- 13 hours ago
Some movie characters might be charming or funny, but their actions often send the wrong message. Join us as we explore characters who glamorize bad behavior, from charismatic cult leaders to manipulative masterminds. Whether it’s encouraging chaos, dishonesty, or selfishness, these characters definitely make for terrible role models—no matter how much we love watching them on screen!
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00:00My father spent three years restoring this car.
00:03It is his love, it is his passion, it is his fault he didn't lock the garage.
00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, and inspired by our upcoming board game Terrible Influence,
00:15we're looking at the movie characters who get away with glorifying questionable morality,
00:19even if some may be funny or likable.
00:21I'm always on your left, and right now you're getting on my last nerve, Switch.
00:26If you love games, be sure to check out WatchMojo's new game, Terrible Influence.
00:31Just launched for purchase at TerribleInfluence.com.
00:34Terrible Influence is a satirical board game about the dark side of fame
00:38from the writer of the most popular girls in school and us, WatchMojo.
00:41Boom.
00:42I can make an apology video.
00:44Oh, you so would.
00:45Click on the link in the description to check out the game and be the first to play Terrible Influence.
00:51Number 10.
00:52Tyler Durden, Fight Club.
00:53Bold, charismatic, and fearless, Tyler Durden embodies the ultimate male power fantasy,
00:59if you ignore the part where he inspires a violently over-the-top movement.
01:03Taking charge of Project Mayhem, Tyler corrupts his impressionable followers into obedience and self-erasure.
01:09If this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight.
01:14The fact that he doesn't truly exist shows just how far the narrator's own psyche fractures into this fantasy.
01:20While his tales of grandeur and anti-authority rhetoric might sound revolutionary,
01:25destroying society entirely is far from a real solution.
01:29I say stop being perfect.
01:31I say let's evolve.
01:34Let the chips fall where they may.
01:35Considering he literally becomes a cult leader,
01:38it's easy to imagine Tyler pulling a cult-like fanbase card from Terrible Influence somewhere along the way.
01:43How else could someone pull off repeating the same rule twice and still have everyone falling in line?
01:48Stop trying to control everything and just let go.
01:54Let go!
01:56All right, fine.
01:58Number 9.
01:58Grandpa Joe.
01:59Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
02:01Ah, yes.
02:03The sweet grandpa with an agenda.
02:05On the surface, he's Charlie's biggest supporter,
02:08offering trust and support on his magical day at Wonka's factory.
02:11Look closer and you'll see the snake behind the smile.
02:15After years of making his daughter toil to provide for the family,
02:18Grandpa Joe conveniently overcomes his ailments the moment something free and exciting comes along.
02:23I never dreamed that I would climb over the moon in ecstasy.
02:27Inside the factory, he pressures his adolescent grandson to lie, steal, and break the rules.
02:33Let's take a drink, Charlie.
02:34Nobody's watching.
02:35Yeah.
02:36A small one won't hurt us.
02:37Whoops!
02:38Not only does he expect handouts, but he even claims the moral high ground when confronted with his own actions.
02:44You're a crook.
02:46You're a cheat and a swindler.
02:48And when Charlie proves himself worthy, what is his first instinct?
02:52Instantly asking what he gets out of it, as always.
02:55So the factory's yours, Charlie.
02:57You can move in immediately.
02:58And me?
02:59Absolutely.
03:00Number 8.
03:01Sandy Olsen.
03:02Grease.
03:03Boy meets girl.
03:04Girl meets his fellow greasers.
03:06Girl becomes a greaser herself.
03:08Wait, that doesn't sound right, does it?
03:09But that is how Grease wants us to think.
03:12Sandy!
03:15Tell me about it.
03:17Starting as her own person with clear values,
03:22Sandy ultimately abandons all of her beliefs for the shallow social hierarchy around her.
03:26Who cares if it's toxic and unsustainable?
03:28At least she gets to ride off in a flying car.
03:39And while she transforms herself completely for Danny, all he does is put on a white cardigan
03:44that he ditches almost immediately.
