Romantic comedies most commonly focus on relatable protagonists who experience situations and go through relationships familiar to the audience. Even though the heroes of these movies tend to be portrayed as sympathetic people, that's not always the case. Some romantic comedies' protagonists are in the wrong, and their actions are morally reprehensible or ambiguous at best.
As a result, they come across as more of a villain than a hero, and if the story was told from somebody else's point of view, they could easily be the antagonist of the story. Multiple romantic comedies prove that a protagonist doesn't always equal a good person.
5 Julianne -- My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Friends should be happy each other, especially if they're getting married. That's not the case with Julianne, played by the romantic comedy star Julia Roberts. Julianne planned for and her best friend Michael to get married if they hit 28 and were still single. However, when finds out that Michael is planning to get married to another woman, she decided to win him for herself and do everything in her power to destroy the wedding. She almost manages to sabotage, it but has a change of heart in the end and lets the wedding happen.
Julianne is a solid example of a selfish person who puts her own happiness in front of the happiness of others. She had plenty of time, years, in fact, to tell Michael that she liked him and wanted to be with him. Instead, she waited until he found another woman whom he was happy with. Even though Julianne and Michael reconcile in the end, it's still appropriate she doesn't win him over. She remains his friend, but doesn't become his girlfriend.
4 Sebastian & Kathryn -- Cruel Intentions (1999)
Unlike other romantic comedies, Cruel Intentions doesn't pretend that the way the characters are behaving is okay. In fact, it actively hints at the fact that they're not such good people. The main character Sebastian, played by Ryan Philippe, takes pleasure in seducing women and dumping them shortly afterward. He only changes his tune when he meets the one girl who resists him, and he falls for her despite himself.
Sebastian's adoptive sister Kathryn, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, is even worse. Unlike Sebastian, who recognizes the error of his ways in the end, Kathryn remains the villain to the end of the movie and continues to break hearts and manipulate people. As a result, the bittersweet ending feels satisfactory when it comes to Kathryn's fate.
3 Mark & Harry -- Love Actually (2003)
One of the most beloved Christmas classics, Love Actually has multiple protagonists with more or less interconnected storylines. And despite how beloved the film is, many of those characters are in the wrong. One of the most obvious is Mark, who falls in love with his best friend's fiancée Juliet. Instead of doing his best to forget the crush in order not to hurt his friend, Mark acts as if he hates Juliet whenever they meet. When it finally comes out that Mark doesn't hate Juliet, he visits her at her place on Christmas Eve and tells her he loves her even though Juliet is already married by then. Mark could have ruined his best friend's marriage if Juliet returned his feelings. Instead, she decides to stay faithful to her husband, but it doesn't change the fact Mark isn't such a good guy.
Another cheater in the movie, Harry (played by Alan Rickman), has been married to his wife for years. When Harry falls for his young and beautiful secretary, he decides to buy her an expensive gift, much more expensive than he plans to give to his wife. He knows what he's doing is wrong but does it anyway and hurts his wife in the process. Even though they stay together, it's clear that the trust between them is damaged.
2 Rachel, Darcy, & Dex -- Something Borrowed (2011)
Actress Ginnifer Goodwin often plays the good guys, as seen in her most iconic role in the fantasy fairytale showOnce Upon a Time. But what both Mary Margaret in Once Upon a Time and Rachel from Something Borrowed have in common is they start an affair with a taken man. What's worse, Rachel has an affair with her best friend's fiancé, Dex. It's true that Rachel had a crush on Dex first before her friend Darcy started going out with him, but that doesn't change the fact that cheating on her best friend wasn't a nice step.
She's not the only one with questionable behavior, though. Dex is to blame as well (after all, nobody forced him to cheat on Darcy). And as for Darcy, the movie later reveals she cheated on Dex as well and even got pregnant with someone else. Overall, three out of four of the movie's protagonists are the bad guys in the scenario. The only exception is John Krasinski's character Ethan, who gives Rachel good advice, but she doesn't listen to him.
1 Noah -- When We First Met (2018)
One of the least sympathetic characters in modern romantic comedies is Noah, who doesn't take no for an answer. Noah loves his friend Avery, but she's happily in love and engaged to another guy, Ethan. To win Avery for himself, Noah travels back in time and keeps staging their first meeting to make sure Avery falls in love with him.
There are multiple things Noah does wrong that make him the villain in this case. First, he doesn't respect Avery's wishes. Avery makes it obvious right from the start that she only sees him as a friend. What's worse, he manipulates other people in order to get what he wants and risks damaging their lives by toying with time. Noah comes across as a very immature and selfish person, so it's difficult to cheer on him and wish him success on his time-travel mission.