It’s no surprise that people tend to get quite invested when watching a movie. Even though deep down they understand that the stories and the people portrayed on the screen are fictitious, sometimes the acting is just so good, they forget all about it.
However, there are times when something feels off; when the story is not believable, the setting is somehow wrong, or there is simply no chemistry between the actors whatsoever. The latter is what members of the ‘Pop Culture Chat’ community recently discussed when the user ‘Joanna_Valdes’ asked them about the romantic leads in movies that had zero chemistry. People covered all sorts of pairings in their answers, so scroll down to find them on the list below, and see if you have sat through at least one of the listed movies.
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Dan Radcliffe and Bonnie Wright together were so awkward, and it didn’t help that the screenwriters gave them such weird interactions (the “open up, you” and the shoelace-tying scenes give me so much secondhand embarrassment).
I primarily blame the screenwriters for this. Everything that made Harry and Ginny endearing as a couple was taken out. I'm still not sure if Bonnie Wright is a bad actress but I feel like neither of them could really do much with what they were given.
The film writers definity messed up all these movies
Load More Replies...I totally blame the screenwriters for this. I loved Ginny in the books- she was fiery, confident, intelligent, but also empathetic. The movies turned her into some strange, simpering, girl that would fall at Harry’s feet.
They practically grew up together. I imagine that has something to do with it too
Ginny in the books was awesome. Heck, the books were AWESOME. The movies did great, but they also adapted some changes and cut out most of the lines of one of my favorite characters.
I wasn’t a huge fan of these two in the books, but the movies were just painful to watch.
Radcliffe has no chemistry with anyone! It gets more embarrassing as the films go on. He’s surrounded by incredible talent, people who’ve been knighted, ennobled for their skills, and then there’s poor old Dan only able to show happy/sad/angry. To be fair the character is insufferable too
Anne Hathaway and Adrian Grenier as Andy and Nate in The Devil Wears Prada Yessss all of their interactions in this movie are like you'd speak to an annoying brother or house-mate
This! Also Nate was so immature, he couldn't suck it up for his partner for one year?
That last bit would be the fault of the script writer not the actors lack of chemistry :P
Load More Replies...Yeah, Nate sucked. Your girlfriend started working at a fashion company, finds herself appreciating fashion, and dressing differently than before. And? Get over your arrogant and judgmental self and celebrate her change. She's not hurting anyone nor herself. You're just a whiny prick who doesn't evolve himself and are trying to keep her stagnant as well. She always deserved better.
Nate and their collective "friends" were the real villains of this movie. In this essay, I will...
Without understanding it, I was cringing every time they were together.
Thor had more chemistry with Capt Marvel in their few seconds of interaction than this.
You win my non existent award for comment of the day!
Load More Replies...Thor just doesn’t work without Tom Hiddelston’s Loki. I was more invested in the relationship between the two brothers than I ever was Thor’s love interest. We just pretend the Dark World and Thor Love and Thunder don’t exist. I was never a big Thor fan to begin with, but I laughed my head off at Ragnorak.
Load More Replies...Thor only had good chemistry with her in the last kiss which is probably because it was filmed with Chris Hamsworth actual wife Elsa Pataky.
Do you know why it was his wife? Didn‘t he want to kiss anyone else or something like this?
Load More Replies...If they're talking Love and Thunder, I thought it actually worked. They were consciously trying to avoid each other. It actually felt pretty real. The first one, they barely knew each other so again, fair enough. The second, yeah pretty mediocre. But to be fair, it's not really a romance movie either, none of them are (probably Love & Thunder is the closest to that).
I'm sorry, I was so distracted by the man I forgot anyone else was there
I mean, the answer here has to be Cara Delevigne and Dane Dehaan in “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”, right?
I legitimately thought they were related. For about 30-40 minutes before realizing that wasn’t the case and then becoming aggressively bored by it and shutting it off.
I may have to use the phrase "aggressively bored" in normal conversation now. Yes I set my goals low.
Easy to do even if you're only assertively bored.
Load More Replies...i WANTED to love this movie, but the lack of chemistry and, frankly, bad acting.......
The main problem was that they were both way too young for the characters they were playing. They looked like little kids playing make believe.
This film is a total failure both in its production and in its narration, not even to mention the choice of the two main actors. We are therefore thousands of years away from the relationship that exists in the comic strip between these two characters, made up of respect and good-natured bickering and not heavy and immature flirting. Not to mention the lack of charisma of the two actors. To learn more about this comics: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Val%C3%A9rian_and_Laureline
An actor (supposedly) as well. The definition of acting is pretending to be someone or something that you are not (exclusion: Christopher Walken).
