Sep 14, 2016

Movie Boyfriends


Last Saturday, on the spur of the moment, a girlfriend and I ambled into a local cinema and settled in to watch Bridget Jones’s Baby. Of course it starred Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Colin Firth is one of my all-time favourite heart-throb-y actors. Happy sighs. And yet Mark Darcy—as much as I enjoy the character—is not one of my all-time favourite movie boyfriends.

On Sunday I stretched out on the sofa and watched the Lord of the Rings movie (again). Aragorn is my favourite hero EVER. And yet Viggo Mortensen, the actor who plays him, doesn’t do a whole lot for me in his other movie roles.

Obviously movie (and TV) boyfriends aren’t so much about the real life actors who play them, but how the fictional character that is being depicted in the movie comes across emotionally on the big screen—and no doubt that’s due in large part to the actor’s art in bringing that character to life.

Of course all of this pondering over popcorn had me reaching for the nearest piece of paper and jotting down a list of my five favourite movie boyfriends of all-time—because I love lists. And I wanted a list of heroes I could imagine sailing off with into the sunset to live happily ever after. This is what I came up with:

Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music
He was my very first movie boyfriend—I fell for him at the tender age of ten when I was allowed to stay up late and watch the movie. He hid a good heart beneath all of that bluster…and his honour and loyalty to his country in the face of Nazi Germany held me spellbound. I thought him soooo courageous. And the fact that he danced with Maria and sang with the children had me melting. :) I could definitely imagining sailing into the sunset (uh, maybe I ought to say setting off over the Alps) with him.




James Hammerton from Sliding Doors (played by John Hannah)
This character is such a combination of fun and sweetness. I fell head over heels for him—he’s kind, he makes the heroine laugh, he never pressures her…plus he’s a Monty Python fan! Seriously, what more could a girl ask for? Well, if she also happened to ask for someone who would challenge her to make her dreams come true, who would give her practical support to help make those dreams come true, and to make her believe that she doesn’t have to settle for second best, then James is your man. Happy, happy sighs.




Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey (played by JJ Feild)
Jane Austen wrote great heroes. And while Northanger Abbey isn’t one of my favourite of her books, I love this particular movie version—it’s so good-natured and Henry is so utterly likable (which is why he’s a movie boyfriend rather than Hugh Grant’s Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility or Jeremy Northam’s Mr Knightley from Emma). Henry has a sense of fun and a sense of the ridiculous that immediately attracted me to him. He also has to decide whether he can live up to his principles or whether he’ll allow his snob of a father to browbeat him. Of course, he defies his father, all for the love of Catherine, which makes me swoon every time. Yes, that is one man I could VERY easily live happily ever after with.


Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth’s version please)
You know, I love every version of Mr Darcy that I’ve seen—Laurence Olivier’s, Matthew Macfadyen’s—but Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy gives me shivers (of the very best kind ;-) ). In the beginning he’s so arrogant and superior! And then he’s so vulnerable! And then he amends his behavior and tempers his pride and arrogance. And then he rescues Lydia. A man who changes (and sacrifices his pride) all for love. Oh, man, how could Lizzie not fall in love with him? I did. Completely. :)

 Aragorn from Lord of the Rings (played by Viggo Mortensen)
Aragorn is a hero in every sense of the word. He has a destiny to fulfill…and while he is filled with doubts about his own strength, and has little hope that good can prevail over evil, he still gives the quest his all. He’s a man who will fight for good, who will do everything he can to protect those weaker than him, and oh my can that man wield a sword. He faces his every fear and triumphs. He’s not a man who seeks to become king, but it’s a title he certainly earns. Also, he’s hot—seriously hot. I play with scenarios about Aragorn and me. ;-) Honestly, I could write FanFic about this man.
I have this movie poster on my wall. :-)

 So there you have it, my favourite Movie Boyfriends. Do you share any of my faves…or do you have different Movie Boyfriends of your own?



32 comments:

  1. Michelle, I DO share quite a few of your fave movie boyfriends. So glad you picked Henry Tilney from 'Northanger Abbey' as well as some of the more well known ones. He's such a sweetie!

