The Three (Aggravating) Guys In Romantic Comedies

By Alex Wise

When I'm not dispensing relationship advice, I'm also studying film. And there's no place those two intersect more closely than the "romantic" "comedy". It's a great cultural stereotype that guys hate "chick flicks", because it's largely true. But the stereotype is predicated on the idea that guys hate icky "feelings" and "romance", when instead there are many perfectly valid reasons to hate romantic comedies. Usually the male characters. Just like women don't enjoy seeing a dumb blonde who exists solely to take her shirt off on screen (well, as a rule), men don't like to see...

3. The Douchebag

Matthew McConaughey has made a career out of this character, in the lead no less, but generally it's a minor part. The Douchebag usually begins the movie as the female hero's boyfriend, and within the first fifteen minutes, we learn he's been sleeping with somebody else. Full stop. It is literally never anything else, because if he was unhappy with the relationship, that might mean our heroine was imperfect and human, and this cannot be allowed.

But the Douchebag isn't just a douchebag. The Douchebag has to earn the capital D, somehow, because otherwise we don't have a movie, so the actor is forced by the script to go over the top. He's not just sleeping around. He's banging her sister. He's banging her boss. He's doing all of the above while snorting the ashes of her grandmother off a mirror. And, inevitably, when he's discovered, he chooses that moment to dump her, because, for some reason, a woman in a romantic comedy can never actually be all that assertive.

Hated Because: Hey, who's her current boyfriend? Does she really think I'm like this? Does she really think ANYBODY is like this?

2. The Platonic Friend

The Platonic Friend is usually male, sometimes female, always comic relief. If straight, he's happily married and generally also related to the lead in some way, just to doubly rule out sex, and, if gay, he will be shrill and never, ever come within fifteen miles of a penis or refer to having any sort of sexual intercourse. Maybe if he's lucky some guy who had five lines in the beginning of the first act will turn out to be gay and they'll end the movie with their arms around each other's waists.

Either way, though, his job is entirely to cater to the heroine, no matter how spoiled, stupid, or ridiculous her demands are. His entire life is sublimated to her desires.

Hated Because: Straight guys like this do exist, but they are doing it for the possibility of sex. These are the guys who think being nice to a girl will get them head, and once that gets ruled out, disappear. Flamboyant gay men also exist, but they generally dislike being treated as pets.

1. The Doormat With a Hole In It

Inevitably, the guy our heroine winds up with. Rock hard abs, manly job, and inevitably, some sort of glaring personality problem that our heroine will be able to fix, as if he were a car instead of a person. Once this flaw, usually having a personality, is fixed, he immediately does everything she says and does what she wants, as opposed to actually having a healthy relationship.

Hated Because: Wait, I'm only supposed to have ONE flaw? Uh-oh.

About Author

Alex Wise is a blog contributor and featured publisher for Loveawake.com  - a place for single people to connect based on their common interests. He works with single men and women who feel like life is passing them by and helps them to get clear on what they really want and finally make their dreams happen. Through his tips and advice, Alex helps his clients simplify the process of taking back their power and  extraordinary life.  Follow him on the company site or on Facebook and Twitter.