Top 20 Good Boy / Bad Girl Movie Couples
#20: Aaron Samuels & Regina George
“Mean Girls” (2004)
She’s the queen of the Plastics, he’s a hot jock. She has a superiority complex; he has emotional intelligence. Academics aren’t exactly at the top of Regina’s list of priorities, and while Aaron may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, either, he isn’t an airhead. In “Mean Girls”, they are introduced as exes. So, we don’t know how these two started dating, though we have to assume it was because he was popular. When Cady expresses her interest in Aaron, Regina wants him back, and they resume their relationship. In an alternate universe, where he isn’t in love with Cady, he could’ve totally fixed Miss Queen Bee. The chemistry was always there!
#19: Stanley Ipkiss & Tina Carlyle
“The Mask” (1994)
He’s a miserable bank teller who lets people walk all over him. She’s a seductress with a gangster for a boyfriend. After she shows up at his workplace one day, he wants to pursue her, but the odds are never in his favor. With his ordinary job and severe self-esteem issues, Stanley lives an unfulfilled and insecure life until he dons the Mask of Loki. This turns him into a menace, but it is his goodness that Tina falls in love with. She accepts him as he is and constantly chooses the real him, though The Mask is quite fun too. Tina may be a bad girl by association, but she knows a good man when she sees one.
#18: He Zhi Wu & The Woman in the Blonde Wig
“Chungking Express” (1994)
It’s been decades since this film came out, and we’re still not over the potential this pair had. He Zhi Wu is a lovesick police officer who can’t accept the end of his relationship with his girlfriend, May. When he crosses paths with a mysterious woman in a blonde wig, the two share a strange but instant connection. He’s warm and eager, while she’s cold and dismissive, but engages with him nonetheless. The two then spend a night in each other’s company. Nothing happens, but every moment is meaningful. At this point, viewers know that she has ties to the underworld and is involved with all sorts of shady business. So, she was never going to stay, but the chemistry they share is undeniable.
#17: Fester Addams & Debbie Jellinsky
“Addams Family Values” (1993)
It would be an understatement to call the woman in this equation ‘bad’. Debbie Jellinsky was a serial killer whose earliest victims included her own parents! In “Addams Family Values”, she poses as a nanny and has a whirlwind romance with Uncle Fester. She then marries him, all while plotting his murder so she can steal his inheritance. Fester falls deeper and deeper in love, while Debbie tries and fails, repeatedly, to take his life. In the end, Debbie’s plan to electrocute the Addamses backfires, and she ends up six feet under. Even after everything the lady put him through, Fester mourns her death.
#16: Paul Varjak & Holly Golightly
“Breakfast at Tiffany's” (1961)
This love story is as messy as it gets, but it’s still timeless. Holly Golightly is a socialite with way too many problematic men in her life. One of them says he’s her husband, one is a Brazilian politician who dumps her, one is filthy rich but marries another, and one is an incarcerated criminal. The healthiest relationship she has is with her neighbor, Paul. He’s a writer making ends meet with the help of an older lady, Emily. Paul and Holly share a genuine companionship, but she’s determined to marry rich. When Mister Writer confesses his feelings to her, she’s quick to turn him down, but ultimately decides to stop running from love. All’s well that ends well, right?
#15: Forrest Gump & Jenny Curran
“Forrest Gump” (1994)
Not all bad girls are bad by choice. Life was hard on Jenny Curan, and her circumstances led her down a reckless path. Forrest falls in love with her at a young age, but can never get her to stay. She keeps disappearing from his life, and it breaks his heart, but his feelings never change. Even when she vanishes the morning after the two make love for the first time, Forrest doesn’t turn her into a villain. He waits for her and when she returns, welcomes her back into his life along with their son, Forrest Gump Jr. Jenny eventually succumbs to her illness, but Forrest’s love for her lives on through their kid.
#14: Joel Goodsen & Lana
“Risky Business” (1983)
The man has ‘good’ in his name! Joel Goodsen is a straight-A high school student who does everything right … until it all goes wrong. Left home alone, Joel invites Lana, a sex worker, over to his house. Things quickly get out of hand when she steals his mum’s pricey Steuben glass egg, and in his attempt to get it back, Joel gets involved with Lana’s dangerous handler, Guido. One thing leads to another, and before you know it, there’s a Porsche in a lake, the Goodsen home has become a pleasure house, and at some point, the furniture gets stolen. Talk about a bad influence! Despite it all, Joel and Lana just can’t get enough of each other.