    I so agree with you about it not just being the actor but the emotional response we have to the actor on the big screen.

    For someone not quite obvious, how about Michael Kitchen in 'Enchanted April'. He was such a pleasant, warm-hearted, generous guy and I adored the fact that it wasn't looks that interested him in a woman, because his vision was impaired - it was her inner self. Marvellous that he initially didn't respond to the most gorgeous woman in the story when she was so used to men making fools of themselves because of her face. When they connected for other reasons, which was so lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Annie, I love Henry Tilney so hard. :-) The better I got to know him (when I first watched the movie) the hotter he seemed to become.

      I haven't seen 'Enchanted April' but I see that I'm going to have to -- love the sound of the initial interactions between Michael and his heroine. :-)

      Delete
  2. For me, Harrison Ford in pretty much every movie he's ever been in from American Graffiti onward, LOL! (Oh, except for What Lies Beneath, he was a horrid character in that one!) Yeah, I know, he played so many cocky male archetypes but he always made me swoon.

    And, yes, Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, definitely. There's such an intensity about him that makes the cave woman in all of us quiver, I reckon. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indiana Jones, Yvonne! That man makes me swoon every single time. I love me a cocky male archetype. ;-)

      Aragorn and that intensity...oh, happy sighs.

      Delete
  3. Oooh! This is so hard, Michelle. So many to chose from!!
    I have to say though - you hit it out of the park with Cpt Von Trapp. I would never have thought of him but he is the ultimate in alpha broodiness and honour and I just adore him!! Have seen the movie about 50 times!!

    Sliding Doors is interesting... I've only ever seen it once and that was a long time ago so I dont really remember a lot of it. I do love John Hannah just generally though. That accent! I'm going to have to go and rewatch it now!

    I think I'm definitley going to have to say Colin Firth as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones. And Hugh Grant as William Thacker in Notting Hill.

    I really really adored John Corbett in Raising Helen. Such an undervalued film. He's a priest and he's just sooo damn nice and funny and swoon worthy.

    I'm also going to throw in Steve Carell. Yes, odd I know, but he's soooo good as Dan in Dan In Real Life. Lovely and heartbreaking and lost and sad and sooo damn sexy!

    For that matter I really have to include Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction - god he was sexy in that movie!

    Oh and Jude Law in The Holiday. I never got the whole Jude Law thing until that movie. Actually I never got the Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell thing either until the above mentioned movies. So I guess it is as you say - the role they play making them the swoomworthy guys!

    Anyway, I need to stop because I can go on and on and on and on.

    Oh hang on...one more. Bruce Willis as John Maclean! Blue collar hero? Hell yeh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Amy, what an utterly swoon-worthy list. Love John Maclean and William Thacker and... ;-)

      You've mentioned some films there that I haven't seen, and now I REALLY want to see them -- Raising Helen (a priest hero? Oh, I'm so there!), and Dan in Real Life (lost and sad and sexy? Oh, be still my beating heart).

      I'm going to have to re-watch Stranger Than Fiction and The Holiday again too now (though I remember loving both Jude Law and Jack Black).

      Thanks for a stellar list!

      Delete
  4. Hmmm, Michelle. You and I have very similar tastes in movie boyfriends. Amy, I loved Jude Law in The Holiday too.

    My list...gosh, my mind has gone blank, but it is probably because I'm currently marking student ethics essays which has killed off any romance in my life for the next few hours!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marking students essays, Jen? Heavens, you'll deserve a lazy evening of watching movie boyfriends on the box this evening...with chocolate! ;-)

      Delete
    2. You deserve it after all of those assignments!

      Delete
  5. Hi Michelle

    I too love Captain Von Trapp and I am with Yvonne on Harrison Ford and with Amy on Bruce Willis loved the character John MacLean and you know for me as well anything that Cary Grant has been in :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Helen, every time I watch The Sound of Music all of the Captain's tortured alpha-ness (along with the odd little sexy smile) makes me break out in gooseflesh.

      Cary Grant -- dreamy sigh! I actually thought about including one of the characters he played on my list, until I realised it was Cary Grant rather than a particular character that I found so utterly appealing.

