- 2 years ago
These rom-com characters are terrible role models. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at central players from romantic comedies whose choices or personalities are anything but aspirational.
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00:00 "Oh, you are already falling in love with me."
00:02 "I'm gonna make you wish you were dead."
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at central players from romantic comedies
00:10 whose choices or personalities are anything but aspirational.
00:14 "I don't need your help, okay? Can you back off?"
00:17 Number 20. Erica Sutton. 40 Days and 40 Nights.
00:22 There will be those who think Matt Sullivan is the worst role model
00:26 from this early 2000s rom-com. However, our focus is on his love interest Erica Sutton.
00:31 "You don't want me?"
00:32 "No, of course I want you. I care about the vow."
00:39 For one thing, she routinely ignores what most would consider Matt's boundaries,
00:44 like the fact that he didn't once reciprocate her attempts at conversation
00:47 during their first meeting, or his awkwardness in response to her physical advances.
00:52 Then, when Erica finds out about Matt's chastity pledge, she is less than understanding.
00:57 "It's really working."
00:58 "I'm glad it's working for one of us."
00:59 To cap it all off, when Matt's ex takes advantage of him while he's handcuffed to his bed,
01:05 Erica gets angry at Matt. She storms off without letting him explain,
01:10 or expressing sympathy for him as a victim of sexual assault.
01:13 "Come on, Erica, please! Erica!"
01:17 "ERICA!"
01:20 Number 19. Rachel - Something Borrowed
01:23 "Dex, this is Darcy. Darcy, this is Dex."
01:25 "I know, you've only been talking about him for like nine months."
01:28 "Well, he's been a very great study partner."
01:30 Look, we understand that Rachel had a crush on Dex years ago,
01:33 before her best friend Darcy ever got together with him. However, once they were a couple,
01:38 and especially once they were engaged, Rachel needed to just back off.
01:42 "Did you feel the same way? I wish I didn't, but I do."
01:48 Just like Phoebe once told a different Rachel that confessing her love to an
01:52 about-to-get-married Ross was wrong, this Rachel telling Dex about her
01:55 long-lasting crush was kind of inappropriate. And that's before Rachel and Dex even sleep
02:00 together, for which we put the blame on both equally. Yes, it mostly works out for the two
02:05 women in the end, but that doesn't make it the right path to imitate.
02:08 "I hate you! I never want to speak to you again! Ever!"
02:14 Number 18. Anna Marks - He's Just Not That Into You
02:18 We completely appreciate that when it comes to affairs, all of the parties involved are
02:22 responsible. However, in the case of Ben and Anna, we have to give the bad role model edge to the
02:28 latter. "Am I not supposed to be friends with a guy just because he's married?" "Right."
02:33 "Or has an insane smile?" Sure, Ben flirts with her as much as she flirts back. He also tells
02:39 her that his marriage isn't very solid. But he puts it out there that the two of them can only
02:44 be friends. That doesn't stop Anna from pursuing him until she gets what she wants.
02:49 "I have to actively stop my brain from thinking about you. Like, all the time."
02:54 "Oh, I stop." In most situations, that kind of dogged determination and never-give-up
03:04 attitude would be praised. But in this case, not so much.
03:07 "I know, I realize that. I don't know what's wrong with me. What's wrong with me?"
03:12 Number 17. Holly Golightly - Breakfast at Tiffany's
03:16 "Unlike Kat here, we're a couple of no-name slobs. We belong to nobody,
03:19 and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other."
03:22 There's no doubting the fact that Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly is an iconic film character.
03:27 But should she be a role model? We think not. "Do I detect a look of disapproval in your eye?
03:33 Tough beans, buddy. 'Cause that's the way it's gonna be."
03:39 Her occupation as a socialite and charging a fee for time spent with her
03:42 leads to her pushing away relationships that could be more meaningful.
03:46 She also makes money helping out a jailed mob boss,
03:49 which is a more black-and-white example of her flawed character.
03:53 In the end, she chooses love and a good guy.
03:55 But for most of the film, she just uses people to fill her emotional void.
