The Creepiest Rom Com Boyfriends You Should Finally Stop Crushing Over
To quote Climie Fisher, “Love changes, changes everything, love makes the rules.”
The rom com genre demonstrates this, as the various relationships go through the emotional meat grinder and come out stronger in the end. Yet, there are a few rom com boyfriends who don’t deserve a second (or even first) shot because of their reprehensible behavior. Plainly speaking here: They’re total creeps. With that said, let’s look at all the guys who the girls should have swiped left on.
Preston Meyers from ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’
On a surface level, Ethan Embry’s Preston Meyers operates like any lovesick teenager in 1998’s Can’t Hardly Wait. He’s had a crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Amanda Beckett for many years. Before they leave school, he finally musters up the courage to tell her how he feels about her. Sorry, what? Let’s go over that again – slowly this time. They haven’t been on a single date and she doesn’t even know what he looks like (nor exists), but he’s planning a never-ending love story in his head. Right…
Amanda needs to check her underwear drawer to make sure everything is still there, because Preston screams stranger danger in this rom com. This dude is obsessed with her in an unhealthy way, making their eventual romantic moment that more uncomfortable to watch. Sure, a crush is understandable, but falling in love with someone who has no idea who you are? This isn’t Tumblr, Preston. Stop it.
Zack Siler from ‘She’s All That’
Look, Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) repents what he does in She’s All That and how his initial purpose was simply to prove that he could make Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook) popular, but it’s important to understand his psyche from the start. Fair enough, he’s left brokenhearted when Taylor Vaughan (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) cheats on him, but his first reaction is to take a bet about being able to turn a shy girl popular.
The fact his brain goes to this place and he drags an innocent party into his drama tells everyone there’s something sinister lurking underneath the jock exterior. This isn’t a friendly bet between high school meatheads for a laugh; it’s a plan orchestrated by narcissistic sociopaths. Zack’s behavior is not okay.
Nick Marshall from ‘What Women Want’
There’s something outright creepy about Nick Marshall’s (Mel Gibson) ability to use women’s thoughts to his advantage in What Women Want. From the get-go, he’s already a scumbag who treats ladies as if they’re disposable commodities. Then, he receives this special ability and violates their trust and privacy for his own purposes. It’s just wrong in every conceivable way, no matter how anyone positions it.
There are people who’ll say, “But Nick learned his lesson and came to respect women in the end.” Um, what was stopping him from doing that from the start? He didn’t need to experience a transformational journey to treat women as equal to him; he should have done that without question. Instead, he’s just a scumbag.
Eddie Cantrow from ‘The Heartbreak Kid’
The Heartbreak Kid‘s Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) might be the creepiest and worst rom com boyfriend of all time. He bemoans how single he is, then shacks up with the next person who falls for him, Lila (Malin Åkerman). It’s clear that they get married too soon as Lila’s habits start to irk Eddie – had he gotten to know her like any ordinary person, he might have come to a realization that they weren’t right for each other and ended matters, but we digress.
Instead of giving his marriage a serious try, though, he stalks another woman, Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), at the holiday resort and attempts to start a new relationship on the sly. Expectedly, everything comes tumbling down in the end, but Eddie goes ahead and marries another poor soul, Consuela (Eva Longoria), then tries to fool Miranda again. Let’s face it: Eddie is the problem here.
Tank from ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’
My Best Friend‘s Girl’s Sherman “Tank” Turner (Dane Cook) has the weirdest side gig: He gets hired by desperate guys to take their exes out on disastrous dates in an effort to convince them to go back to their former flames. After his pal Dustin (Jason Biggs) gets turned down by Alexis (Kate Hudson), Tank volunteers his services. However, Alexis ends up liking Tank’s bizarre ways.
Now, first of all, who does this? How does someone wake up in the morning to help other people deceive their former partners? This is called manipulation and it’s a cruel way to play with people’s feelings. Tank isn’t a hero; he’s an absolute creep with zero integrity. Think of all the lives he’s ruined and bad relationships he’s rekindled. Nah, he’s a straight-up villain of the rom com genre.