Movie Sidekicks Who Actually Did More Harm Than Good

There are many ways that a supporting character can contribute to a film's overall quality, specifically to the life of the film's lead. Some characters — like Hermione Granger from "Harry Potter" and Samwise Gamgee from "The Lord of the Rings" — are arguably the only reason the main character has gotten to the end of their story. Others, like Barry Judd from "High Fidelity" and Megan Price from "Bridesmaids," steal the show from otherwise irritating leads with their chaotic humor. Then, you have side characters that can't seem to get out of the way and overstay their welcome. 

It is sometimes important that this type of side character exists as well — the ones that drain energy from the people around them and usually cause more problems than they could ever hope to solve. Usually, they're there because the story needs a trouble-maker or to see certain qualities in the main character — like their strange willingness to accept the karmic consequences of keeping someone so obnoxious in their life — but sometimes it really feels like no one realized how irritating a certain character was going to be until it was much too late. Here are some of the movie sidekicks who actually did more harm than good.

Before anyone gets too angry, we're not saying that Walter Sobchak is a bad character. John Goodman gives a great performance as Walter in "The Big Lebowski" and delivers some of the movie's funniest lines, including: "This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules." But, he also tends to make every difficult situation for The Dude (Jeff Bridges) considerably worse. Walter is rude, belligerent, paranoid, and not nearly as smart as he thinks he is, and it can be pretty frustrating to see The Dude spend so much time listening to his advice and involving him in life-or-death situations. 

Walter literally steals the money from the ransom that The Dude is supposed to deliver because he doesn't believe that the kidnapping plot is real. He smashes a sports car that he believes belongs to a teenager and incites the actual owner of the car to destroy The Dude's car. Also, he accuses a man of faking his paralysis and forces him to fall out of his wheelchair. Walter comes in handy during the shootout at the end, but it's pretty difficult to imagine that The Dude's life wouldn't be better without him. Luckily for Walter, "The Dude abides," and he's cool enough for the both of them.

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather — the three good fairies tasked with raising Princess Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" — had one job to do: Keep Aurora away from any sharp spindles on her 16th birthday. Not only did they not do that — or even forewarn the child about touching any spinning wheels — but they are also the reason that the evil Maleficent — who cursed Aurora at her christening — found the princess on her birthday. 

Obviously, these things needed to happen in order for Aurora to prick her finger and fall asleep so that she could be rescued by Prince Phillip, but if we were Aurora's parents we might have some notes for them in the mission debrief. 

At the beginning of the movie, it is Merryweather who uses her magic to prevent Maleficent's initial curse from being deadly to Aurora, so that balances in her favor. The fairies are also the ones who free Phillip to rescue Aurora and lead him to her, but it's hard not to resent the fact that they inadvertently revealed Aurora to Maleficent because they were fighting over what color her ballgown should be.

Jon Carnahan (John Hannah) is the slippery brother of Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) — a brilliant librarian who hopes to become an Egyptologist. Because "The Mummy" is set in 1923, Jon has to accompany Evelyn everywhere she goes, otherwise, she'd be a single female traveling alone. This is a perfect excuse to keep him around for the entire film — and we'll concede that there wasn't much of a way around it — but he was not a very helpful member of the team.

Jon provides a lot of much-needed comedic relief in the movie, so in that sense he is crucial, but his greed and lack of integrity bite him and his companions in the butt more than once. He never loses his thirst for wealth and treasure, and there are a lot of moments in "The Mummy" franchise where Jon actively endangers his loved ones. If it weren't for Jon's greed, Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) himself would not have been resurrected. Of course, this also means that there would be no movie and Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) might still be in prison, so it does all work out for the best.

Most of the Cullen-clan vampires in the "Twilight" film series aren't particularly essential to the plot, but it seems that characters like Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), Emmett (Kellan Lutz), and Rosalie (Nikki Reed) exist mainly to serve as extra eye candy and options for the inevitable "Which Cullen are you?" quizzes. 