04:00 "I'd marry you for your money in a minute. Would you marry me for my money?"
04:03 "In a minute."
04:07 "So I guess it's pretty lucky neither of us is rich, huh?"
04:09 Number 16. Zach Seiler. She's all that.
04:12 "Tell me the truth. How bad do I suck?"
04:14 "You're good."
04:15 We know that Zach and Lainey fall in love and wind up together in the end.
04:18 But let's not also forget how they got there.
04:21 The two only started spending time together because Zach wanted to win a bet with his
04:24 friends that he could turn any unpopular girl into high school royalty.
04:28 "Given the right look, the right boyfriend, bam, in six weeks,
04:32 she's the one being crowned prom queen. You're serious?"
04:36 "That's a heart attack."
04:37 In the beginning, it's hard to see his attempts at friendship and affection
04:40 as anything but fake and manipulative.
04:42 It seems like he's just trying to stroke his big man-on-campus ego
04:46 after his girlfriend cheated on him.
04:48 These actions are obviously nothing to be emulated.
04:51 "Sometimes, when you open up to people,
04:54 you let the bad in with the good. That's all."
04:59 Number 15. Melanie, Sweet Home Alabama.
05:03 Reese Witherspoon is a talented actress and a savvy businesswoman who is a great role model
05:08 for kids young and old. However, her character in 2002's Sweet Home Alabama is definitely
05:13 not one to look up to.
05:15 "You remember that incident of vandalism out in the stockyard? Totally her!"
05:18 "Like I could tip a cow by myself."
05:20 Melanie married her childhood sweetheart when she got pregnant.
05:23 She left him when she had a miscarriage.
05:26 Then, she concocted a whole new identity and got engaged to a man
05:29 without telling him anything about her past.
05:31 "Let me try and explain myself. You don't understand. This is not who I am anymore."
05:38 "I don't know who you are or what else you lied about."
05:40 Though he is ultimately very understanding, Melanie still goes on to dump her new fiance
05:45 at the altar to get back together with the first husband she'd abandoned years earlier.
05:49 Oh, and she also had too much to drink and outed one of her friends
05:52 at a bar in front of everyone.
05:54 "Think I had about enough fun for one night."
05:56 "Oh, come on. I was just kidding."
06:00 Number 14. Sandy Olsen and Danny Zuko. Greece.
06:04 "Hey, Sandy, um, I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time now."
06:07 "What about?"
06:08 "Well, about that night at the bonfire. I mean, the way I acted, that was terrible.
06:12 I mean, it really was. I mean, I mean, it wasn't me. You gotta know that. I mean,
06:16 I mean, it was me, of course, but it wasn't me."
06:19 After a summer romance, two teenagers assume they'll never see each other again.
06:24 That all changes when one of them shows up at Rydell High School,
06:27 where the other is leader of a greaser gang.
06:30 You'd think they'd be so happy to see each other.
06:32 And while that's obviously the case for new student Sandy,
06:35 Danny, in order to keep up his bad boy rep, blows her off.
06:39 "You're a fake and a phony and I wish I'd never laid eyes on you."
06:43 If you have to be a jerk to someone you care about in order to be cool,
06:47 then that's not the kind of cool you should want to be.
06:49 As for Sandy, not only does she forgive Danny,
06:52 but at the end of the film,
06:54 she also completely changes her look and attitude in order to appeal to him.
06:58 Number 13. Tom Hanson, "500 Days of Summer"
07:07 "She never cheated on you?"
07:08 "No, never."
07:09 "She ever take advantage of you in any way?"
07:11 "No."
07:14 "And she told you up front that she didn't want a boyfriend?"
07:18 "Yeah."
07:21 There's nothing wrong with wanting true love and trying to find "the one."
07:24 That's what Tom Hanson wanted in one of the great rom-coms of the aughts,
07:28 "500 Days of Summer."
07:29 However, there's also nothing wrong with Summer Finn's desire
07:32 to not get into a committed romance.
07:34 "Come on, I don't believe that."