03:47In the end, Sandy's radical makeover isn't as much empowerment as it is caving in for status and approval.
03:53Number 7.
03:54Evan Hansen.
03:55Dear Evan Hansen.
03:56People do all sorts of things to try to fit in.
03:59But not many benefit from a classmate's tragic passing while actively leaving out the truth.
04:04While we can understand the initial confusion,
04:06Evan stacks up lie after lie just for attention.
04:09Look, only his family has seen this, okay?
04:12You can't, you can't show it to anybody else, okay?
04:15Halfway through the film, you'd think this is less about peer pressure
04:18and more a grand plan to solidify his newfound status.
04:22Along with cashing in on sympathy for all it's worth,
04:25Evan happily convinces himself to be the misunderstood hero of the story.
04:29Um, it was an assignment from my therapist to write a letter to yourself.
04:33Um, a pep talk.
04:35If we're talking terrible influence, he's the perfect example of pulling the victim card,
04:39gaining social protection and moral cover to avoid accountability.
04:43I was never friends with Connor Murphy.
04:47I lied.
04:49Repeatedly.
04:50Number six, Steve Stifler, American Pie.
04:54If you've got a Stifler in your group of friends,
04:56we have just one word of advice.
04:58Run.
04:59Loud, needlessly self-confident, and completely annoying,
05:03Stifler constantly eggs his friends into giving into their worst impulses.
05:07You actually said that?
05:11Shut up.
05:13With no real goal or plan,
05:15he normalizes selfishness and crossing boundaries just for the fun of it.
05:18No matter how ill-advised or humiliating it might be,
05:22Stifler gladly throws his friends into a whole new round of chaotic sexual escapades.
05:26Now, all you gotta do is set up some sort of private link or whatever on the net,
05:30and tell me the address.
05:31While his early antics remain his most notorious,
05:35he only gets worse as the series continues.
05:37Finch's dalliance with Stifler's mom is the closest he ever comes to humiliation,
05:42but even that barely qualifies as proper comeuppance.
05:45Mom?
05:47Shipwreck?
05:47Oh, hey, Stifler.
05:51Number five, Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, the Deadpool trilogy.
05:56Everyone finds the merc with a mouth as endearing as he is funny.
05:59Self-aware, sarcastic, and with a cheeky edge,
06:02he's the coolest person to hang out with.
06:04Tight.
06:06And never let go.
06:07Don't make the same mistakes I did.
06:09That is, if you overlook how he treats murder and mayhem as punchlines,
06:13framing all of his misadventures as clever, justified fun.
06:16His jokes might be hilarious,
06:18but they're also accompanied by a fresh round of violence
06:21that he shrugs off with a fourth wall break.
06:23From excusing brutality to minimizing other people's trauma,
06:27Wade avoids confronting his own issues by mocking everyone else.
06:30Ripley, from Alien 3.
06:32So, when Wolverine finally cuts him down to size with a savage verbal beatdown,
06:37it's a reality check that was a long time coming.
06:40I mean, you are a ridiculous, immature, half-wet moron.
06:46Number four, Captain Jack Sparrow, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
06:51Who doesn't love this rum-soaked, finger-twirling pirate with a heart of gold?
06:55Johnny Depp's iconic character won over audiences the moment he appeared,
06:58quickly becoming the face of the franchise.
07:00If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death,
07:03I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your Bonnie Lass.
07:08However, Jack is the last person you would want in a real crisis.
07:11He isn't above selling out his own allies
07:14or using his friends as pawns in his elaborate cons.
07:17Where's Elizabeth?
07:20She's safe, just like I promised.
07:22She's all set to marry Norrington just like she promised,
07:25and you get to die for her just like you promised.
07:28So we're all men of our word, really.
07:30Except for Elizabeth, who is in fact a woman.
07:32Lying, cheating, and stealing are not necessary evils.
07:36They're part of his lifestyle.
07:38Jack's influence pulled the likes of Will and Elizabeth into his world,
07:41costing them decades of their lives,
07:43tearing their families apart in the process.
