# Movies where the title character isn't the main character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782 "2010-12-30T02:19:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/61 "2010-12-30T21:27:23Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > **The Princess Bride** Huh? One of the two main characters is a princess, and she (almost) gets married. I’m not sure if the Impressive Clergyman not saying “Man and wife” makes her not a bride. Bridezillas are bridezillas long before they are actually married. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/62 "2010-12-30T21:57:56Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Huh? One of the two main characters is a princess, and she (almost) gets married. I’m not sure if the Impressive Clergyman not saying “Man and wife” makes her not a bride. Bridezillas are bridezillas long before they are actually married. I always considered Wesley to be the main character - not disputing that Buttercup was, indeed, The Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/63 "2010-12-30T23:31:22Z")
_Y tu mamá también_, no mother was a main character. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/64 "2010-12-31T00:41:01Z")
Assuming you consider him a title character given the spelling, Betelgeuse was not actually in the majority of the movie _Beetlejuice_. Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Winona Ryder all had more screen time than Michael Keaton. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/65 "2010-12-31T01:37:52Z")
Oh, in **While You Were Sleeping** , the “you” character spends most of the movie in a coma, so he’s definitely not the main character considering that this movie isn’t like **Monkeybone** , who also was not the main character because the human was. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/66 "2010-12-31T04:02:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Assuming you consider him a title character given the spelling, Betelgeuse was not actually in the majority of the movie _Beetlejuice_. Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Winona Ryder all had more screen time than Michael Keaton. Definitely a case of quality over quantity. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/67 "2010-12-31T04:18:01Z")
In “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”, the lion and the witch are major characters, but the wardrobe gets hardly any screen time at all. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/68 "2010-12-31T04:39:54Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I always considered Wesley to be the main character - not disputing that Buttercup was, indeed, The Princess Bride. Be glad. Buttercup’s not a bad character per se, but the book had nearly a hundred pages about her _combing her hair_! (It apparently illustrated some point the author wanted to make about the history of the economic trade relationship between Florin and Guilder, but all I remember is how boring that part was.) Thank God they cut those parts out when they made the movie! ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/69 "2010-12-31T05:51:54Z")
Kaneda and Tetsuo are the main characters of _Akira._ ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/70 "2010-12-31T12:17:29Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Be glad. Buttercup’s not a bad character per se, but the book had nearly a hundred pages about her _combing her hair_! (It apparently illustrated some point the author wanted to make about the history of the economic trade relationship between Florin and Guilder, but all I remember is how boring that part was.) Thank God they cut those parts out when they made the movie! Yeah, I don’t think it takes a Hollywood genius to figure out that that wouldn’t fly… yeeesh. As far as the thanking part - done and done. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/71 "2010-12-31T20:47:51Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Be glad. Buttercup’s not a bad character per se, but the book had nearly a hundred pages about her _combing her hair_! (It apparently illustrated some point the author wanted to make about the history of the economic trade relationship between Florin and Guilder, but all I remember is how boring that part was.) Thank God they cut those parts out when they made the movie! I know some would consider this heresy, but I honestly prefer the abridged version of the novel. Most of that tedious stuff about Buttercup’s princess training and the now-obscure Florinese political satire has been left out. It’s no surprise the movie was based on the faster-paced abridged novel, although I think some fans are still hoping for a lengthier cable miniseries that covers the entire original book. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/72 "2010-12-31T21:33:30Z")
_To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar_ and _Garbo Talks._ ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/73 "2010-12-31T21:34:15Z")
When the movie came out I asked my parents to take me to three book store to buy the novel. Unfortunately the book store only had an abridged edition, which I refused to get. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned I should have read that version anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/74 "2010-12-31T21:52:14Z")
The Godfather is an interesting counterexample. Everyone assumes that the Don, played by Brando, is the titular godfather, and he is referred to that way at the beginning of the film. And of course, he’s not the main character; Michael ( Al Pacino) is. But the twist is that the climax of the film comes as Michael is making his vows to act as godfather to his nephew, making him the titular character all along. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/75 "2011-01-01T02:22:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Howard’s End Howards End - no apostrophe - is a place, not a person. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/76 "2011-01-01T03:09:24Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I know some would consider this heresy, but I honestly prefer the abridged version of the novel. Most of that tedious stuff about Buttercup’s princess training and the now-obscure Florinese political satire has been left out. It’s no surprise the movie was based on the faster-paced abridged novel, although I think some fans are still hoping for a lengthier cable miniseries that covers the entire original book. So did anyone else besides me actually send a request letter to the publisher for the “censored original reunion scene”? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/77 "2011-01-01T06:05:10Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > So did anyone else besides me actually send a request letter to the publisher for the “censored original reunion scene”? I did, but the address in the library copy of the book was apparently out of date by that time, as I received no reply at all. At the time I thought that was the “joke”, that you’d just wasted a stamp. It wasn’t until years later that I learned that some people did receive a response, although of course few have seen Goldman’s reunion scene due to legal problems with the Morgenstern estate. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/78 "2011-01-01T08:22:30Z")
_Prizzi’s Honor_ isn’t about Don Corrado Prizzi (William Hickey), who dies early in the film. It’s about his vendetta, which Charlie (Jack Nicholson), a member of his mob, has pledged to carry out. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/79 "2011-01-01T12:49:50Z")
Not a movie, but a video game whose story I think should count: The Ballad of Gay Tony. Its protagonist is Luis, Tony “Gay Tony” Prince’s problem solver. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/80 "2011-01-01T16:13:11Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > So did anyone else besides me actually send a request letter to the publisher for the “censored original reunion scene”? On a related note, for some time following the release of _Animal House_ you apparently could get a discounted admission to Universal Studios by asking for Babs at the entrance gate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782.md?page=3)