It's annoying when a movie tries to make a character seem like a good person, even though their actions points towards them being the exact opposite. It's enough to make you hate the character or the movie altogether.
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If you've ever felt that way, no, it's not you, and you're not the only one. Recently, a Redditor asked, “Which film's protagonist was simply wrong despite the movie trying to portray them as being right?”
These are 10 of Reddit's choices.
1. President Andrew Shepherd (The American President)
“No matter how charming the romantic leads, how sincere their love for each other, or how ethically incorruptible Andrew Shepherd may be, the President of the United States is having a sexual relationship with a lobbyist with business before the United States government, and this movie doesn't see that as an actual problem,” u/Hamblerger shared.
“Worse, when he strikes a deal with three representatives to pass his crime bill by going back on his deal to support her environmental bill, he only changes his mind once she breaks it off with him. And remember, these are the people who are being shown as being in the right.”
“Great movie. Terrible, terrible message.”
2. Jefferson Smith (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington)
This Redditor wrote again, “Yes, it would be great if these kids you support through your youth organization had a place to go camping every year, Senator Smith, but wouldn't the dam they're planning on building there provide enough jobs to the surrounding community for their parents to be able to afford to take them on vacation anyway, as well as put food on their tables so that the kids can get an education rather than selling papers in the street to support their families?”
“And even if some graft and kickbacks are unfortunately involved, isn't it more important during an economic depression to ensure that families can actually support themselves?”
3. Bob Wiley (What About Bob?)
“In What About Bob? Bob, while sympathetic, totally violated the flawed Dr. Marvin,” u/North-Technician said.
Awesome movie, though.”
Someone replied, “It's what makes the movie great, in my opinion – that and the specific chemistry between Murray and Dreyfuss. It knows Bob is terrible and Dr. Marvin is being victimized, and just goes for it, relying on those two guys' dynamic to make it work.”
4. Daniel Hillard (Mrs. Doubtfire)
A Redditor said, “It's actually really messed up when you think about it. Plus, Pierce Brosnan‘s character actually seemed like a really nice guy. Felt bad for him at the end.”
Someone replied, “I thought of this one! Sally Field comes home to a birthday party and finds her house destroyed and a pony running around. She was completely justified.”
5. Lewis Skolnick (Revenge of the Nerds)
OP wrote: “Oh, GOOD one. 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.”
6. Alice (Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass)
A Redditor wrote, “Alice steals the Chronosphere and travels back in time, while pursued by Time, in an attempt to find the Hatter's family. While the Red Queen is still the villain for the conclusion, we are led to believe Time is an antagonist for chasing Alice.”
“However, all he is trying to do is retrieve the Chronosphere before someone creates a paradox, which does eventually happen and Wonderland is almost destroyed, thanks to Alice stealing it.”
7. Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
‘”I'm a wealthy, privileged literal princess, who has a huge amount of stuff! But I want more (actual line from the song). So I'm going to put the entire kingdom in jeopardy to chase after some boy that I've never even spoken to, but damn is he sexy AF. Fortunately some men will bail me out and solve all the problems I've caused,'” u/HouseCravenRaw said, implying that Ariel was spoiled, selfish, and disrespectful to her parents.
8. Henry de Tamble (The Time Traveler's Wife)
u/isthishandletaken wrote, “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 is 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.”
9. Muriel Heslop (Muriel's Wedding)
A Redditor said, “I love this film buuuuutt our hero Muriel (“It's Marial!”) is a total out and out thief, who tricks her already put-upon Mother into handing over family savings. This creates more stress for her Mother, adding to the list of reasons that lead eventually to her Mother committing a life-ending action.
10. John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
u/CubesFan said, “As a teen, I absolutely loved Bender and definitely acted like him in a lot of ways. I loved that movie as an outright comedy, but as a parent of teens it’s a much sadder, disturbing movie to me now.”
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
