pleasure.  I need no excuse to revisit it and I definitely will soon.

Can you tell that I love Hugh Grant movies?  Geez.  My references are all from 1995.  

Edited April 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[tennisgurl]

On 4/2/2022 at 12:39 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Both the main characters in Serendipity. - Kate Beckinsale constantly runs away from John Cusack, telling him, if it's meant to be, we'll meet again. 

Roger Ebert, in his negative review, has a hilarious bit at the end about how insufferable the main character are. 

"I hope this movie never has a sequel, because Jon and Sara are destined to become the most boring married couple in history. For years to come, people at parties will be whispering, “See that couple over there? The Tragers? Jon and Sara? Whatever you do, don't ask them how they met.”

Edited April 4, 2022 by tennisgurl

[proserpina65]

On 4/2/2022 at 1:39 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Robert Downey Jr. in Only You - he's a manipulator and Marisa Tomei is kind of a stalker.  LOL.

They sort of deserve each other.  I liked the movie, but yeah, neither one is really all that good a person.

On 4/3/2022 at 2:08 AM, Danny Franks said:

When you get someone as charming as Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts, it works, when it's someone who isn't quite as charming, like Andie MacDowell, it falls a bit flat.

I actually like Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and hated Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.  Had I been Hugh Grant's character in Notting Hill, I'd have told Julia Roberts to fuck off and slammed the door in her face.

 

[Danny Franks]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I actually like Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings and hated Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.  Had I been Hugh Grant's character in Notting Hill, I'd have told Julia Roberts to fuck off and slammed the door in her face.

 

I don't dislike her, particularly, but I do find her a bit insipid as Carrie, and not really the fiery, adventurous enigma that she's meant to be.

I think Andie MacDowell is better in roles where she has a bit more of a snarky edge. Like Rita in Groundhog Day and Ann in Sex, Lies and Videotape.

However, I'm not one of those people who criticise Charles for not getting together with Kristin Scott Thomas's character, because the two of them were just way too buttoned up and repressed to ever work as a couple.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

I'm not one of those people who criticise Charles for not getting together with Kristin Scott Thomas's character, because the two of them were just way too buttoned up and repressed to ever work as a couple.

Agreed.  Charles and Fiona would have been a horrible match.

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I don't dislike her, particularly, but I do find her a bit insipid as Carrie, and not really the fiery, adventurous enigma that she's meant to be.

I think Andie MacDowell is better in roles where she has a bit more of a snarky edge. Like Rita in Groundhog Day and Ann in Sex, Lies and Videotape.

However, I'm not one of those people who criticise Charles for not getting together with Kristin Scott Thomas's character, because the two of them were just way too buttoned up and repressed to ever work as a couple.

I loooooooooooove Andie in Groundhog Day.  I feel the romance so much stronger between Rita and Phil than I do Carrie and Charles.  The writing for Rita is so much more developed.  She's a real person, and because of the repetition of the movie we (and Phil) really get to know her.  Whereas Carrie is basically a fantasy.  Charles really doesn't know what it would be like to date her.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Spartan Girl]

Eleanor in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Look, I get it. Losing a child can disintegrate even the strongest relationship, and she was depressed and suicidal. But that doesn’t make the way she treated Conor any less awful. And after all the extensive effort she made in pushing him away, she had the nerve to get upset that he slept with someone else after she left him? Lady, what did you expect?

I honestly wouldn’t have blamed Conor, if at the end when she follows and calls out to him after coming back from Paris, he just turned around and walked away.

[Spartan Girl]

Everyone in Grease 2. No, I’m not exaggerating: I mean EVERYONE.

The T-Birds were obnoxious creeps not even fit to hold Danny and Kenickie’s leather jackets, much less wear them. One of them tries to get his girlfriend to have sex with him via a fake nuclear bomb drill, and she winds up forgiving him in the end?! Then of course there’s Johnny, the walking embodiment of toxic masculinity. Other than one great moment of Paulette of standing up to him, the Pink Ladies stay with them throughout all their crap, which makes them look shallow and dumb—Rizzo would never stand for that kind of idiocy from her gang. 

And then there’s Stephanie and Michael. For as much crap as we give Sandy for changing herself in the first movie, Michael deserves it more. At least Danny and Sandy were genuinely crazy about each other. Michael was just fixating on Stephanie, a girl who turned him down tons of times and wouldn’t even give him the time of day until he offered to help do her homework. Was she really worth almost getting himself killed riding a motorcycle?

Edited August 10, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Shannon L.]

The best thing about Grease 2 was Cool Rider and Who's That Guy?

[Spartan Girl]

On 7/3/2020 at 6:57 PM, Luckylyn said:

I move Xanadu despite it’s many many many many many flaws.  I enjoyed Michael Beck in The Warriors and agree he was all wrong for Xanadu.  I also think as written the character isn’t that compelling.   Olivia had more chemistry with Gene Kelly than Michael.  I would have happily spent the movie focusing on Gene Kelly who was more interesting to me.

