WARNING: In the descriptions of these characters and their actions, there are some mentions of violence and sexual assault. Please proceed with caution.
Recently, in a thread on the subreddit r/movies, redditor u/Hamblerger asked, "Which film's protagonist was simply wrong, despite the movie trying to portray them as being right?" and people really came through with some A+ examples of this phenomenon!
So, with that in mind, here are just a few of the movie characters whose means were very much not justified by their ends:
Also, due to the nature of this post, there are some SPOILERS AHEAD for the following films!
1. Daniel Hillard, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
"It's actually really messed up when you think about it. Plus, Pierce Brosnan's character seemed like a really nice guy. I felt bad for him at the end."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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2. Ariel, The Little Mermaid (1989)
"You are a child! Listen to your silver fox dad!"
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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3. Sebastian Wilder, La La Land (2016)
"Ryan Gosling's character absolutely does not understand the point or the philosophy or the attitude of jazz, but he’s portrayed as the harbinger and savior of modern jazz. John Legend’s character is treated as the problem, when in reality, he is trying new things in the medium...which is the whole point of jazz."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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4. Everyone except the boyfriend, Bee Movie (2007)
"His girlfriend totally cheats on him by having an emotional romantic relationship with a bee. Meanwhile, he's allergic to bees, but his fear of bees is portrayed as small-minded."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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5. Billy Madison, Billy Madison (1995)
"This entire movie is just a story about someone not getting a promotion they deserve because the owner of the company wants to promote his undeserving son instead."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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6. Literally all of the characters (except maybe the dinos), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
"The 'heroes' in this movie are insufferable, and the decision to free the dinosaurs is mind-numbingly stupid."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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7. The Toys, Toy Story (1995)
"Specifically with how they villainize Sid. That poor kid was clearly in an abusive and/or dysfunctional household with no outlet for his issues except to tinker with his toys. He had no idea they were sentient (because who would?)! He was INVENTING things, channeling his tumultuous life situation into a creative outlet. That kid could've grown to be an engineer or inventor of some sort, but no, the toys had to traumatize him for life, and the only bit we see of him in the future suggests that he's a garbage hauler while Andy's hyper-privileged ass is going on a full ride to college and all that."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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8. Dean Proffitt, Overboard (1987)
"He essentially kidnaps a woman. So many crimes committed."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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9. Annie Reed, Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
"Meg Ryan's character is a creepy stalker (she hires a private detective, follows him, spies on him, etc.)."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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10. Fletcher Reede, Liar Liar (1997)
"It’s heavily implied that the best thing for the family and kid is for Jim Carrey's character to get back together with his wife, and that Cary Elwes’s character is a douchebag that the mom should dump. Elwes was a good dad to the kid, and the only thing he did that was questionable was to push the mom a bit (maybe too much) to make their relationship more serious. Meanwhile, Carrey was a complete absentee father and husband with obviously questionable morals."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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11. Louisa Clark, Me Before You (2016)
"She literally fell in love with that dude, and then gaslighted her boyfriend for questioning it. Yeah, her boyfriend was kind of an ass in the first part, but other than that, he wasn't mean enough to justify what she did."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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12. Henry de Tamble, The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
"A 36-year-old man befriends a 6-year-old girl, then keeps visiting her throughout her childhood, and she falls in love with him. So, when she turns 18 and he's 41, they engage in a romantic relationship. That is the definition of 'grooming,' no matter how much you want to blur the lines with sci-fi and time travel."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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13. The Nerds, Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
"The cameras in the sorority were bad enough, but Lewis committed actual sexual assault through fraud, and should have gone to prison for a VERY long time as a consequence. The whole 'You tricked me into letting you go down on me because I thought you were my boyfriend, but I'm okay with it because of how good you were!' response from her is horrifying and sickening. I think that there was a retcon in later films that she actually knew it was him the entire time, but there's nothing in the original film to support that, and it still doesn't excuse his actions."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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14. Jake Ryan and Farmer Ted, Sixteen Candles (1984)
"The charming love interest tells some weird nerd he can fuck his girlfriend because she's so drunk she won't know the difference. He then goes on to win the heart of his 'real' love interest while she is sexually assaulted in a car by a stranger."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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15. Jim Preston, Passengers (2016)
"No way he should have woken up Jennifer Lawrence's character. If he was going to wake anyone, he should have looked for someone with some specialist skills that may have been able to help, but he chose her for purely selfish (and sexist) reasons. Sure, she was angry with him at first, but she (and the film) tried to redeem him by the end — but not in my eyes."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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16. Scott Calvin, The Santa Clause (1994)
"Tim Allen’s character is acting totally unhinged, and the step-dad is just trying to make sure the kid is safe. He goes against a court-ordered custody arrangement and kidnaps his kid from the mom in the middle of the night!"
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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17. Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
"Ferris is a self-centered, manipulative jerk who charms everyone into helping him or going along with him, even though most of his actions are 'wrong.' The principal is actually 'right' (though his approach to solving the problem is a bit ham-handed, triggered by anger at Ferris's ability to get away with everything). That the film fools the viewer into thinking Ferris is the hero is Ferris's greatest con of all."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
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18. Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
"He gets my vote here. This film is basically a precursor to Battle Royale or The Hunger Games. A rich guy brings a few rich kids and one poor kid to his factory, tempts them with candy, and tells them only one of them is going to win under completely unfair conditions. I love this movie, but when you think about Wonka, he is creepy and mean throughout with a couple minutes of nice at the very end to redeem it."
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
View this video on YouTube
And finally, this overarching trope not specific to one film:
19. "Every single romance movie where they make the boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other out to be a total jerk, just so you'll overlook the fact that one of the leads is cheating on them."
You've read their picks, but now it's your turn. Which movie character was portrayed as right, but was absolutely not? Share in the comments below.
Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: Reddit.