#13: Larry Maretto & Suzanne Stone-Maretto
“To Die For” (1995)
When an ordinary man marries a fame-hungry femme fatale, death and disaster are bound to follow. In “To Die For”, our ‘good guy’ is just a guy, but compared to his wife, Suzanne, you might as well call him a saint. Larry and Suzanne’s marriage appears normal at first. However, when he starts undermining her career in favor of child-rearing, she sees red. The matter could’ve been solved with a divorce, but Suzanne opts for murder instead. What’s worse, she gets three vulnerable teens to do her bidding. This woman really didn’t know when to stop, and it ultimately brought her down.
#12: Michael Carrington & Stephanie Zinone
“Grease 2” (1982)
The first “Grease” film had the perfect good girl, bad boy romance between Sandy Olsson and Danny Zuko. In “Grease 2”, we get a trope reversal. Sandy’s cousin, Michael Carrington, is our prim and proper male lead here, who vies for the heart of Stephanie Zinone. She’s the newly crowned queen of the Rydell High bad girls, a.k.a the Pink Ladies. To become her perfect man, Michael gets a motorcycle and takes on the elusive persona of Cool Rider. While Stephanie is certainly intrigued, she also falls in love with his actual personality. Naturally, she is over the moon when she discovers that her Cool Rider and Michael are one and the same. These two are perfect together.
#11: Bruce Wayne & Selina Kyle
“Batman Returns” (1992)
Michael Keaton as Batman and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman will always be one of the sexiest movie couples ever. In Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns”, Batman and Catwoman are enemies, while Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle strike up a passionate romance. Catwoman is driven by a burning desire for revenge against her corrupt boss, Max Shreck, who tried to end her life. In her deadly quest, she faces off against Batman. As Bruce and Selina discover each other’s hidden identities, he tries to steer her away from the path of revenge. However, as we all know, a kitty does as she pleases. Ultimately, both characters stand up to evil. Catwoman just doesn’t mind giving the baddies a taste of their own medicine.
#10: Bart Tare & Annie Laurie Starr
“Gun Crazy” (1950)
Also known as “Deadly Is the Female,” this film follows Bart, who was a troublemaker as a kid and pretty carnival worker Annie Laurie, who’s the one who really gets them into trouble. After getting hitched, she not only warns him of her “bad” nature, but she also gives him an ultimatum: either he joins her in her criminal ways or they’re through. During multiple robberies, Annie asks Bart to shoot those who get in their way, but she’s the one who ultimately ends up doing the dirty work. Though the fugitives do stick out it out together for some time, it’s Bart who does what he thinks is the “right thing” by film’s end.
#9: Pete Lund / Ole ‘Swede’ Anderson & Kitty Collins
“The Killers” (1946)
Femme fatales predate cinema by centuries, but the archetype is arguably most synonymous with film noir. Serving as the actor's debut, "The Killers" stars Burt Lancaster as The Swede, a former boxer lured into a life of crime and double-crossed by the enchanting Kitty Collins. Glamorous but materialistic, Kitty sees men as pawns to be used and discarded without a hint of remorse. A somewhat nice guy with no real power of his own or much of a future, the sultry trickster could not have asked for a better patsy than the disposable Swede.
#8: Charles Driggs & Audrey Hankel [aka Lulu]
“Something Wild” (1986)
Reeling from a broken marriage, a straight-laced banker acts out by indulging in some petty theft, a stunt that immediately piques the interest of one particular witness. A born rebel, Audrey playfully confronts Charlie about the unpaid check, before basically tricking the guy into a cross-country adventure. Slipping in and out of various personas, Audrey - or is it Lulu? - inspires Charlie to partake in even more misdemeanors, although, in all fairness, the banker is more than willing to go along for the ride. "Something Wild"’s mismatched duo are hardly the greatest role-models and their adventure isn’t exactly a smooth one, but Audrey and Charlie's romance is genuinely quite endearing.