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Ok, hear me out - Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. Audrey obviously respects Fred and sees him as a mentor and that comes through in the film and Fred obviously sees Audrey as a sweet young girl but that’s the problem - they were badly matched as he was too old for her and looked too old for her and they had no romantic chemistry whatsoever. I actually really dislike this film because I do not believe whatsoever that they love each other.
This was a different time in Hollywood, and the May-December romance was common and acceptable, but didn’t age well by today’s standards. A few examples: Tracy-Hepburn, Bogie-Bacall, Gable-Loren, Cary Grant-whoever the leading lady was (including Audrey Hepburn). Nothing will make me stop loving these movies though
Men in Hollywood can be any age for the lead, women, however, must be just out of puberty. Men casting their own fantasies.
Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in The Tourist. Johnny was completely miscast which ruined the movie for me.
I disagree it was Johnny. He has to have something to work against. Being pretty does not an actress make.
No, Johnny Depp was fantastic in it! There were only 2 good things about the movie: a couple of absolutely hilarious jokes that still have me laughing on the floor years later, and Johnny Depp, not so much after *the spoiler stuff*, but in the first half he was so amazing. He played the shy soft teacher role so perfectly, I absolutely adored him in it. It's a kind of character that we haven't seen often in movies, and I think it's thanks to the way he played it.
There are two kinds of romance-thrillers: (1) ones with Humphrey Bogart, (2) duds
Anyone else following the latest Johnny Depp scandal? He has ties with Saudi Arabia who did him a favor by flooding the internet with Anti Amber messaging through computer bots which threw off the trial and public opinion. He's a giant p.o.s. I can't stand him anymore. Too bad I love me some Tim Burton films. Now here come the down votes.
What, and Amber having Elon Musk in her “pocket” doesn’t count?
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I’m surprised nobody mentioned Emma Watson and Dan Stevens yet. Has the live-action Beauty and the Beast faded from public consciousness that quickly?
Yes for the second sentence, true for about every live-adaptation and for good reasons.
She doesn't sparkle in this role, but I adore him. They sanitized a bit of the interactions to keep it kid friendly and that was a mistake.
Disney's crappy live-action remakes have all faded from public consciousness.
Jamie Dornan felt like the material was beneath him, he was practically fully clothed in his love scenes with Dakota while she fully nude, the sex scenes were completely vanilla and mechanical, and the author kept interfering with the production. There was no way they were going to have a good production.
It’s the soft porn reboot of a Twilight fan fiction- what the hell do people expect? You sure as hell aren’t going to get Shakespeare.
I've only seen snippets of the films and I cringe at every one. I don't even think it's the actors' faults, though. The screenplay and source material are just so bad!
One of the actors is Dakota Johnson, it's enough telling.
Load More Replies...Remember that this "book" was literally BDSM fancfic of the Twilight series. No, I'm not kidding, it really really was.
Face it. The books were nothing more than bad pornographic fan fiction anyway.
I mean, it's a very low quality erotic fiction with one of the worst cliched premises out there. And the worst part is that neither of them are very attractive. If you're going to write middle of the road, you need two total smoke shows. They tried to achieve that with a couple of wet logs on the fire and it was bad bad bad
I thought Henry Cavill and Amy Adams were devoid of chemistry in Man of Steel - they seemed so awkward together.
I just can't see Amy Adams as Lois Lane! Especially with the grey filter! What is that all about anyway?
My guess is to make it look more mature. The bright red and blue of the costume makes Superman look silly in my opinion. Especially in comparison to other superheroes. And I agree. I can‘t see Amy Adams as Lois Lane either.
Load More Replies...I call Henry Cavill the Great Stone Face. I'm not sure he has chemistry with anyone.
I have so many problems with Cavill as Superman. It wouldn't have mattered who he was cast opposite.
If you can't get gold out of Amy Adams you need to retire. Looking at you, Snyder!
Emily VanCamp and Chris Evans as Sharon and Steve in Captain America: Civil War. Sibling vibes
Yeah, I guess that was a given. But EVC never stood a chance since she was basically pitted against Sebastian Stan
True. Those two should have run off together at the end of Endgame. It would have been a better love story
Load More Replies...Plus to me, they even kinda looked like they could be brother and sister, which made it even more awkward 😖
I love Steve and Sharon in the comics but the two did seem more like siblings than anything else
This is another one where it kinda works, since his "great love" was Peggy Carter. She was never his first choice, she knew it, he knew it...
i cant be the only one that was screaming SHES HER NIECE!!!! SO GROSS!!!!