07:46He makes the life of a pirate look cool,
07:48but we aren't too keen on hopping aboard the Black Pearl anytime soon.
07:52What be our head, Captain?
07:54We shall holler the stars.
07:56Number three, Daniel Hillard, Mrs. Doubtfire.
07:59Although we can acknowledge that Daniel is a good father,
08:02love doesn't pay the bills.
08:04You also need to be responsible and provide for your kids.
08:07Instead of stepping up, Daniel dumps everything on his wife,
08:11spending her money without a second thought,
08:13then portrays her as the bad guy.
08:15Lighten up, will you?
08:16Just realize you're spending too much time with those corporate clones you used to despise!
08:21I spent too much time with you, Daniel! It's over!
08:23Even after clear, lenient instructions by the court,
08:26he ignores them entirely, committing identity fraud just to insert himself back into her life.
08:31Worse still, he then tries to manipulate her emotions and sabotage her new relationship.
08:36Can't you see the lust in that man's eyes?
08:39It's too soon, dear, really.
08:42While the film frames Daniel as a free spirit in a cynical world,
08:45that message gets lost in translation when he decides to disguise himself as an elderly housekeeper
08:51instead of, you know, getting a job.
08:53Daddy?
09:00Yeah, honey. It's me.
09:02Number 2. Regina George, Mean Girls.
09:05Is she iconic in her own way?
09:08Absolutely.
09:09But is she the aspirational queen bee that fan culture now treats her as?
09:13Not even close.
09:14While Regina is clearly the film's designated villain,
09:17she's been retroactively romanticized into a bold, self-aware, and even empowering character.
09:23But let me just tell you something about Aaron.
09:25All he cares about is school and his mom and his friends.
09:30Is that bad?
09:31But if you like him, whatever.
09:33I mean, I could talk to him for you if you want.
09:35But in reality, she's immature, controlling, and deeply elitist,
09:40using people around her as pawns and sources of amusement.
09:43Tormenting people at school, her friends, and even her own parents,
09:47she thrives by framing her attitude as survival.
09:50I'm a cool mom.
09:51Right, Regina?
09:53Please stop talking.
09:54Okay.
09:54So, if you're looking for your own Regina George experience in Terrible Influence,
09:59pull out the Always in the Spotlight card
10:01and watch as the world becomes your personal stage.
10:05Don't worry, we're gonna find out who did it.
10:07There's only three girls in the whole school who aren't in it.
10:10Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
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10:20If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
10:26Number 1.
10:27Ferris Bueller
10:27Ferris Bueller's Day Off
10:30Effortlessly charming and endlessly confident,
10:32Ferris feels like our youthful dreams come true.
10:35Never taking life seriously,
10:37he's the guy everyone would love to be friends with.
10:39But that fantasy works a lot better on the screen than beyond it.
10:42I feel like complete s**t, Ferris.
10:45I can't go anywhere.
10:46I'm sorry to hear that.
10:48Now come on over here and pick me up.
10:50After all, this is the person who drags his friend with him
10:54while he's clearly dealing with an existential crisis,
10:56then keeps pushing further,
10:58stealing his dad's prized car,
11:00manipulating him into taking reckless risks,
11:02and ignoring all of Cameron's concerns.
11:05We're not leaving the car here.
11:07Why not?
11:07Because we're not.
11:08I want the car back home where it belongs, right now.
11:11Come on, let's go.
11:12Along the way,
11:13he paints his sister as the problem child
11:15and turns Rooney into a villain just for doing his job.
11:18If you want the Ferris Bueller experience in Terrible Influence,
11:21the all-around bad influence card more than does the job.
11:25This may very well be for real.
11:28I think Cameron might have blown a microchip or two.
11:32If you love games,
11:33be sure to check out WatchMojo's new game, Terrible Influence,
11:36just launched for purchase at terribleinfluence.com.
11:39Terrible Influence is a satirical board game
11:42about the dark side of fame
11:43from the writer of the most popular girls in school and us, WatchMojo.
11:47Click on the link in the description to check out the game
11:49and be the first to play it.
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