Who doesn't love a good love story? We certainly do. However, some fictional film couples just have no right. Maybe the actors had terrible chemistry or constantly squabbled behind-the-scenes, or perhaps the relationship was written poorly and merely existed to further the plot.
Of course, the absolute worst is when an entire romantic subplot is forced into a movie just to allow the beautiful stars a chance to strip all their clothes off. There are just so many ways a movie romance can go wrong.
We aren't picking apart the obvious failed fictional couples like the lifeless leads in Fifty Shades Of Grey or Twilight. You may even find some of your all-time favorite love stories on this list. We're analyzing the writing, acting, and plot in order to find the worst of the worst.
From Andy and Nate in The Devil Wears Prada to Bianca and Cameron in 10 Things I Hate About You, these are the couples that really should have just called it a day and spared all of us the trouble.
Here are the 15 Couples That Completely RUINED Amazing Movies.
Superman And Lois Lane In Batman v Superman and Justice League
Amy Adams is a treasure. However, Lois Lane, in any of the DCEU films, is not. Lois Lane has often been portrayed as spunky, fiery, brave, and smart, but the most recent iteration of Superman's leading lady is mostly just useless.
Things get worse as the franchise continues, with Lane being given less and less to do. Make no mistake, her bullet fact-finding mission in Batman v Superman was entirely busywork. It had no bearing on the plot and was merely designed to keep her out of the way while the two main superheroes had their fun. Both Adams and Lane deserve so much better than that.
Add to that the wooden and bored-looking performances by both Adams and Superman portrayer Henry Cavill, and you have a lifeless relationship that painfully prolongs an already dull story.
V And Evey In V For Vendetta
Yes, it's creepy that Natalie Portman's Evey Hammond fell in love with the manipulative, abusive V. It's sad that she would develop feelings for a man who lied to and imprisoned her. This was Stockholm Syndrome at its finest, and it was completely unnecessary.
In the books, Evey does devote herself fully and enthusiastically to V's questionable cause, but as a fierce teenage girl looking for vengeance for her family's death. She gladly takes up V's mantle and carries on his work after he's gone. No romantic subplot need apply.
While we're sad that Evey's complicated backstory was completely left out of the movie, we have to give the writers credit for aging her up a little bit. That makes it just a tiny bit less weird.
Peter Parker And Mary Jane In Spider-Man
Nowadays no one dares to admit that they once loved Tobey Maguire's turn in Spider-Man, but this film was a popular romp back in the day. Watching Peter Parker learn to navigate his newfound powers and experience the epicness that is Willem Dafoe, this was an all-around great film... if it weren't for the terribly mismatched casting of Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as Parker and Mary Jane Watson.
It's true, the rebooted Spider-Man movies improved on the special effects and writing, but most importantly, they fixed the chemistry between the two romantic leads.
As cringe-worthy as Maguire and Dunst's romantic efforts may have been (upside down rain kiss excluded, of course) their clunky relationship becomes even more awkward after fans witnessed the fiery chemistry of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man.
Cher And Josh In Clueless
Oh, yes, we're going there. Cher Horowitz is peak Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd is just great all of the time. Putting these two together should have been a great idea... so why is everything about this relationship so gross?
Well, for starters, he's way too old for her. Cher is a 16-year-old high school student. Yes, she likes older guys and does everything she can to make that clear, but she's a kid and he should know better.
Also, Josh is kind of her brother. Yeah, stepbrother-- okay, ex-stepbrother-- but it's still very, very gross. Twenty-something year old college students should not want to date their underage sort-of-sisters. How many times do we need to say this is gross? Because it is.
Why couldn't they have been total opposites in the same class or something, like the Princess and the Criminal in the Breakfast Club? We really wanted to like these two.
Thor And Jane Foster In Thor
Who doesn't think that Thor had more chemistry with Darcy than he did with Jane Foster? Heck, who didn't think Jane Foster had more chemistry with Darcy than she did with Thor? Darcy plus everyone forever.
Being totally honest, Thor and Jane Foster never had any real chemistry. Their romance was never given much time to grow, causing a fun, action-filled superhero film to become another forced romantic drama.
It's far more compelling watching Thor worry over whether or not Captain America will be deemed worthy to wield Mjolnir than it is to watch these two try to figure out how to navigate their long-distance relationship.
Of course, we now know Natalie Portman barely wanted a part of the franchise, maybe a more enthusiastic actress would have saved this ill-fated romance.
Harley Quinn And The Joker In Suicide Squad
Harley Quinn is a battered woman's icon-- that's one hundred percent true. When Harley first burst onto the DC scene she was badly mistreated and disrespected by the Joker.
He would overshadow her accomplishments and had a bad habit of taking his frustrations out on his girlfriend. Poor Harley would constantly get sucked back into her messy relationship due to her overwhelming attraction to the Joker's Bad Boy charisma. Eventually, Quinn ditches the Joker for good and becomes a formidable force for chaos (and animal rights) all on her own.
Yep, reducing Harley and the Joker to a stable, healthy (ish) relationship actually destroys some of Quinn's agency and character growth while eliminating a strong and relatable representation for women.
Also, Harley and Deadshot were way more adorable together.
Maverick And Charlie In Top Gun
Sure, there are some super steamy love scenes between Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise in Top Gun, but there are a lot of problematic issues plaguing Maverick and Charlie's relationship too.
For example, the scene in which the two meet in the bar. Maverick introduces himself to Charlie as Maverick. He has a name, it's Pete, but he's too cool to introduce himself to a total stranger with his real name like a sane person.