Funny, but I took their awkward chemistry as fitting. If I'm remembering this right, he's really still in love with her Mom and he's even more square than I am. She sees him as a page out of history... and her dead Mom's boyfriend.
Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis in Jupiter Ascending. I unapologetically love that movie but their chemistry is just soooo bad.
*I love dogs!!*.
I always 🤦 thinking about how she slaps on a menstrual pad on his wound. It's not the sticky side that absorbs, any woman would know that!!! Why!?!? It would make more sense to do nothing.
Maybe it wasn't about the absorbing but about closing it off to prevent it getting diryt, like tape could. If you don't have tape or a bandage to cover the wound from getting dirty, then this still would be the next best thing.
Load More Replies...I thought it was based on a bigger world, but completely original idea.
Load More Replies...I wanted to like this movie but damn, the CGI was too over the top distracting. There were scenes where I was just waiting to have a seizure there were so many flashing lights and sparkly lens flares. Transformers movies are similar in that regard. When you make the CGI too complicated what you're seeing doesn't make sense.
I actually love this movie. Other than Eddie Redmayne whispers. The visuals are gorgeous and I love the world building. That can be enough for me on occasion.
The new Mr and Mrs Smith. I was trying to explain to my husband why I didn’t like it and I realized it was the pairing. They’re both good actors, but I think they aren’t good actors together. But I mean, the chemistry obviously was out of control in the original. I’m sure it’s hard to find that again.
A case of fixing what wasn't broke - and running out of original ideas, which seems to be a thing nowadays. Thank God for books, eh? ;)
Load More Replies...Respectfully disagree with this one. I thought they had amazing chemistry, balanced with a sense of mistrust. The show was pretty good and lots of fun. Just because it's a remake/reboot/sequel/prequel/reimagining doesn't mean it can't be good. If that was the case there'd be no Godfather II, or Buffy TV show.
Well…. I could imagine married actors not wanting to risk these roles. If only for the sake of peace at home.
The Happening. These two are supposed to be married. (Except she had Tiramisu with some other clown).
I just think of Marky Mark keep going on about bees. She couldn’t compete with the bees.
I think their lack of chemistry was the result of s****y writing. The whole movie was a disaster and I don’t mean the literal plot.
I desperately wanted to love this movie, it's such a cool concept but omfg. More than anything I wanted to slappp the bejeezus outta her whiney bug eyed asss. She keeps going on and on and on about not wanting to express her feelings in public, so much that she's making an actual scene about it in public. Ffs grow some lady ballls, stop embarrassing yourself, act like a grown up and EXPRESS HOW YOU FEEL!!! Why do these stupid male diectors, writers or wtv have to make us women all whiney, sluttty or all together worthless in these movies???
The answer is obviously Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson in Marry Me.
Jennifer Lopez was shoved in our faces far too often. I guess Taylor Swift is the new shoving object now followed by Beyonce in a close second nowadays.
Omg I think they were going for opposites in a rom com - it worked but it totally sucked, you're right! How it this not #1?
Thats literally the whole thing of the webcomic, they could not be more polar opposites and it takes him forever to realize hes in love with her... Go read the webcomic, its great!!
Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in The Mexican.
Absolutely painful to watch.
I guess they are friends in real life and thought it would be fun to do a movie together...this means there was probably no chemistry read, which explains EVERYTHING.
I love her in pretty much every movie I've seen her in. To each their own, I guess.
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I love love love the Fast saga but you can never convince me that Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel want to have sex with each other. Ever.
I disagree on this one. They fit together quite ruggedly. Both were tough, independent, and over all had the same personality.
Pfff yeah, this. Especially the very first movie was the most unintentionally homoerotic movie I have ever seen. Letty basically didn't exist anymore after Brian showed up ordering a tuna sandwich
Not a movie but in grey’s anatomy izzy and george having a moment for a few episodes was so hard to watch, there was zero chemistry between the two characters. like why did they write that in? it seemed so unnecessary.
I hate every scene with Izzy in it. She killed Denny and then everyone feels bad for her? Make it make sense!
I loved Izzy and Denny (the guy who died after a heart transplant) together though.
Audrey Hepburn and any male lead who was at least 10-20+ years her senior. She was born 1929. Humphrey Bogart (1899) Fred Astaire(1899) William Holden (1918) Gary Cooper (1901) and on and on. As charming and brilliant as she is an actor, the story was completely unbelievable and you're just left with such an ick about it. I know people LOVE these movies and they were really well received, but they are just so unwatchable to me !