07:36 "You don't believe that a woman could enjoy being free and independent?"
07:39 The issue comes when Tom agrees to the casual relationship terms,
07:43 while really hoping and pushing for things to end up in the serious realm.
07:47 Summer, for her part, is always honest about her feelings.
07:50 Whereas Tom overlooks many incompatibilities in his desperate desire for true love.
07:56 Which isn't fair to her, or to him for that matter.
07:58 "No, I think you're just remembering the good stuff."
08:00 "Next time you look back, I uh, I really think you should look again."
08:07 Number 12. Lucy Eleanor Moderatz, "While You Were Sleeping"
08:11 "You ever been so alone you spend the night confusing a man in a coma?"
08:14 If you've only seen the first few minutes of "While You Were Sleeping,"
08:18 you might question Lucy's placement on this list.
08:21 In those first few minutes, Lucy isn't just a role model,
08:24 she's an actual hero, saving Peter Callahan from an oncoming train.
08:28 Lucy's valiant status drops when she's accidentally taken for the stranger's fiance
08:35 and doesn't correct the mistake.
08:37 Instead, she leans into it, lying to his family while he's in a coma.
08:42 "We saw each other and um, he smiled and I knew that my life would never be the same."
08:54 Then when he wakes, she keeps up the lie, allowing him to believe he has amnesia.
08:59 She even accepts his eventual proposal, all while falling in love with his brother.
09:04 "You allowed me to be a part of your family, and I haven't had that in a really long time.
09:11 And I just didn't want to let go of it."
09:13 Number 11. Mary Fiore, The Wedding Planner.
09:16 "You saved my shoe, and my life."
09:22 "Yeah, the shoe's what I was going for, you just turned out to be a bonus."
09:27 The titular planner of the film, Mary Fiore meets local pediatrician Steve Edison when
09:32 he comes to a rescue. It's a meet-cute for sure, and their initial connection seems romantic.
09:38 But Mary soon discovers that Steve is actually the fiancé of one of her new clients.
09:42 "You told me your name was Steve."
09:44 "It is Steve, my last name is Edison, Fran calls me Eddie, it's a nickname."
09:47 "I have a better nickname for you, how about calming, cheating, sleazy son of a-"
09:51 "If you're thinking-"
09:52 "What I'm thinking involves a machete and a pair of pliers."
09:54 Rather than make the arguably more professional decision and remove herself from working on their
09:58 wedding, she instead continues as if nothing happened. This practically guarantees that
10:03 the wedding will get broken up. Love is great and all, but not all of us are willing to mess
10:08 up another relationship and risk our career over it.
10:10 "There's only one good reason to quit a wedding, and that's if you break the cardinal rule,
10:15 which is ridiculous because we both know you did not fall in love with the groom."
10:18 "What?"
10:21 "You didn't."
10:24 "Bad!"
10:27 Number 10. Gigi, He's Just Not That Into You
10:30 That's right, we've got another entry from the film adaptation of the homonymous self-help book.
10:35 We all get our signals crossed when it comes to romance sometimes, but Gigi Phillips takes the
10:40 cake. After repeatedly finding herself mistaking men's behavior as romantic interest, Gigi is
10:45 coached by Alex on how to read their signals correctly. "Why are you sharing all of this
10:50 inside dating information with me again?" "I don't know, I like you."
10:53 However, she still manages to confuse his attempt to help her with feelings on his part,
10:57 driving him away. Even worse, he turns around and decides he does have feelings for her,
11:03 effectively making it so that Gigi learns nothing from the experience.
11:06 "And I have to stop thinking that every guy will change, that I have to stop thinking that..."
11:11 She also largely seems to define her life by her ability to find a partner,
11:17 which isn't exactly a healthy mentality, even if it is common in romantic comedies.
11:22 Number 9. Joe Fox, You've Got Mail
11:25 The owner of a large chain of bookstores, Joe Fox engages in an attempt to run the
11:30 smaller bookshop around the corner, owned by Kathleen Kelly, out of business. However,
11:34 the twist is that Joe and Kathleen are also falling in love via anonymous emails.
