10 Movie Characters Audiences Are Way Too Harsh On, And 10 Who People Romanticize In An Unhealthy Way

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which wholesome movie characters audiences are too hard on, and which problematic movie characters audiences praise way too much. Here's what they had to say:

Note: Some submissions are from this Reddit thread by user u/Shirizuna.

Note: This post includes topics of domestic abuse and violence. Please proceed with caution.

1.Two problematic characters who are always glorified: The Joker and Batman from the Suicide Squad movies

"The Joker is someone we shouldn't be idolizing. His relationship with Harley Quinn was obviously abusive — the movie was supposed to show you why he did the things he did, not promote them."

—u/RSM9Ninja

"What pisses me off is when you read the comics about Batman, a lot of writers try to portray Batman and the Joker as 'two sides of the same coin' with all that 'we are similar, y'know' bullshit. One character saves people, and the other character kills people — it's as simple as that."

—u/r0b_b0TT

2.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Rose DeWitt Bukater from Titanic (1997)

"I think people hate on Rose from Titanic too much. To this day, people say how she was responsible for Jack's death because there was room on the board, when the weight was actually the issue. People also complain that she was being unfair to her husband when she died at the end and reunited with Jack in heaven. Why would we see Rose reunite with a man we haven't even met when Jack was the other main character? Jack was more to Rose than a fling — if it weren't for Jack, she wouldn't have met her husband."

—lilqueenb19

3.A problematic character who's always glorified: Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies

"Albus Dumbledore allegedly always did things 'for the greater good,' but he actively endangered children for his cause. He favored students because of what house they were placed in (Gryffindors were treated like they were gods, while Slytherins were treated like dirt under the rug). He essentially created Voldemort because of how he mistreated Tom Riddle, and then created the stigma that all Slytherins were bad. I hate Dumbledore with a burning passion."

—u/WoodysRightBoot

"Everybody acts like Dumbledore was a hero, when he actually played god with everyone around him. He pretended to care for Harry, even though he was perfectly happy to just let him die. He didn't care about Harry, Snape, McGonagall, or anyone else, and thought he knew what was best all the time. He was honestly a bit of a narcissist."

—u/Avengerwolf626

4.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Cho Chang from the Harry Potter movies

"Cedric had just been murdered, and she was feeling guilty over her blooming feelings for Harry. It's normal for teenage girls to have emotions, and she was feeling that 10x as much. Also, she was *not* the one who snitched on Dumbledore's Army — that was Marietta Edgecombe!"

—spacemonkey11

"Cho has gotten SO MUCH hate for absolutely no reason, other than the fact that she dated Cedric before dating Harry. It makes me so angry because she's never deserved it!"

—eriemendes33

5.A problematic character who's always glorified: Daniel Hillard from Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

"As much as I love the movie and Robin Williams, Daniel from Mrs. Doubtfire was the worst. He was horrible to Miranda, and crossed a huge boundary by tricking her into hiring him (not to mention, he also tricked his own kids)."

—ssmith7

6.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Eleanor Sung-Young from Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

"Eleanor just wanted to protect her family and continue their traditions — what's so wrong with that? They were a super high-profile family, and that typically comes with certain responsibilities and sacrifices."

—kirstenelysew

7.A problematic character who's always glorified: Tony Stark/Iron Man from the Marvel movies

"He's arrogant, spiteful, and manipulative. He risked the life of every person on the Helicarrier by instigating Banner, and risked the life of a 15-year-old for the sake of his own ego. Arguably, Stark is the villain in the MCU movies — people say he 'grew' when he 'discovered' his company was 'making weapons,' like he didn't create Ultron and E.D.I.T.H. after all of that."

—braylies

8.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Rose Tico from the Star Wars movies

"There are so many Star Wars characters who could fit into this category, but I would definitely say Rose Tico from the sequels. She wasn't a bad character — she just got caught up in some bad writing, yet people hated her about as much as Jar Jar Binks. The bullying Kelly Marie Tran received because of her character was absolutely unacceptable. If you don't like a character, don't take your hatred out on the actor — it's not their fault, and bullying them is NOT OKAY."

—femkat

9.A problematic character who's always glorified: Troy Bolton from the High School Musical movies

"Troy only thought about himself, even though he claimed his teammates and friends meant 'everything to him.' He literally gave Gabriella a necklace that only had HIS INITIAL on it — it might as well have been a dog collar that said: 'Property of Troy Bolton.'"