Thankfully, Cary Grant played a secret agent first and love interest second in Charade. He asked that several lines of dialogue be added where he points the age difference. She also acts as the romantic pursuer in the film, not him.
That's more of an era thing. It used to be 'acceptable' that the much older guy got the seriously younger woman. It's only more recently that's it's got the cringe factor
She had a relationship with William Holden. She had established daddy issues. Doesn't mean she isn't fantastic.
I was going to say the age difference with William Holden isn't that bad. At least he's not old enough to be her father, unlike the rest of them.
Load More Replies...What they said about her looks back then would be considered problematic now. She was praised for her youthfulness and small body.
These 2 always gave me siblings vibe in every scene. He has better chemistry with Danai
They didn't really develop the relationship on screen enough for the audience to care, it is pretty forgettable and not essential to the plot of the first movie
SPOLIERS: It only comes into play at the end of Wakanda Forever when he has a son with her
Load More Replies...I don't see this, they have the conflicted relationship down. He has his role, she doesn't want to be queen. The fact that they love each other is not enough.
From Justin to Kelly. Like you could not convince me that either Kelly or Justin wanted to be in this movie together, but they were contactually obligated to do so. Also the rumours that Justin was hooking up with Paula Abdul did not help him be a convincing romantic lead with that extra context.
Showing my age but Denise Richards and Pierce Brosnan had absolutely no spark.
I have to agree. I cringe every time I hear that line.
Load More Replies...Everybody loves to make fun of Denise Richards in The World Is Not Enough - and then along came Léa Seydoux as the most colourless, uninteresting, non-developed, empty projection surface that ever projection surfaced in any of +50 years of Bond films... And she did it twice. I have a feeling that the script seems to matter a bit as well in those instances.
Jack Black and Kate Winslet in The Holiday even thought their arc is definitively better than Jude and Cameron’s. Great acting, just a lack of sexual chemistry. .
I actually liked this pairing. It wasn't about the passionate love-at-first-sight kind of love. It was the friendship-first, common compassion kind of love.
Way more lasting than just passion too. Also a great foundation for a long happy marriage. You felt like they genuinely liked each other before they fell in love. It’s nice to be in love, and spend the rest of your life, with your all-time best friend.
Load More Replies...They had great chemistry. They weren't just overly sexual and trying rip each other's clothing off.
Jack Black doesn't have chemistry with anyone. He's a good voice actor, though.
Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon in Your Place or Mine.
For me it's more Ashton who has no chemistry with any actress except with his now wife Mila who was his girlfriend in That 70's show.
She plays the same character in each movie. She was good in Sweet Home Alabama.
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Matt Damon and Hong Chau in Downsizing.
Agree. The entire movie would have been so much more impactful if they had just played out as friends. There was no need to try to force a sexual relationship into the story.
Matthew McConaughey & Jodie Foster in Contact ('97) is an all timer. Great movie but possibly the most awkward makeout in film history. They have amazing friendship/ sibling-type chemistry IMO, but every movie Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn starred in together as lovers just made me go huh...? Who approved that!
From what I understand about Cary Grant and how he was with his wives, if he and Katherine Hepburn had ever gotten together, she would’ve gotten tired of him and his shenanigans pretty quickly. She was way too smart and independent to have put up with anyone who wanted to fence her in, no matter how good looking they were.
I happened to see him in three movies, and then I started avoiding him like the plague. He comes off as such a douche (Sorry, but...) that he makes me want to buy Toyotas.
Cary & Katherine were very close friends, but I think the chemistry they had was closer to sibling energy. Also she didn't enjoy women being set dressing. Edited for clarity about which couple I was referring to
Hugh Grant/Andie McDowell in Four Weddings and a funeral.
Carrie [Andie McDowell] and Charles [Hugh Grant] are not nice people. I find the film is almost unwatchable due to how selfish and unfaithful Carrie is, and how pathetic Charles [Hugh Grant] is. IMHO, it is only the excellent supporting characters that make the film worth watching at all.
Best thing about this film is the opening sequence of F-bombs
Load More Replies...I felt that, plus she delivers some lines like they're tongue-twisters. Always wanted him to end up with Kristin Scott Thomas.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie or series where Emma Roberts has chemistry with her male co-star.
I disagree, there was chemistry with Evan Peters in American Horror Story series.
I thought he and Taissa Farmiga had better chemistry.
Load More Replies...I hope she likes western Canada, because her career if 100% headed to Hallmark movies.