Most of the time these spare vamps don't get in the way and do provide a little backup muscle and power with their various special abilities, but Jasper's case is a little more of a problem. Because he spent his formative vampire years in a coven focused on turning or devouring as many people as possible during the American Civil War, he never developed the same level of control over his bloodlust as the rest of his family. Thus, in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," Jasper goes feral when Bella (Kristen Stewart) cuts her finger opening a birthday present.

It's interesting that it is this cut that forces him to lose his mind given the fact that he is surrounded by normal people living their lives every day, and even more interesting that it's Jasper's freak-out that prompts the Cullens to move away and in turn force Edward (Robert Pattinson) to abandon Bella. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) owes his brief, doomed romantic shot with Bella to Jasper, but otherwise "New Moon" is a slightly pointless digression from the main story arc.

"Superbad" is undoubtedly a funny movie, and the character Seth's (Jonah Hill) lack of likability and competence definitely contributes to its comedy. But in real life, anyone would advise Evan (Michael Cera) to drop such a self-centered, ridiculous friend. Seth spends the entire movie shooting snark at his best friend because Evan has decided to attend a different college than him. At the same time, he makes it clear that his number one priority is getting to a party and having sex with his crush, Jules (Emma Stone). 

Seth promises Jules that he will obtain alcohol for her party and immediately enlists Evan and their other friend, Fogell (a scene-stealing Christopher Minzt-Plasse), into his scheme, putting them both in danger with the law and chaotic people throughout the night. Seth's plan is the main plot line in the film, but if Evan and Fogell had attempted it without him they most likely would have succeeded much more easily. 

When Seth finally arrives at the party and gets to hang out with Jules, he's so wasted that he accidentally headbutts her after she tells him she doesn't want to hook up while he's drunk. Luckily for Seth, she still gives him another chance the next day. What's most upsetting about Seth is that Evan is terrified to tell him that he will be college roommates with Fogell, who is attending the same school as Evan. Seth is so emotionally explosive and self-centered that Evan is literally afraid to share what should be pleasant, or at least neutral, news.

There have been a lot of movies in the "Rocky" franchise – ranging from a best-picture winner to some of the most critically panned films of Sylvester Stallone's career. Aside from Stallone himself, the only person who can be found in all of the movies that center around Rocky's life — so not including the "Creed" films — is Burt Young as Rocky's brother-in-law, Paulie Pennino. 

It makes some sense that Rocky puts up with Paulie in the first "Rocky" movie. Despite the fact that Paulie is a selfish and disrespectful hothead, he is also Adrian's (Talia Shire) brother, and Rocky has a huge crush on Adrian. During the first "Rocky" movie and the ones following, however, it becomes very clear that Paulie is incredibly disrespectful of Adrian and dismissive of all that she does for him. 

Adding to that the fact that Paulie leeches onto Rocky's success and does nothing but mix with shady characters and stand in the corner while the Italian Stallion trains, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Rocky continually reaches out to Paulie with kindness and love. Paulie definitely causes more problems than he solves and that's certainly been his approach for his entire life — to which he somewhat alludes in "Rocky Balboa" — but he's an important part of Rocky's characterization. Rocky has love and hope even for the most problematic people in his life, and it is no wonder he epitomizes the city of brotherly love.

For many, Ron Weasley was kind of a drag in both the books and the movies. But because the movies omitted so much content from the books, his movie self is far more insufferable — only occasionally saved by Rupert Grint's inherent comedic ability and lovability. 

The most important things that Ron ever did for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) were to introduce him to the rest of the Weasleys and occasionally illuminate him and Hermione (Emma Watson) about wizarding culture. Ron's monstrous envy of nearly everyone in his life, as well as his particular lack of emotional intelligence, however, made everyone's life harder. In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Harry is set up to be killed when his name is pulled out of the cup, and Ron is nasty to him for months after because he thinks Harry is trying to get attention. In that same movie, he also made Hermione cry because he was jealous that she went to the Yule Ball with Krum (Stanislav Yanevski). 

His biggest offense was definitely his abandonment of Harry and Hermione in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," and it's difficult to understand how he was ever forgiven — even accounting for the influence of the Horcrux — because he once again refused to acknowledge and address his own insecurities.

