This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emerson chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
While there are tons of lovable guys on TV and in the movies, the truth is, not all of them exist in real life. While we may wish we could end up with guy like Jack from Titanic or Noah from The Notebook, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. Here are five types of guys that only exist in our favorite romantic comedy movies and TV shows.
1. The Repulsive Guy Turned Hot
Think Danny from The Mindy Project. This is the guy who has repulsed the female lead from day one – his hair, his facial expressions, everything he does is unattractive. Yet suddenly, or perhaps slowly but surely, he comes onto her and transforms into a loveable hunk. While we wish that the annoying and malicious guys out there would all turn into amazing boyfriend material, it’s not a likely story in real life.
2. The Lovable Grumpy Guy
I.e. Nick from New Girl or Ron from Parks and Recreation. This character is the unmotivated, grumpy guy of the group – but somehow the protagonist finds it adorable. He’s the kind of guy who rains on everyone’s parade and never really contributes anything to the group dynamic, yet everyone loves him for it. It seems to make sense on TV, but in real life, we’d never have the patience to deal with someone so pessimistic.
3. The Guy Who Stalks… But in a Cute Way
You know, the guy who follows the main character around? Gives her flowers? Tosses rocks at her window to get her attention? Guys like this (think Schmidt toward Cece in New Girl or basically any male lead in a Nicolas Sparks movie) use the old romantic Romeo tactics to get the girl. But these old Shakespearan tricks are rarely seen IRL (and if they were, they may be taken as creepy rather than cute).
4. The Fast Talker Turned Softie
Portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in pretty much every rom-com he’s been in, this character is a fast-talking schmoozer. He’s a rich bachelor that’s smooth-talking with women. But of course, after he meets the lovely female protagonist, he’s a changed man.
5. The Guy Who Understands You
Every so often, there comes the character in the romantic movies that claims he can “see right through” the female lead’s tough exterior. He crops up in the plot just as our fearless protagonist has hit a heavy stress point in her life, perfect timing for him to claim that she needs to “do thinks for herself” and “realize how wonderful she is,” etc. Think James Marsden’s character in 27 Dresses, who can see right through Kathering Heigl’s game face.
Do you have a favorite rom-com character trope? Let us know in the comments below!