Another b.s. call. She had great chemistry with Hayden Christensen in Little Italy
I raise you Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent in Now You See Me. When they threw out the romantic twist at the end I was like....didn't see that coming, and not in a good way. Not a major plot point but a completely unnecessary and not believable side plot.
Lindsay Lohan and Chord Overstreet in 'Falling for Christmas'.
Lindsay Lohan just isn't that great of a actress anymore. I don't know what happened.
josh hartnett and shannyn sossamon in *40 Days and 40 Nights.* i maintain this is one of the worst romcoms i have ever seen and the lack of chemistry between the two leads is the least concerning thing about the film. literally this movie is just about a guy being SA'd by everyone and then having to ask for forgiveness for it. the 2000s were mind boggling.
Ana de Armas and Chris Evans have so much chemistry in "Knives Out", so Idk why it didn't work out in "Ghosted".
DEAR. EVAN. HANSEN. 😬😬😬
I mean, the whole point of this "romance" is that it was supposed to be cringe and somewhat forced. Evan has many mental and social issues, he doesn't know how to interact with other people and all hsi interactions with Zoe are based on a lie. Zoe on the other hand also isn't really attracted to Evan; she just lost her brother with whom she has a complicated relationship and she hopes do understand Connor by getting close to hos supposedly "best friend" Evan. Their relationship (if one may call it so) is messed on many levela but it was supposed to be this way
The entire premise of that movie and musical just sounds so outrageously creepy.
Renee Rapp and Chris Briney-Mean Girls 2024.
This is more Chris’ fault then Renee. I couldn’t buy him as Aaron Samuels and his acting skills aren’t the best when you pair him next to a broadway actress and a pro singer.
I watched a movie with Alexa Vega(Spy kids) and Carlos Pena( Big Time Rush), and they had NO onscreen chemistry at all, which is hilarious because they are MARRIED. It was so bad.
Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas in Bladerunner Ana has no chemistry with any of her Co casts.
So an AI hologram and a synthetic human that will be terminated if it becomes too human didn't have much chemistry? Seems fairly spot on to me
The two leads in the recent West Side Story had absolutely zero chemistry. Minus chemistry, possibly.
Same with the original, IMO. I was so looking forward to the remake then I realised the two leads had been miscast, again 😕
I howled in laughter in the wrong places in West Side Story. Girl is sobbing hysterically, then sings "A Time For Us" like she's leading the responsorial psalms at church (the song is great, but the emotion comes from its lyrics, melody and chord progression).
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It’s me, popping in for my regularly scheduled Liam Hemsworth slander. This weak a*s kiss, knowing it’s probably one of the only ones you’ll get?! Honorable mention for Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux in the last Bond movies. Just…no.
I was grossed out by that relationship - Bond needs to accept he an old man and the 20/30 somethings is not a good look, ugh
Léa Seydoux has far too much sensuality for him. He can’t even come close.
Amber and Richard A Christmas Prince Trilogy.
I love them as characters and I love the movies, but I just can’t buy them as a couple I’m sorry. They have the rain kiss but that’s about it.
you've reached the end, usually where the person who posted this stops trying.
Load More Replies...I’m guessing they mean Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire in Spiderman
For all the people saying The Notebook: how many The Notebook movies were there??? :p
No mention of Notting Hill? Negative chemistry between Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.
What about Christian Bale with both Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal, in the Dark Knight movies?
I've (fortunately?) only watched 6 of the films above, and of the 6, I agree 100% with the lack of chemistry.
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker in Did You Hear About the Morgans? - worst chemistry I've ever seen, can't imagine who thought it was a good idea to put those 2 together.
I disagree, personally. I thought they were great and it was heartbreaking.
Load More Replies...If you're are talking about the film, the male lead had no chemistry with anyone in any movie I ever saw him in. If you are talking about the Netflix series, I wholeheartedly disagree. Toby Stephens makes love to the camera, he'd have chemistry with a rock.
Load More Replies...No mention of Notting Hill? Negative chemistry between Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.
What about Christian Bale with both Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal, in the Dark Knight movies?
I've (fortunately?) only watched 6 of the films above, and of the 6, I agree 100% with the lack of chemistry.
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker in Did You Hear About the Morgans? - worst chemistry I've ever seen, can't imagine who thought it was a good idea to put those 2 together.
I disagree, personally. I thought they were great and it was heartbreaking.
Load More Replies...If you're are talking about the film, the male lead had no chemistry with anyone in any movie I ever saw him in. If you are talking about the Netflix series, I wholeheartedly disagree. Toby Stephens makes love to the camera, he'd have chemistry with a rock.
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