—zshepherd31

10.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Foxxy Cleopatra from Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

"I liked Foxxy Cleopatra from Goldmember! Beyoncé delivered hilarious one-liners, rocked amazing outfits, and sang catchy songs — I don't know why she got so much hate for taking this role. She absolutely killed it."

—kaygro272

11.A problematic character who's always glorified: Jacob Black from the Twilight Saga

"Jacob was a totally awful guy who just wanted to control Bella. He never let her make any decisions for herself — he always acted like he knew better than her, and was mean to her every chance he got. He also imprinted on her daughter, sooooo...yeah, super creepy."

—averycb

12.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element (1997)

"I really don't understand why so many people believe Ruby is an over-the-top movie character. His personality was dynamic, fun, and really gave the movie the kind of comedic relief it needed — especially during the intense fighting scenes. I couldn't imagine The Fifth Element without his character — I don't care how 'annoying' he might've seemed to others."

—Kayla Yandoli

13.A problematic character who's always glorified: Frodo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings movies

"I'm sorry, I know he carried the 'burden' of the ring, but did he really have to be so useless? He couldn't defend himself, and he was always almost getting killed and getting saved by everyone — all he did was cry and whine. Sam was the true hero of Lord of the Rings."

—Olga Zg, Facebook

14.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Rue from The Hunger Games movies

"Rue from The Hunger Games. Both the character and the actor were unfairly hated on, and she deserved so much better from audiences."

—izzie14

"The book described Rue as being dark-skinned, but the movie spent a lot of time describing the character as reminiscent of her sister (who was white). When a Black actor was cast, people went apeshit."

—zeilerra

15.A problematic character who's always glorified: Tony Montana from Scarface (1983)

"Hollywood tried to portray Tony Montana as a hero, but you were not meant to aspire to be like him."

—u/percygreen

"This kind of character was meant to be compelling, and designed to be pitied. But, without fail, people gravitated toward him and latched onto him. They saw him as a fiercely independent 'badass' who said and did whatever he wanted."

—u/Notmiefault

16.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Baroness Elsa von Schraeder from The Sound of Music (1965)

"She'd been seeing Captain von Trapp for some time, and they were on the brink of getting engaged — then, all of a sudden, he was mooning over a random nun who just showed up! I maintain most people would do what they could to stay with their partner in those circumstances, and the Baroness tried with such grace and dignity. She wasn't a very warm character, but she was clearly kind and cared about the Captain, and I think people hated on her far too much."

—shrinktalk

17.A problematic character who's always glorified: Joe Fox from You've Got Mail (1998)

"I love this movie with my whole heart and soul, and every Nora Ephron movie for that matter, but Joe Fox was the absolute worst. First of all, he shut down the Shop Around the Corner, and then when he realized Kathleen Kelly was Shopgirl, he lied to her face about being NY152. I'll never understand how she forgave him so easily."

—Kayla Yandoli

18.A wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Kimmy Wallace from My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

"The movie portrayed her as being this na?ve person who didn't notice her fiancé’s best friend trying to steal him away. It shouldn’t be considered 'dumb' to fully trust your fiancé and feel secure enough in your relationship that you aren’t looking out for other women who are considered 'friends.' I think that made Kimmy a great girlfriend, fiancé, and wife. People are too hard on her."

—shannontb

"When I was younger, I felt so awful for Julianne losing out on her best friend/soulmate who she didn't see right in front of her, but watching it now, I see all of the ways poor Kimmy was dumped on DURING HER WEDDING WEEK. Michael flirted with Jules, told her she looked good without her clothes on, joked about having a yearly affair, and spent a lottttt of time reminiscing about their past relationship (all while preparing to marry another woman). If I found out that was how my future husband was spending his time right before our wedding, I’d see it as a major red flag and bail."

—gentlywithachainsaw

19.A problematic character who's always glorified: Murray Duvall from Clueless (1995)

"Murray from Clueless was the worst. Sure, there were some pretty cute moments between him and Dionne, but for the most part, he didn't treat her as his equal. He always complained whenever she stood up for herself."

—bitterasteroid39

20.And a wholesome character who always gets the short end of the stick: Summer Finn from 500 Days of Summer (2009)

"Summer told Tom from the beginning that their relationship could never go anywhere, but he didn't want to hear it. Then, when she ended it, she was made out to be the villain. She found happiness with another man she did feel something for, and Tom couldn't handle that. I know the movie was supposed to be told through Tom's eyes only, but they could've shown her side of things for a moment just to make the movie a bit more fair."

—s4c4100dc6

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Which fictional characters do most people think are villains, but are actually pretty good people? Let us know in the comments below!

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