Save for a satisfying TV show finale or a perfectly ripened piece of fruit, few things in life are as sweet as a believable movie romance.
With audiences spending hours watching a film’s narrative unfold, there are several things we expect when it comes to a truly memorable cinematic couple: namely, that the actors’ possess a natural chemistry with one another, and that their relationship gradually evolves in a plausible manner.
Unfortunately, some films tend to blunder their on-screen relationships, tossing together two characters who have no logical reason for being romantically involved in the first place. From cult classic teen comedies to beloved sci-fi and fantasy series, here are several horrendous movie couples that never should have ended up together.
Did Cher deserve to end up with someone at the end of Clueless? Absolutely. But why oh why did that person have to be her step-brother Josh? Having spent the bulk of the movie improving the lives of her closest friends and loved ones, Cher certainly earned the chance to focus on her individual happiness. Yet it’s hard to condone any movie that concludes with the estranged step-siblings embracing each other as an official romantic couple.
Quite possibly the most dysfunctional couple to ever grace the silver screen, everything about Andie and Ben’s relationship in How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days reeked of romantic toxicity. With each person approaching the relationship with ulterior motives guiding the way, Andie and Ben’s time together was fraught with problems from the very get-go. If that weren’t bad enough, seeing them wind up together in spite of their adversarial relationship makes it all the more maddening to watch.
We won’t lie: the chemistry between Rey and Kylo Ren throughout the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy was always fascinating to watch. Alternating between embittered rivals and forbidden would-be lovers, audiences waited with bated breath to see whether Rey and Kylo might one day come together as an official couple – or whether they’d wind up slashing each other to pieces in furious lightsaber combat. Unfortunately, when the former finally happened, it felt like the punchline to a joke you’d long since guessed the ending of. Added to that was Rise of Skywalker’s hamfisted handling of the couple’s relationship, including the whole “Force dyad” phenomenon that left most viewers raising their eyebrows in justifiable confusion.
What else can we say about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s ending other than, “Poor Knives”? After spending the bulk of the movie trying to impress her short-lived boyfriend Scott, Knives ultimately resolves to let her first significant other go, allowing Scott to pursue his relationship with the equally chaotic Ramona. Though Knives might be better off with the less-than-mature Scott, it always grated us to see the fiery-tempered teenager all by her lonesome at the end of the film, especially as you watch Scott and Ramona venturing towards a shared future together.
In hindsight, we can’t blame Andie for falling head over heels for her more popular classmate, Blane. After all, who among us hasn’t harbored daydreams of securing the object of their desires, especially when it comes to the hierarchical system of high school social life. Yet even then, choosing your idealized crush over your lifelong best friend seems a bit callous, leaving most viewers frustrated by Andie’s decision to pursue Blane instead of Jon Cryer’s sweet-hearted Duckie.
We’re not going to nitpick the creative direction of Harry Potter, but Harry and Ginny always seemed like a pair tossed together for no discernible reason. Lacking a natural chemistry to make their relationship work, Harry always seemed to be a more ideal match for Cho than he did the soft-spoken Ginny. If the films’ directors had only spent more time explaining their attraction to one another, we might have more readily believed Harry and Ginny could feasibly end up together. As it is, it always seemed like a somewhat odd match.
Okay, yes, the whole point of The Graduate emphasizes the idea that Benjamin and Elaine would never work as a couple, as evidenced by the runaway duo’s ambiguous facial expressions at the very end of the film. In spite of their apparent romantic compatibility with one another, deep down, neither Benjamin nor Elaine actually believe they’re romantically suitable for one another, with their dramatic escape from Elaine’s wedding ultimately meaningless. And as they glide towards an uncertain future together, they (like the audiences themselves) come to fully realize how big a mistake they’ve probably made, their once radiant smiles slowly replaced by a look of fearful skepticism.
