Is it all-consuming love or are they just being toxic? It's the conundrum many a rom com fan might have when watching their favorite movie. If you're a fan of the romance genre, you might have wondered the same.
Was Edward from Twilight really the boyfriend of every girl's dreams or just a controlling 107-year-old vampire creeping on an unassuming 17-year-old? And was Ally and Noah's bickering in The Notebook really that cute or were they just awful at healthy communication?
Public opinion on movies changes often, but as we gain more awareness about what's okay and not okay in relationships, we can reevaluate rom coms from the past. One netizen recently was interested to hear which romantic movies people once revered but now realize were romanticizing toxic relationships.
So, they came to Reddit for some insights. "What movie is considered 'romantic' when in reality it's very toxic??" they asked. And film enthusiasts had some unexpected picks.
#1
Dirty Dancing. Baby was like 16-17 and Johnny was like 25-26. It was completely inappropriate, and whether he knew it or not, he was taking advantage of an extremely naive teenage girl who was still in high school.
I get that it was her coming of age story, but what parent wouldn’t be trying to keep their teenage daughter from hanging out with a bunch of adults almost 10 years older then her, who were hanging out all night drinking & partying. .
I get that it was her coming of age story, but what parent wouldn’t be trying to keep their teenage daughter from hanging out with a bunch of adults almost 10 years older then her, who were hanging out all night drinking & partying. .
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51points
#2
Mrs. Doubtfire. It turns out that Daniel was always capable of being a good parent and taking actual care of the family, he just chose not to until his wife got fed up. Then instead of accepting that being a lazy man-child has consequences and trying to prove himself the right way, he commits fraud and decieves this entire family and the court.
Still one of my fav movies though.
Still one of my fav movies though.
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47points
#3
Overboard. Kurt Russell kidnaps Goldie Hawn and forces her into domestic slavery.
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36points
#6
Mentioning ‘Grease’ because I don’t see it here. Cinema Therapy (YouTube) does an episode about it.
35points
#8
Tbh I think every romantic comedy is based on a toxic relationship. That's why rom coms are fantasy fulfillment.
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28points
#9
Thank you! I can't stand The Notebook, it's just a horrible movie that portrays toxicity as romance. I had a friend in college who was shocked that I hadn't seen it (I'm a big fan of romcoms) and we watched it together. I was stunned the entire time and afterwards she told me she felt like her relationship with her boyfriend felt like the one from the movie. I expressed concern because of how toxic the relationship in the movie is and she got so defensive of the movie. I was shocked.
28points
#10
I know this is a movie sub about movies, but I got to mention 'How I Met Your Mother'. Ted was such a pathological liar in every episode, just trying to get laid. It was infuriating.
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26points
#12
4 Weddings and a Funeral. Carrie (Andie MacDowell) is awful to Charles (Hugh Grant). She invites him wedding dress shopping when he clearly fancies her — and this is after they have slept together— and then invites him to her wedding too. Then she shows up to his wedding, assume this is unexpected based on his reaction, and then blows that up. She is a horrible self absorbed narcissistic person. “It’s raining? I hadn’t noticed.” WORST line delivery EVER!!
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23points
#13
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. A popular musical. For the music, dancing, and choreography, it is excellent. The subject matter is an appalling story of backwoods boys kidnapping women to marry them.
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23points
#16
40 Days and 40 nights.
Josh Hartnett gets r***d by his ex, and Shannyn Sassamon blames it on him and frames it as him cheating on her.
I think now people realize how messed up the movie is, but back then it was played as a quirky romantic comedy like hahaha let’s sexually harass Josh Hartnett it’s funny because he’s a guy.
Josh Hartnett gets r***d by his ex, and Shannyn Sassamon blames it on him and frames it as him cheating on her.
I think now people realize how messed up the movie is, but back then it was played as a quirky romantic comedy like hahaha let’s sexually harass Josh Hartnett it’s funny because he’s a guy.
21points
#17
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Anakin thinks that he is entitled to bang some girl who is 5 years older than him that he met once 10 years ago and has obsessed over since and such a relationship would violate his vow to chastity in his religious order, and she clearly indicates to him that she is not interested in romance with him and even tells him that he makes her feel uncomfortable and that choosing to have a relationship with him would interfere with her rising political career.
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21points
#18
Titanic is toxic in the way that it makes it seem these 2 people had this lifetime of true love when in reality it was a strong 4 day fling.
I get that it was unlike any connection they’ve ever had before, given that Rose’s life was basically not her own and she’s just now finally learning to live her own life, but still.
I get that it was unlike any connection they’ve ever had before, given that Rose’s life was basically not her own and she’s just now finally learning to live her own life, but still.
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20points
#19
The two main characters of Serendipity are lucky to be played by John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale with so much chemistry because they are awful people f*****g over their committed partners for a second chance at capturing the magic of a single evening years prior.
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19points
#20
Sweet Home Alabama. She chooses the man who refused a divorce for 15 years and was disrespectful to her for the majority of the film. Same could be said for The Notebook. They agreed on nothing and Ally was slapping him regularly? Very toxic love that was packaged as a fantasy.
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18points
