Vile characters in comedies
There is a modern trend to centre comedies around deeply unpleasant characters. I don't get it - I don't find unpleasantness funny, and I don't like to spend time in the company of unpleasant characters during a so-called comedy. These films - in no particular order - stood no chance, because the central character turned me off from the start.
I have tried to leave out films where a central character simply isn't funny (nearly every Jack Black film, for instance).
I have tried to leave out films where a central character simply isn't funny (nearly every Jack Black film, for instance).
List activity
285 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
12 titles
- DirectorSteve PinkStarsJohn CusackRob CorddryCraig RobinsonA malfunctioning time machine at a ski resort takes a man back to 1986 with his two friends and nephew, where they must relive a fateful night and not change anything to make sure the nephew is born.Rob Corddry is brilliant as Lou. Unfortunately, Lou is a) a major character and b) completely horrible.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsDanny McBrideNatalie PortmanJames FrancoWhen Prince Fabious's bride is kidnapped, he goes on a quest to rescue her... accompanied by his lazy useless brother Thadeous.I would have enjoyed this a lot had Danny McBride's Thadeous not been so crass and witless.
- DirectorGreg MottolaStarsMichael CeraJonah HillChristopher Mintz-PlasseTwo co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.Jonah Hill breaks through by playing a character who alienated me completely with the first words he uttered. I understood him completely, I just didn't like him.
- DirectorSeth GordonStarsJason BatemanMelissa McCarthyJohn ChoMild mannered businessman Sandy Patterson travels from Denver to Florida to confront the deceptively harmless looking woman who has been living it up after stealing Sandy's identity.By the time some backstory is supplied to explain why Melissa McCarthy's Diana has no redeeming features, I didn't care, I just wanted her to die.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsRobert Downey Jr.Zach GalifianakisMichelle MonaghanHigh-strung father-to-be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time.Zach Galifianikis plays an annoying idiot. Now where have I seen that before?
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsBradley CooperZach GalifianakisEd HelmsWhen one of their own is kidnapped by an angry gangster, the Wolf Pack must track down Mr. Chow, who has escaped from prison and is on the run.Zach Galifianikis plays an annoying idiot. What was once intriguing, amusing and mildly charming is now just stupid and irritating.
- DirectorSean AndersStarsAdam SandlerAndy SambergLeighton MeesterWhile in his teens, Donny fathered a son, Todd, and raised him as a single parent until Todd's 18th birthday. Now Donny resurfaces just before Todd's wedding after years apart, sending the groom-to-be's world crashing down.Adam Sandler manages to be even more annoying than usual. No mean feat.
- DirectorPhil TraillStarsSandra BullockBradley CooperThomas Haden ChurchConvinced that a CCN cameraman is her true love, an eccentric crossword puzzler trails him as he travels all over the country, hoping to convince him that they belong together.Sandra Bullock's Mary Horowitz is not so much unpleasant, more deeply misconceived as the protagonist of a comedy. She is mentally handicapped, not kooky.
- DirectorNima NourizadehStarsThomas MannOliver CooperJonathan Daniel BrownThree high-school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.Oliver Cooper is brilliant as Costa, one of the most morally repellent supposedly humorous characters I can recall.
- DirectorAnthony RussoJoe RussoStarsKate HudsonOwen WilsonMatt DillonA best man (Wilson) stays on as a houseguest with the newlyweds, much to the couple's annoyance.Owen Wilson's standard non-acted all-purpose character finally tips over the edge into annoyance.
- DirectorMichael PolishStarsZack PearlmanDoug HaleyCynthia KirchnerHot Bot is the hilarious journey of two sexually repressed and unpopular teenage geeks who accidentally discover a life-like super-model sex bot (Bardot).A fat loser nerd is given the additional character trait of being an obnoxious A-hole fat loser nerd. What a winning combination, he observed sarcastically.
- DirectorJay ChandrasekharStarsJay ChandrasekharKevin HeffernanSteve LemmeWhen a border dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada, the Super Troopers are tasked with establishing a Highway Patrol station in the disputed area.