11:39 Oh, and did we mention that they're both already in committed relationships?
11:42 "I'll just stay here until your friend gets here.
11:44 Gee, is he late?" While Kathleen doesn't come off great either,
11:49 Joe's manipulation of her after discovering their connection is reminiscent of catfishing.
11:54 And on top of that, his destruction of her professional dreams is just terrible.
11:58 "That's alright, that's alright. I put you out of business, so...
12:01 you're entitled to hate me."
12:04 Number 8. John Bender, The Breakfast Club
12:06 The rebellious, wisecracking delinquent of the titular group of students serving detention,
12:11 John Bender is certainly entertaining, offering many of the film's most memorable lines.
12:15 "Come on, Sporto. Level with me. Do you slipper the hot beef injection?"
12:21 However, Bender is generally unpleasant to everyone around him,
12:24 mocking and putting down his fellow students and the principal alike.
12:28 "Everything's a big joke, huh, Bender?"
12:30 Worst of all, though, he sexually harasses his eventual love interest Claire several times
12:34 and drives her to tears.
12:36 "Get out of here!"
12:37 "And as far as being concerned about what's gonna happen when you and I walk down the
12:40 hallways of school, you can forget it, 'cause it's never gonna happen!"
12:43 Contrary to what movies in the 1980s purported, that is not the way to win a girl's heart.
12:47 While Bender's abuse of home life is sympathetic, it certainly does not excuse his actions.
12:52 Number 7. Annie Reed, Sleepless in Seattle
12:56 Sam Baldwin is a widower whose son Jonah convinces his father to talk on the radio
13:01 about how he misses his wife.
13:03 "Tell me what was so special about your wife."
13:05 "Well, how long is your program?"
13:08 This sparks interest across the country, particularly from women,
13:12 who become enamored with Sam, including reporter Annie Reed, who's engaged.
13:17 Annie breaks it off with her fiancé, but not before traveling across the country to
13:21 secretly watch Sam and his son play, albeit because Jonah let her on.
13:25 We're meant to sympathize with Annie, but the only difference between her and the other
13:29 many creepy women who fall for Sam is that it works out for her because she's the heroine.
13:33 "That's your problem. You don't wanna be in love. You wanna be in love in a movie."
13:37 Number 6. Julianne Potter, My Best Friend's Wedding
13:41 Just 'cause she's played by America's Sweetheart does not mean she's automatically a good person.
13:46 Quite the opposite, in fact.
13:47 "I called because I met someone."
13:49 "Well, that's great. That's great."
13:54 Julianne Potter's best friend and safety net Michael is set to be married to someone else.
13:59 Instead of just telling Michael how she feels, Julianne spends most of the film engaging in
14:03 underhanded acts of sabotage to split him and his fiancé apart.
14:07 "He's sort of wondering why you haven't told your parents that the wedding's off."
14:12 While she eventually realizes what an awful person she's been,
14:15 Julianne still manages to make plenty of ethically and legally questionable decisions along the way.
14:21 "You kissed him at my parents' house on my wedding day!"
14:26 "You're a bitch, tramp."
14:28 "Shut up!"
14:30 Number 5. Becca Mitchell, The Pitch Perfect Franchise
14:33 Anna Kendrick is a great actress, but even she can't save Becca Mitchell from being insufferable.
14:38 Despite being sent to college on her father's dime, something most college students would kill
14:43 for these days, Becca is upset with her father and would rather move to LA to become a DJ.
14:47 "In the springtime, all the students study on the grass."
14:50 "I don't want to study on the grass, dad. I need to move to LA and get a job at a record label
14:54 and start paying my dues."
14:56 "Yeah, here we go again."
14:57 Her reluctance to attend classes is only exacerbated when she reluctantly joins the
15:01 acapella group, which, contrary to what this series might suggest, isn't exactly a great
15:05 career move either.
15:06 "I was just trying to help you."
15:07 "I don't need your help. You're not my boyfriend."