It's also incredibly disappointing how Charlie initially dismisses Maverick and his bravado only to fall for him anyway and then fade into the background after all those steamy scenes had been sufficiently exploited. Give the poor lady something to do or just make this a buddy movie.
Rachel Dawes And Bruce Wayne In Batman Begins
There may be no other character more divisive than Rachel Dawes. Did you hate Katie Holmes or Maggie Gyllenhaal? Did you hate them both? It seems like this character has never been popular, with fans simply arguing over which version they liked least.
We have to side with Maggie Gyllenhaal, as she portrayed a wiser, braver Dawes who wouldn't even back down to the Joker. Add to that her obvious love for Bruce Wayne and the pain both actors seemed to portray while near each other and you have a star-crossed romance we can get behind.
While Bruce Wayne and Rachel Dawes seemed sadly believable as mismatched love interests in The Dark Knight, the two seemed lifeless and distant in Batman Begins, removing any believability of their relationship potential. Katie Holmes's Dawes was petulant and impatient with Bruce Wayne, showing more disdain than romance.
Amsterdam And Jenny In Gangs Of New York
Some hated Cameron Diaz's acting skills, believing the actress to have been unable to hold her against such powerhouses as Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. Others thought Diaz and DiCaprio seriously lacked in the chemistry department.
Then, of course, there were the action fans who felt the romance simply got in the way of a good story. However, no matter how you slice it, Jenny and Amsterdam's love story was the weakest link in the critically lauded Gangs Of New York.
Cameron Diaz herself was credited with bringing some much-needed peace and a sense of calm to the male-dominated set. Reports claimed that the lead actors were constantly trying to compete with each other, making the filming experience rather stressful. Maybe that's why some fans felt this romantic plot was shoehorned in.
Esmeralda And Phoebus In The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Often heralded as one of Disney's most criminally underrated animated films, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, was almost perfect, if only the lovely Esmeralda hadn't ended up with Captain Phoebus.
This was one movie romance that devastated even the youngest of viewers. It was clear to everyone watching that Disney missed the chance to right some epic wrongs here. In the book, Esmeralda is executed for the not-death of a still very much alive Phoebus who doesn't really care all that much that she is murdered and goes off to marry another woman.
We're glad Esmeralda's life was spared in the movie, but if the story was going to be completely rewritten, the two outcasts (Esmeralda and Quasimodo) could have ended up together, providing happy endings for everyone involved and challenging beauty stereotypes.
Andy And Nate In Devil Wears Prada
Ugh, Andy deserved so much more than this guy. Being a woman in a highly competitive field isn't easy, and with a boss like Miranda, Andy certainly had her work cut out for her. She did not need Nate whining around and making things more difficult for her.
Nate complained when Andy left an important work function early to try to make it to his birthday party. He mocked her clothing and then belittled her efforts to dress better by saying he preferred her old look (liar).
Everything this guy did just gave us more reason to hate him, and yet we're supposed to root for Andy and Nate to successfully work out their issues? That's a big no. Andy grew past Nate, and that's OK.
Bruce Wayne And Talia Al Ghul In The Dark Knight Rises
Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul have a complicated relationship. They love each other, but they have total opposite moral beliefs. They get along, but her dad kind of wants him totally dead... or to take his place as the Demon's Head, leader of the League of Shadows. You know, whichever's fine.
We never got to see Bruce and Talia grappling with their relationship issues. We never saw them explore the drama of two very, very different people giving love a chance in spite of the odds.
There was no compromise or sacrifice in the name of their ill-fated love. All we really got out of the The Dark Knight Rises was a convoluted bait and switch and one really, really badly acted death scene.
Mark And Juliet In Love, Actually
It may be one of the most beloved romantic comedies (and Christmas flicks, for that matter) of all time, but there are some hugely problematic issues with the love stories told in Love, Actually.
Marrying a woman you literally cannot communicate with doesn't bode well for the future. However, we still root for all those crazy kids... all except Mark and Juliet, that is.
Despite the fact that Andrew Lincoln will always be our imaginary boyfriend who we would totally bring home to our parents because, of course, they would love him, Mark is total creep in this movie. Watching him semi-stalk his best friend's wife takes the romance right out of that iconic cue card scene.
Andrew Lincoln himself thought his character was meant to be a creepy stalker, so this couple definitely never stood a chance.
Bianca And Cameron In 10 Things I Hate About You
Okay, they're teenagers, so maybe we have to cut them a little slack. However, Bianca and Cameron were just the worst. Cameron's entire arc rests upon a false representation of a girl he's never even spoken with.
He sees her face and immediately dreams up a version of Bianca that simply doesn't exist. Bianca is vapid, bratty, and selfish, yet Cameron believes her to be perfect based solely on the fact that she's pretty.
It's true that these two do learn their lesson in the end. They wise up, settle down, and go sailing together. That's all very well and good, but we still had to endure a full movie of will-they-won't-they involving two of the absolute most self-absorbed people on film up to that point.
Baby And Johnny In Dirty Dancing
Who didn't imagine themselves in Jennifer Grey's shoes after watching the steamy love scenes in Dirty Dancing? To get that up close and personal with Patrick Swayze? The gyrating, the lip-synching, that leap? Forget about it. However, analyze this epic love story too long and some major cracks begin to show.
Johnny is way too old for her, for starters. Too old and too experienced, not only intimately, but also at life in general. Baby's parents aren't exactly in the wrong to disprove of her relationship with a much older man with a side business as a gigolo. That's not classist, it's just good parenting.
Add to that the obvious discomfort when these two get too close-- Grey's frequent giggling and breaking character and Swayze's barely hidden frustration-- and a classic musical love story quickly falls apart.
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Can you think of any other couples that completely ruined movies? Sound off in the comment section!