Musical Hell agrees with you:

[Mabinogia]

As an adult I can admit, Xanadu was one of the worst musicals ever (but still not as bad as the movie version of Cats!) but I LOOOOOOVED it as a kid. My sister and I used to do musical roller-skating numbers in the driveway pretending we were disco muses. It was great. And Gene Kelly! Being a very "retro" kid, I actually watched it because Gene Kelly was in it, but I did genuinely love the movie because I clearly had terrible taste as a child. ;)

[Irlandesa]

I haven't seen Xanadu but I feel like I should see Xanadu.

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I haven't seen Xanadu but I feel like I should see Xanadu.

Just watch it for the MUSIC! 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:37 AM, Spartan Girl said:

And then there’s Stephanie and Michael. For as much crap as we give Sandy for changing herself in the first movie, Michael deserves it more. At least Danny and Sandy were genuinely crazy about each other. Michael was just fixating on Stephanie, a girl who turned him down tons of times and wouldn’t even give him the time of day until he offered to help do her homework. Was she really worth almost getting himself killed riding a motorcycle?

If I squint very hard, I can tell they were going for a gender-flip of sorts, where it's Michael who transforms himself into more of what Stephanie wants, or says she wants. But it doesn't work, and it doesn't work because they don't even really know each other. Yeah, Danny was a jerk towards Sandy when they first see each other again, but he was too focused on what his dopey if well-meaning friends would think if he showed how much he liked her, and it's only when he also works on changing himself that the relationship starts to get off the ground. Through a modern lens, Sandy putting on tight clothes and smoking a cigarette is a negative, but it's not like Danny did nothing.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

If I squint very hard, I can tell they were going for a gender-flip of sorts, where it's Michael who transforms himself into more of what Stephanie wants, or says she wants. But it doesn't work, and it doesn't work because they don't even really know each other.

What I didn’t like about Stephanie is that she was a contrarian. She broke up with Johnny because she outgrew him, but her dream guy in “Cool Rider” doesn’t sound that much different than him (i.e. a biker rebel). One minute she tells everyone she’s “nobody’s trophy” and that she doesn’t want to be just some guy’s “chick”, but she has no problem straddling the mysterious biker guy she just met. While I side-eye Michael’s Nice Guy tendencies, Stephanie was giving him mixed signals, especially when she randomly kissed him in the bowling alley just to spite Johnny.

Stephanie would have been a much better character if the writers established that she was outgrowing the Pink Ladies and all their “standards” and spent more time building a connection with Michael instead of just turning him down because he wasn’t cool enough. But the writers obviously didn’t think things through. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

ETA about Xanadu: I SO covet and loved Olivia’s hair in this movie-the shiny thick and glorious mane when she had it clipped back with those hair combs. And in the number with Gene Kelly. I’ve always wondered if she was a human he knew or If she was a doppelgänger?

As for Grease II, Stephanie and Michael LACKED what Danny and Sandy had: a pre-existing summer romance where they both fell in love. And met up again the following school year. Danny had depth-but he also had a “rep” he felt he needed to uphold. You could see how bad he felt after acting all “Baby, it’s cool…rockin’ and rollin’” And that it was purely a revenge move on Rizzo’s part because he’d dumped her. Until he realized his “guys” were looking at him like he’d turned into someone else, you saw the utter delight at seeing Sandy again.

The sequel is so very uninteresting.

Edited August 11, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[Spartan Girl]

At this point, I feel like Peggy Carter deserves to be on this thread. The more I rewatch the first Captain America, the more I hate that scene of Peggy shooting at Steve to “test” the prototype shield when it was really because she was pissed about the blonde kissing Steve. And they weren’t even dating at this point.

It wouldn’t be funny if it was a jealous guy pulling that crap on a woman, so it shouldn’t be funny here.

Edited August 14, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Spartan Girl]

Zac Braff’s character in The Last Kiss. If it had just been him kissing another girl, it might have been forgivable. But then using his pregnant girlfriend kicking him out for said kiss as an excuse to go back and have sex with the other girl?! 

Yeah, most people agree that she shouldn’t have taken him back. The whole storyline feels like an AITA (am I the asshole) post on Reddit.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[Ms Blue Jay]

I remember really disliking that movie.  Same with The Wedding Planner.  All the people in these movies are just bad.

I went back to make sure I didn't say this before.  Joe Fox in You've Got Mail!  He is not a good love interest!  He is extremely NOT rootable!  I swear I watch this movie every few years trying to understand why people love it.  I like it a bit better now than when I started, and I think Meg is really cute.  But, Joe?  No.

I always bring up Rachel McAdams in Wedding Crashers because she is this spineless, unassertive woman engaged to a jerk prototype that you see over and over and over and over again in movies.  How is this a good example of a love interest?   It's such old school "This woman needs to be rescued" nonsense and unfortunately it's still in movies today.

Sorry if I said this before but I made note that I thought Richard Gere in "Runaway Bride" is an asshole.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[blugirlami21]

I always think of Rachel McAdams in The Vow. She was so awful to Channing Tatum's character. She gave him no grace nor did she ever try to figure out anything for herself about the life she herself chose for herself. I was irritated that he took her back at the end.

Finally watched Notting Hill and Anna is trash. I said what I said. What was the point of it all? The discovery of her boyfriend in the middle, her jerking him around. And he was a doormat. Didn't matter what she did, he would always take her back.