Leo Getz — played by a fast-talking Joe Pesci — is so unnecessary to the "Lethal Weapon" structure that he wasn't even in the first movie of the franchise. Someone decided that the action series needed more humor, and they decided that this irritating, useless character was the way to go about it. While he is definitely annoying in "Lethal Weapon 2," Leo is at least a main part of the film's plot. 

For some reason, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) — despite spending all of "Lethal Weapon 2" being annoyed out of their minds by Leo — stayed in touch with him and allowed him to become involved in the plot of "Lethal Weapon 3." Leo is constantly asking for a gun or playing an angle to get something out of Riggs and Murtaugh, and saving his life is often what prevents them from making more progress in their investigations. 

The worst thing about Leo Getz, though, is how much he is constantly harmed and tormented by Riggs and Murtaugh. If they hate him enough to trick the doctors into giving him an unnecessary rectal exam, why are they spending any time with this man at all? Why did Murtaugh enlist Leo's help in selling his home? Leo is a liability and Riggs and Murtaugh are toxic friends — they should have parted ways after "Lethal Weapon 2" and left it at that.

At one time, Jar Jar Binks was such an aggressively and actively hated character in the "Star Wars" universe that the actor who played him, Ahmed Best, was nearly driven to suicide by fandom vitriol (per Washington Post). We definitely don't think Jar Jar should be hated to this level, and luckily the years since "Star Wars: Phantom Menace" has given some fans a little perspective. However, it is hard to ignore that he's still a pretty irritating character.

In "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," Jar Jar latches onto Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) as soon as they land on Naboo. While he does help them make contact with the underwater Gungan society that gives them a ship to pass through the core of the planet, his usefulness basically ends there. 

Jar Jar is clumsy, and it's a miracle he doesn't blow everyone up at multiple points, however, it's actually in "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" that Jar Jar makes his most grave mistake. Jar Jar Binks — now the junior senator for Naboo — is easily convinced by Palpatine that the chancellor should have enhanced war powers in order to fight the separatists. It is these enhanced powers that later allow Palpatine to implement the next step of his plan to take over the galaxy.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

"I thought you were getting over that. It's been two months." This is what Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) says to her best friend, Mia (Anne Hathaway) after Mia expresses sadnesses at the recent death of her father. And it's not even close to the only time that Lilly fails to provide the support you might expect from your closest friend. Sure, Mia never really knew her father, but that doesn't mean she's going to just get over his death after two months.

Lilly is a side character with main character syndrome, and she spends almost all of "The Princess Diaries" bitter that her best friend is not always prioritizing her needs. When Mia gets her hair straightened and her make-up done, Lilly's immediate reaction is disgust. When Mia is dealing with the death of her father, the arrival of her grandmother, learning how to run a country, and hoping to get the attention of her longtime crush all simultaneously, Lilly is blistering mad that Mia doesn't show up to be interviewed on her cable show — which she later admits only reaches 12 people.

Lilly shows Mia the bare minimum support in the movie, occasionally attempting to direct their cruel classmates away from Mia's new look at one point and attending the Genovian embassy ball, but she is a huge emotional drain on Mia for the majority of what is probably one of the most difficult periods in her life. 

Let's get something straight: Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) is a very fun character to watch in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies. He is delightful, hilarious, and a necessary physical presence on the team. That being said, he is disappointingly underpowered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

In the comic books, Drax's family was killed by Thanos, but he and his family were just normal humans on Earth at the time. Drax's human soul (that of Arthur Douglas) was found floating in space and placed into a new body designed for the sole purpose of defeating Thanos. He is meant to be able to go toe-to-toe with Thanos, and yet, in "Guardians of the Galaxy," he can't even hold his own against Thanos' lackey, Ronan (Lee Pace). 

When the Guardians escape to the planet Nowhere, they are looking for someone to keep the power stone safe and away from Thanos. So what does Drax do? He calls on Ronan and lets him know where they — and the precious infinity stone — are located. Ronan and his forces make quick work of the Guardians, all of whom survive only through dumb luck or Peter's quick thinking. In the first film, in particular, Drax just doesn't bring any assets to the table that outweigh such a monumental screw-up.