#7: Indiana Jones & Dr. Elsa Schneider
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)
That age-old tale: boy falls in love with girl, girl turns out to be a Nazi. What? Is that not a common trope? Man… we’ve really gotta stop watching the Last Crusade so much. Learning that his father disappeared while searching for the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones teams up with Dr. Elsa Schneider to retrace Henry's steps and decipher the artifact's secrets. Following a handful of near-death experiences, Indy and Elsa seem poised to become more than merely colleagues, but this romance proves to be short-lived. In reality, Elsa has been using Indy and Henry to help the Nazi regime discover the Holy Grail. Not cool, Elsa, not cool.
#6: Mike Swale & Bridget Gregory
“The Last Seduction” (1994)
A throwback to the dames of classic film noir of the '40s, Linda Fiorentino is mesmerizing as the calculating and twisted Bridget Gregory. On the run from an abusive husband and looking to escape with a bag of cash, Bridget flees to a small town and starts a fling with Mike Swale, an upright man coming off a bad marriage. Before long, Mike falls in love with the alluring woman and plays right into Bridget's hands. Murder, a frame job, and a hint of blackmail; Bridget is willing to use any trick in the book to manipulate Mike into aiding in her escape.
#5: Walter Neff & Phyllis Dietrichson
“Double Indemnity” (1944)
Insurance fraud is a deadly game. A quintessential film noir, "Double Indemnity" sees an insurance salesman roped into killing a client by the victim's money-starved wife. Despite originally opposing the offer, Walter Neff ultimately succumbs to Phyllis' charms, and the couple set out to activate the double indemnity clause. Anyone willing to go along with murder can scarcely be described as "good," but hey, love makes you do crazy things, and it’s safe to say that Neff never would never have gone down this road had he not met his femme fatale. Playing the salesman like a fiddle, Phyllis is as irresistible as she is dangerous.
#4: Detective Nick Curran & Catherine Tramell
“Basic Instinct” (1992)
With the leg cross seen around the world, Sharon Stone delivered one of the most sexually charged performances in mainstream Hollywood cinema. Investigating the murder of a rock star, Nick Curran pinpoints the victim's girlfriend, Catherine Tramell, as the primary suspect. After the initial interrogation hits a brick wall, Nick begins a sordid affair with Catherine, despite still believing the woman to be a killer. From bribing Nick's lieutenant to framing an ex-lover for murder, Catherine expertly utilizes her sexuality as a weapon, one capable of turning men and women into willing accomplices.
#3: Jeff Bailey & Kathie Moffat
“Out of the Past” (1947)
A former private eye who accepted the wrong case, Jeff Bailey simply wants to start over in a new town and with a new girl. Revealed via a flashback, Jeff - then known as Jeff Markham - as hired to track down Kathie, a businessman's girlfriend said to have stolen $40,000. Enticed by the woman's baby-face charm, Jeff accepts Kathie's pleas for help, a decision that leads the protagonist down a road filled with murder and regret. Wrapped around the deceitful dame's finger, Jeff finds himself ensnared by Kathie in a web of lies and sex, from which there is no safe escape.
#2: Caleb Smith & Ava
“Ex Machina” (2015)
Spoiler alter: After winning a company contest, Caleb is flown to his CEO's secluded home, where he is tasked with the job of determining whether Nathan's latest humanoid robot is capable of true intelligence. Over the course of a week, the programmer converses with the charming Ava, a seemingly harmless android who appears to reciprocate Caleb's romantic interest. Vowing to run away together, Caleb helps Ava escape Nathan's cage, only to be promptly betrayed and left to die by the robot. The results might have been disastrous for every human involved, but Nathan's test was certainly a triumph.
#1: Philip Marlowe & Vivian Sternwood Rutledge
“The Big Sleep” (1946)
Infinitely quotable and wickedly funny, such an iconic film noir deserves a remarkable femme fatale to match, and Vivian Sternwood Rutledge is just that. Hired to help resolve some gambling debt, Philip Marlowe is dragged into the Sternwood family's crooked dealings; particularly, by the oldest daughter, Vivian. Blinded by the girl's youthful innocence, Marlowe is duped into acting in Vivian's best interest and spends most of the film chasing shadows. Though deeply involved in the city's seedy underbelly, Vivian sticks out among other dangerous dames in that she’s relatable and sympathetic. She’s a great femme fatale, but as Marlowe learns, she’s also so much more.
Are you a fan of the good boy, bad girl trope, or do you prefer good girls falling for bad boys? Tell us in the comments!