15:09 "Got it."
15:11 Becca's attitude is the worst. Oh, and this has nothing to do with her role model potential,
15:17 but apparently she doesn't like movies in general.
15:20 Who in their right mind doesn't like movies?
15:22 "I do not like movies. Not liking movies is like not liking puppies."
15:27 "They're fine. I just get bored and never make it to the end."
15:30 "The endings are the best part."
15:31 Look, we know Bridget Jones flaws are part of what makes her so entertaining,
15:44 but a lot of the time, she's just the worst.
15:46 She's obsessed with herself, feels dependent on men for validation,
15:50 and is extremely judgmental of everyone around her.
15:53 "This is Mark Darcy. Mark's a prematurely middle-aged prick with a cruel race, that's why."
15:58 "Perhaps she was a fat arsehole bat who spends her time bossing me around."
16:02 Despite being a blatant hypocrite, bad at her job, manipulative, ungrateful, spiteful,
16:07 paranoid, and many other things besides.
16:09 "Bridget Darcy. Mrs. Darcy. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy."
16:15 Bridget Jones is essentially many of our baser behaviors distilled into one person.
16:20 And while this may make her relatable,
16:22 it also makes her an awful example to any impressionable viewers out there.
16:26 Although primarily focused on Tom Solomon and Violet Barnes,
16:33 a couple whose prolonged engagement and other factors drive them apart,
16:37 this film's supporting cast doesn't come off great either.
16:39 "So how's Michigan? You know, it's a bit of an adjustment, but all in all, it's fine."
16:45 Tom upends his life and career for Violet,
16:47 but becomes unhappy and acrimonious, which causes Violet to cheat on him.
16:51 Professor Winton's ethics are also definitely compromised,
16:54 given that he starts a relationship with a student.
16:56 "It was a friend kissing a friend. I kissed you and you kissed your boss."
17:03 Then there's Tom's friend Alex, who fires him from his job because he believes Tom can do better,
17:08 instead of, you know, talking to him about it.
17:10 This film may be funny, but do not look to these characters for life advice.
17:15 The romantic leads of the film, Ben Barry is an advertising executive
17:32 who bets he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days.
17:36 While Andy Anderson is a magazine writer
17:38 who wants to write the titular article to prove common mistakes women make in relationships.
17:43 "This poor schmuck you've been pretending to date, well, not even pretending to date,
17:46 she's actually dating the guy."
17:48 Both of their plans involve manipulating a romantic partner for financial gain,
17:52 which is thoroughly vile and sociopathic behavior.
17:56 But it's okay because they learn their lesson by the movie's end.
18:00 Ugh, these two deserve each other.
18:02 "I'm gonna make you wish you were dead."
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18:20 A teen rom-com that explores body positivity and female friendships
18:30 should feature a heroine that you'd want to aspire to be like, right?
18:33 That's unfortunately not the case with Sierra Burgess.
18:37 A modernization of Cyrano de Bergerac, this movie tells the tale of an unpopular girl
18:42 who gets texted accidentally by a cute boy, thinking she's the popular girl instead.
18:47 But rather than setting him straight, you know, like a normal person,
18:50 she keeps up the facade and pretends to be said popular girl.
18:54 "What, on that same planet, texting somebody that doesn't even know who you are?
18:58 There's a word for that, it's called catfishing, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal."
19:01 "Law is woefully behind technology, so I don't know if that's true."
19:04 Catfishing scam aside, Sierra is also guilty of backstabbing someone she calls her friend,
19:10 neglecting her friends and family, and pretending to be deaf.
19:13 "Um, your name is Shit Pizza?"
19:19 You know what? We're renaming this movie.
19:22 Sierra Burgess is a problematic character.
19:24 "Come on, you hate Veronica."
19:26 "Sierra, that was just wrong."
19:29 "I don't even know who you are anymore."
19:32 Did we miss any obvious poor rom-com role models? Let us know in the comments.
19:38 "To thine own self be true. Stop, unless you suck."
19:42 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
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19:51 [Music]
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