      Delete
  6. Hmmm, this is so hard! There are too many to pick from! Can I stretch it out a little and say 'screen' boyfriends, rather than movies? Because I can't get past Jamie in Outlander.
    If I absolutely HAVE to just pick movies then I'd go for anything with Colin Firth (Love Actually *sigh*).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yes, you can absolutely stretch it out to screen boyfriends, Louisa! You'll notice that I chose Colin Firth's Mr Darcy (hence the BBC version rather than a movie version). So feel free to choose Jamie. ;-)

      *Note to self: much watch (and read) Outlander.

      Delete
    2. OMG Michelle, you MUST. Please. I fell completely in love with lovely Jamie (and started knitting because of all the amazing wool shawls!! LOL)

      Delete
    3. I know! I know! But I fear once I start I won't stop. BTW, tell me -- do you see the scene where he beats her? Just wondering.

      Delete
  7. Like the others, I'm finding this hard! Okay, let me see...

    The Johnny Lee Miller version of Knightly from Emma. I love him as Edmund in Mansfield Park and in other things, so it's partly about the actor. And I love Knightly from the book but not so much the other movie interpretations of him (Jeremy Northam & Mark Strong). So this is partly about the character and partly about the actor and his version of Knightly. It all comes together and makes me swoon.

    Richard Armitage as Thornton in North & South. Definitely. Again, it's partly the character because I haven't liked RA in other things as much, but it's definitely about RA and his version of Thornton too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that version of Emma too, Rachel, and Johnny Lee Miller does such a lovely job of Knightley. Happy sighs! (Though I didn't have the same problem you did with Jeremy Northam in the role either -- but that could just be because he's so pretty ;-) ).

      Oh, didn't Armitage's Thornton just sizzle! That man has SO much intensity!

      Love your movie boyfriends, Rach!

      Delete
    2. Jeremy Northam was very pretty as Knightly, but he was also very patronizing and treated her like a naughty child quite a bit. Obviously not just the actor's decision to play the character that way, but makes him less appealing as a movie boyfriend.

      Delete
    3. Which is why he didn't make my list. He needed to be brought down a peg or two, I thought...but then so did Emma, LOL. Those two characters definitely deserve each other. :-)

      Delete
  8. Hi Michelle - great post! My first TV boyfriend was Keith Partridge (AKA David Cassidy in The Partridge Family)And then Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. And I adore Frederick Wentworth from Austen's Persuasion. And Captain Von Trapp. And Angel from Buffy. And right now my TV boyfriend is Jon Snow (AKA Kit Harrington) from Game Of Thrones. So many boyfriends....so little time.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, the Partridge Family! (I have 'I think I Love You' on one of my playlists.) Oh, Gilbert Blythe definitely makes my list of book boyfriends! Love, love, love Persuasion (but not any of the film adaptations, more's the pity). And I'm team Spike...but can fully appreciate Angel's tortured appeal.

      Great list, Helen!

      Delete
  9. I fear my tastes might be a bit different to everyone here lol

    I'll go with Jason Statham's character from The Transporter (or Jason Statham in just about anything, really). I love the accent, he's got a sense of humour, and he just gets shit done. I like that in a man ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Different strokes, Stef! Life would be boring if we all liked the same things. ;-) I don't know Jason Statham...off to google him. ;-) But I will agree -- a competent man who gets things done is very sexy! ;-)

      Delete
    2. Ooh, now, he's veeeerrrrry nice. ;-)

      Delete
  10. Would have to be Colin Firth's Mr Darcy in P and P. Nothing has quite topped that spine-tingling sexuality.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I know, Pam! Colin Firth's Mr Darcy is real treat. :-)

      Delete
  11. Loooove JJ Field. Have you seen Austenland? I've seen it a zillion times. He's utterly superb in it. Total movie boyfriend material.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FEILD, not Field. Too hard to anti-typo that one :).

      Delete
    2. Oh, Ally, Austenland is such fun...and JJ Feild is brilliant in it! Might watch it again this weekend. :-)

      Delete