# Movies You Like w/ No Likable Characters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377 "2020-02-23T02:28:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/41 "2020-02-25T13:22:26Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I disagree about Robocop. Both Murphy and Lewis are fine, and Miurphy-as-Robo is a fine honorable “person”. Everyone else with more than one line of dialog, however… There was also the police sergeant character. An old school cop from before the police were privatized, he knew how bad the OCP guys were, but he also knew how bad the city would be if there was no police presence at all. He tried to walk the line between caving to the stupid corporate nonsense, or going on strike like all the other cops wanted to do. Sure, in the end, he failed to find the balance he wanted, but he did at least try, which was more than most other people in the movie did. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/42 "2020-02-25T15:30:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The only unlikable human characters in _Pan’s Labyrinth_ were Captain Vidal and the other fascists. (Of course the Pale Man was pretty horrific too, but not human.) If you pay attention to the subtext, the leftists are also pretty vicious. During the final battle, they give as rough as they get. In the grand finale, they do to Vidal’s son what the Argentinian fascists did to the children of their victims. The likable characters are mostly caught in the crossfire. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/43 "2020-02-25T15:36:15Z")
Bonnie & Clyde corrupted every person they came in touch with (or so the movie would have you believe). ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/44 "2020-02-25T15:48:11Z")
From what I can remember, all of the (main?) characters in **Fight Club** aren’t just not likable, they’re detestable - with the possible exception of the character played by Meatloaf, who is merely horrifying. j ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/45 "2020-02-25T16:08:32Z")
The movie Closer. Verstuurd vanaf mijn moto g(6) met Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/46 "2020-02-25T20:28:29Z")
_M_ (1931 & 1951) _Detour_ (1945) _The Lady from Shanghai_ (1947) _Badmen of Tombstone_ (1949) _Gun Crazy_ (1950) _Kiss Me Deadly_ (1955) _Sweet Smell of Success_ (1957) \*The Graceful Brute \*(1962) _The Last Valley_ (1971) _Boachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight_ (1973) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/47 "2020-02-25T20:43:18Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > _ **Memento** _ That’s not how I remember it. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/48 "2020-02-26T02:22:10Z")
Is anyone likable in “Burn After Reading”? It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but IIRC all the main characters are hilariously self-centered. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/49 "2020-02-26T02:35:44Z")
Another: “Trainspotting.” ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/50 "2020-02-26T03:02:43Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I don’t remember details, but why was the lead character in Pan’s Labyrinth (the girl) not likable? > > And I’ll go with Bruce Willis being likable in Pulp Fiction. Yeah, he killed his boxing opponent and wasn’t upset about it — but it wasn’t on purpose, and we don’t know how corrupt his opponent was. Beyond that he was brave, honorable and even tender. His girl friend was also written as naive, but sweet and likable. mmmmm i was going to concur but he murders an unarmed Travolta on the toilet…and really only because he was shitty to him in the bar. If it was a woman gangster he wouldn’t have done it. If he didn’t know the guy he might have kneecapped him. I just thought of something. You know the thread we have of basically 'I’m so stupid i didn’t realize…" My brain is so stupid that it realized that Willis always planned to win the fight…but also somehow thought Willis WAS GOING to throw the fight until his dream guilted him into not doing it. Damn im stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/51 "2020-02-26T04:43:47Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > mmmmm i was going to concur but he murders an unarmed Travolta on the toilet…and really only because he was shitty to him in the bar. He killed Travolta because Travolta had been lying in wait to kill him. If he hadn’t killed him, Travolta would have come after him, or even if kneecapped he would have revealed that Butch was still in town. It would have been stupid not to take him out. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/52 "2020-02-26T04:59:47Z")
[The Proposition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Proposition_(2005_film)) 2005 Australian bushranger film directed by John Hillcoat, written by Nick Cave. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/53 "2020-02-26T05:18:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > He killed Travolta because Travolta had been lying in wait to kill him. If he hadn’t killed him, Travolta would have come after him, or even if kneecapped he would have revealed that Butch was still in town. It would have been stupid not to take him out. I didn’t exactly get all that from Willis. What I did get was…“Awwwww lookie here.” BRRBRBRBRBBRBRAPPPPPP And he did it pretty quickly for a guy who has never murdered someone. Yes, He’s got a code. But its a little twisted. ‘Punchie’=dead. But leaving a man behind to die from oogedy boogedy? No. Not on his watch. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/54 "2020-02-26T15:28:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Another: “Trainspotting.” Disagree with this one. Both the main character and his way-too-young GF were flawed but likeable. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/55 "2020-02-26T15:59:58Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > …with the possible exception of the character played by Meatloaf, who is merely horrifying. > > j His name is Robert Paulson. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/56 "2020-02-26T20:04:32Z")
One of my favorite movies, which the whole world seems to loathe, is ‘Pennies From Heaven’ - Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters, 1981. I think poor Ms. Peters’ character is so tragic you really don’t like what a bad turn her life took in that movie, and so she is unlikeable. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/57 "2020-02-26T20:47:31Z")
The first ones that come to mind are all David Mamet works: _Glengarry Glen Ross Heist House of Games_ I leave off _The Spanish Prisoner_ because while he’s not terribly likable, Joe is likable _enough_. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/58 "2020-02-26T21:36:44Z")
Dang, Willis killed Travolta when the toaster-and-poptart surprised him, kind of fun payback for Travolta calling him “Punchy”, or was it “Slappy”? Someone with a better memory will chime in. Kill Bill. Dan ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/59 "2020-02-26T21:41:40Z")
The exchange in question: > [@](#): > > _[Butch comes up beside Vincent at the bar]_ > **Butch** You lookin at something, friend? > **Vincent** You ain’t my friend, Palooka. > **Butch** What’s that? > **Vincent** I think you heard me just fine, Punchy. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377/60 "2020-02-26T22:41:24Z")
Nice chimein’, friend. Dan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-like-w-no-likable-characters/848377.md?page=4)