VOTE: Which Christmas romcom leading man is actually the worst?

It’s always tough to take when you find out your fave is actually toxic. The men in Christmas romcoms are always the worst – not a joke, just a fact. From Kris Marshall in Love Actually to Jack Black in The Holiday, we love romanticising average men treating women like trash. In fact – before you read this – spend these last few moments cosying up with your most cherished childhood Christmas romcom. We’re about to ruin it all for you.

It’s time to decide which leading man you officially want to get in the bin. No more sneaking around under the mistletoe – this is serious business. Which of these Christmas romcom characters is actually, inarguably, the worst?

Mark Darcy – Bridget Jones’ Diary

Try not to get lost in his dreamy eyes and lawyer-istic good looks. Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) is actually AWFUL – and this is a hill I’m prepared to die on. He judges lovely Bridget (Renée Zellweger) within the first few seconds of meeting her, practically telling her off for smoking and being chatty. At a party, no less.

He’s whiny, eye-stingingly dull and terrible to Bridget after she realises she likes him. The character can’t even be redeemed in the sequel, acting completely oblivious to the fact that Bridget wants to marry him. Ugh – he’s undoubtedly up there with some of the worst men in Christmas romcoms.

Harry Burns – When Harry Met Sally

A love story for the ages; a tale of romance that knows no bounds. WRONG. Sally deserved so much better, and that’s not just because I probably fancy ‘80s Meg Ryan.

Yes, they’re a couple with chemistry which started out as a firm friendship. But Harry (Billy Crystal) literally sleeps with Sally when she’s in a vulnerable emotional state. That’s not romantic, it’s creepy. He then bails on her the next morning, filled with regret. It’s real fuckboy energy that I simply can’t ignore anymore.

Miles Dumont – The Holiday

Jack Black is a legend, and I’m sure he’s a very nice guy. But Miles is so toxic in this festive film that I might have to unstan. He’s a typical romcom guy who consistently hurts two women totally out of his league.

Don’t even get us started on Graham (Jude Law). Imagine lying about having a whole family – couldn’t be us.

Walter Hobbs – Elf

Buddy (Will Ferrell) pretty much gets a free pass on this one, because he has the childlike innocence to get away with it. Sure, he walks in on Jovie taking a shower – but he only wanted to hear her sing. His dad (James Caan) on the other hand is a *nightmare*.

Yeah, yeah. So he has his redemption arc right at the bitter end. But 10 minutes of him playing at being a good dad doesn’t distract us from the fact that he didn’t give a damn about his newly-discovered biological son for the rest of the film.

Even after taking the paternity test, he was reluctant to get close to the poor overgrown elf. Walter Hobbs is the worst.

Harry – Love Actually

This film gave us an absolute smorgasbord of nasty men to choose from. Colin (Kris Marshall) used some sort of British charm to woo three American girls, because women saw through his tricks over here. Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) is a typical dirty old man, and Mark (Andrew Lincoln) makes a monumental move for his mate’s wife.

But the most dishonourable mention has to go to Harry (Alan Rickman). Anyone who shatters the heart of Emma Thompson will surely feel my wrath. Justice for our Karen – she deserved that necklace!

Josh Lin – Love Hard

With the title taking inspiration from the last romcom, writers Danny Mackey and Rebecca Ewing clearly took notes from the predecessor’s penchant for slimy men. Yes, we feel sympathy for Josh (Jimmy O. Yang). But he also catfished the woman he fancies (Nina Dobrev) and pressured her to get engaged to him.

This is a Christmas romcom, so of course all is forgotten by the end and the toxic lead is rewarded. But, seriously? This makes me miss when catfishing was icky and not the cause of some twisted meet-cute situation.

Will Freeman – About A Boy

Sorry, Hugh Grant. I love you but your early noughties lead role scumbaggery hasn’t gone undetected.

Will is supposed to be the anti-hero of the film, but I can’t help seeing a lot more *anti* and not a great deal of *hero* within him. He makes up a fake son just so he could coerce struggling single mums into going out with him. He can’t mature as an adult on his own so he starts hanging out with a year eight school kid (Nicholas Hoult).

He finds himself turned off by Marcus’ mum (Toni Collette) just because she’s a vegan with depression, and it’s a *thing* throughout the film. Pretty problematic, if you ask me – and definitely one of the worst men in Christmas romcoms.

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