# Movies with extremely unlikable protagonists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334 "2005-07-13T14:06:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fringe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5a626/32.png) [@Fringe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fringe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/1 "2005-07-13T14:06:12Z")
Inspired by [thread=325278]this[/thread] thread. What movie protagonists do you loathe, despite their role in the story? My first nomination is Dante, from **Clerks** , as mistakenly mentioned by **HPL** in the source thread. By the end of the movie, I found his incessant whining to be far too annoying. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/2 "2005-07-13T14:15:29Z")
I watched Rendez-Vous the other day, the mid-eighties foreign one. There wasn’t a single likeable character in the movie! Well, maybe the director guy. Maybe. Also : Blair Witch Project - again, no likeable characters to be found. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/3 "2005-07-13T14:30:02Z")
Alex from “A Clockwork Orange”. None of the characters in the movie were very likeable. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/4 "2005-07-13T14:45:21Z")
In **Sideways** , I don’t think either of the male leads are at all likeable, and it’s a real feat on the part of the director that they were sympathetic. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/5 "2005-07-13T14:56:18Z")
How about _Freddy vs. Jason_? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/6 "2005-07-13T14:57:08Z")
The only character I liked in **Closer** was the Natalie Portman character. The rest were selfish jerks. Also, the Jude Law character in **Alfie**. He’s good at playing jerks, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![rpinrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@rpinrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rpinrd)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/7 "2005-07-13T14:58:01Z")
Not a move, but tv - how about the entire cast of Seinfeld? Certainly George was unlikable for a number of reasons, Kramer was a freeloader, Jerry was the world’s most shallow person, and Elaine was an incessant whiner. Great show, but sometimes you just wanted to give the characters a good slap and tell them to get over themselves. Of course, this was the entire premise of the series finale. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/8 "2005-07-13T15:11:02Z")
I found Scarlett Johanson’s character in _Lost in Translation_ to be extremely annoying. Kind of ruined the movie for me, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/9 "2005-07-13T15:56:11Z")
> [@Agrippina](#): > > Alex from “A Clockwork Orange”. None of the characters in the movie were very likeable. I don’t think that there’s a likable character in the entire Stanley Kubrick filmography. Misanthropist that I am, I still love his movies. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/10 "2005-07-13T15:57:53Z")
Two words: **Napoleon Dynamite.** I hated the little snot and wished that he went to my high school so I could kick his ass. I hated his mannerisms, his tone, his behavior. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/11 "2005-07-13T16:06:12Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > Two words: **Napoleon Dynamite.** > > I hated the little snot and wished that he went to my high school so I could kick his ass. I hated his mannerisms, his tone, his behavior. Well, Gosh! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/12 "2005-07-13T16:08:47Z")
> [@Hodge](#): > > I don’t think that there’s a likable character in the entire Stanley Kubrick filmography. Misanthropist that I am, I still love his movies. Hey, you didn’t like Major Kong? I thought that guy was AWESOME (of course, he seemed to be based on a teacher I had in high school, who used to fly B-52s for the Air Force…) Also, re: Dante, I get the feeling that he was supposed to be a bit of a whiner. Yes, he had a bad day, yes, he has a shitty job, yes, his girlfriend had sex with… well, enough about that. As his friend and co-worker pointed out “We’re convenience store clerks… and pretty shitty ones I might add.” and then goes on into a monologue about how they pretend that they’re important, etc. I don’t remember exactly how it goes, so anyone feel free to look it up and post it for me 🙂 As for unlikeable protaganists: If we’re allowing TV-shows, can we allow anime? Shinji Ikara. I wanted to throttle that kid by halfway through the show. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a shining example of why the fate of Humanity should not be placed in the hands of fifteen year olds. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/13 "2005-07-13T16:59:06Z")
**The Talented Mr. Ripley** is completely morally repugnant, yet fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Fringe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5a626/32.png) [@Fringe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fringe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/14 "2005-07-13T17:26:24Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > As for unlikeable protaganists: If we’re allowing TV-shows, can we allow anime? Shinji Ikara. I wanted to throttle that kid by halfway through the show. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a shining example of why the fate of Humanity should not be placed in the hands of fifteen year olds. I don’t see why Anime cannot be included. Which brings to mind the anime Reign. Not only did I not like the protaganists, I didn’t like the show at all. It grated on me, and I’m not sure why. When watching the recent Phantom of the Opera movie, I sincerely hoped that The Phantom would do something with Raoul. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/15 "2005-07-13T17:33:03Z")
> [@Fringe](#): > > Inspired by [thread=325278]this[/thread] thread. > > What movie protagonists do you loathe, despite their role in the story? My first nomination is Dante, from **Clerks** , as mistakenly mentioned by **HPL** in the source thread. By the end of the movie, I found his incessant whining to be far too annoying. I liked Dante and didn’t find him annoying. Jay, on the other hand, with his brain dead verbal diarrhea and his pretentiously impenetrable slang… ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/16 "2005-07-13T17:37:41Z")
I’ll go with [Eating Raoul](http://imdb.com/title/tt0083869/). I find cannibalism quite unlikable. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/17 "2005-07-13T17:49:03Z")
> [@Fringe](#): > > Inspired by [thread=325278]this[/thread] thread. > > What movie protagonists do you loathe, despite their role in the story? My first nomination is Dante, from **Clerks** , as mistakenly mentioned by **HPL** in the source thread. By the end of the movie, I found his incessant whining to be far too annoying. “But I’m not ever supposed to be here today!” ---
**Author:** ![Devushka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@Devushka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Devushka)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/18 "2005-07-13T17:49:22Z")
I agree with **Beadalin**. The first words out of my mouth after watching **Sideways** : I absolutely hate people like that. The movie was well made and I enjoyed the spurring of pure repugnance. 🙂 The ordinary traits I despise were amplified in those two… Plus: Another vote for **Closer** sans Natalie Portman. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/19 "2005-07-13T17:50:38Z")
**Leaving Las Vegas.** ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334/20 "2005-07-13T17:53:39Z")
Any character in any movie who lies because they think it will be better and farce ensues. Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds. Ass-hole. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-extremely-unlikable-protagonists/312334.md?page=2)