The Useless Movie Boyfriend Era Is Upon Us

    Posted by Sisiwakanamaru

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    18 Comments

    1. Lol. That article read like a Reddit post.

      But maybe it’s the kinds of movies I watch. But i don’t really feel like this a new thing, and has been a thing for a long time now.

      If the boyfriend or girlfriend is secondary to the main plot and they don’t really have a role in the main plot. They are always just kinda there to serve a very specific role. Either be “useless” or a safe place to come home at the end of the day.

      Again, this might be me just be stuck in my bubble, but i don’t feel like the kind of boyfriends the article mentions is a new thing.

    2. chickenshoppe on

      I mean I remember The Flintstones as a kid and thinking Fred and Barney overshot with their wives. Same for sitcoms around that era as well.

      I suppose the difference was that these mediocre guys were praised for having/expected to have incredible wives instead of questioning WHY.

    3. UnicornMeatball on

      Movies are finally doing what yogurt commercials have been doing for decades

    4. starksandshields on

      I don’t know if I would put Obsession and the Drama in these categories. Bear was the protagonist of Obsession and more abusive than useless. And in The Drama, wasn’t>! Zendaya like planning a school shooting!< and he was just learning to deal with that? Wouldn’t call him not defending her in his lowest point useless. I haven’t seen that movie yet tho.

      Definitely agree with Devil Wears Prada 2 though. That dude added exactly nothing to the movie.

      >”I just know MJ is going to have a random, useless boyfriend […] before getting back together with Peter Parker. I literally have a spidey sense for it.”

      I wouldn’t call decades of comic books and them canonically getting married a spidey sense. Literally anyone who has ever seen a single movie and/or saw the new trailer would be able to put this together lmfao.

      What even is this article?

    5. The useless boyfriend/husband trope is older than 90% of redditors, and it never went away and it never slowed down. Its the easiest way for sitcoms and movies to get cheap laughs and make their partner look superior by comparison.

      The Simpsons, King of Queens, Married with Children, Rick and Morty, Family Guy, the Flintstones, Home Improvement, Everyone Loves Raymond, the Honeymooners, All in the Family, Black-ish, Malcom in the Middle, and on, and on, and on….

      Its not going away.

    6. Shinra_Lobby on

      >I just know that MJ is going to have a random, useless boyfriend in Spider-Man: Brand New Day before she inevitably gets back together with Peter Parker (Tom Holland). I literally have a spidey sense for it.

      Wow, a trope that’s been in existence since the dawn of storytelling might appear in an upcoming popular film? Revolutionary!

    7. No-Quit-8384 on

      My favorite usless boyfriend/husband was the one in Barbie (not Ken). Well, he was trying to be useful by learning Spanish on Duolingo and being in the car to drop off Barbie at her gyno appointment I guess. 

    8. This is less the “useless boyfriend/husband” trope (which has been around since the 60s lol) and more that whole thing of “not everyone is the star of the movie” lol.

    9. 1sinfutureking on

      Useless movie boyfriends have been around for as long as romcoms have been around. Has this writer never seen a hallmark movie?

    10. illjustgowthemuumuu on

      General useless boyfriend trope aside, I really was so disinterested in it for the devil wears prada 2.

      I feel like they saw all the discourse about the boyfriend from the first movie and over-corrected by introducing a love interest that was as inoffensive as possible to the point where he was just taking up space that could have better served the actual plot

    11. I havent seen TDWP2 yet but was happy to see Patrick Brammall cast because I really enjoy Colin from Accounts

    12. CantaloupePutrid3548 on

      Like I GET why they list the Drama, but I feel like roles reversed they would still use that example.

      Imagine the dude >!was a wannabe school shooter who day dreamed about killing his class despite not even having it remotely bad in life or at school!< and drunkenly unloads that info on his wife and close friends the day before their wedding.

      I felt like Pattinsons reaction to that was pretty human.
      Was it the best reaction? Absolutely not. But I do feel like its a good example of roles reversed people would be going >!yeah get with your co-worker!< and dump his red flag ass! .

      Anyone who watched that movie knows he tries DESPERATELY >!to!< >!talk things out and Zendayas character shuts down and gets upset over him wanting to talk before giving him the most lame ass reason – literally hours before dozens of family members, who spent thousands of dollars are meant to arrive for a wedding.!<

      It’s much less “useless” and more stuck between a rock in a hard place, trying his best before >!failing spectacularly.!<

    13. Girl we still living in the era of the useless boyfriend. Dump him and lets hit the club girls