Do the lead guy and lead girl have to hook up?

[Popcorntreect]

I was having a discussion with my friend about this and it seems like no matter what, in movies, the 2 leads cannot just be friends. Yes, there are exceptions. My Best Friend's Wedding -- that's pretty much the plot of the movie though. But look at pretty much any movie where there is a male hero and there's a woman in a strong but supporting role.

So what are some movies where the lead character doesn't end up with the girl? I came up with a few.

Taxi Driver -- he had his shot and he blew it. Felt like his character was doomed but he survived and made it through the end.

Lost in Translation -- probably one of the few, if not the only movie that portrayed friendship between the opposite sexes.

Wanted -- in the script I read, Wesley banged the hell out of Fox, however, in the movie, there was nothing there... oh well.

Casablanca -- he had to give up the girl for the greater good. If you make the "not hooking up" part very important to the story then it usually works.

It seems like it's nearly as golden as needing to have characters and a beginning, middle, and end to the story. Your opposite sex characters must hook up, cause if not then one character must be gay.

Got any exceptions?

[Johnny]

Roman Holiday.

Gregory Pecks character does not get Princess Ana(Hepburn) in the end.

[ScriptShadow]

Yeah but I think in all those movies there still had to be sexual attraction. It's true. I tried to have this guy and this girl living in the same apartment and just be friends. NOOOOO-BODY could understand it. They simply could not wrap their heads around two attractive people just being friends. Nobody understood. "What do you mean they're just friends?" "They're just friends." Long pause. "Why?"

I think it comes down to expectation. Since it's in 99% of all films, the audience expects it.

[JonnyAtlas]

Yeah, that's one of the issues I have with a western I wrote last year. The leads have an older brother/younger sister relationship. There's no sexuality in their interaction at all. I realize it's a huge weak point because of audience expectations, marketing and attaching talent. No actress over 20 wants to play a female character that isn't portrayed as desirable to the hero. Thing is, the brother/sister relationship is necessary for the plot. I have a feeling it will never work in the modern industry that way, which has made me reconsider a good deal of the story.

[wcmartell]

I have three buddy cop type scripts with male and female partners, and the first thing anybody who has ever been interested in any of them want is for the partners to screw. I always reply "I loved that sex scene in LETHAL WEAPON when Danny and Mel slowly strip each other and then get it on!" but that never kills the note.

If I mention LONG KISS not having the two leads hook up, they point out that it was a flop and might have made a bunch of money if they'd done the nasty. Um, I don't think so.

Why can't male and female characters on screen be friends? I have many good friends with breasts, some are even women.

- Bill

[altoption]

The developing relationship between the two leads is the emotional core of many classic Hollywood movies. It's this relationship that typically leads to the protagonist's arc. Danny and Mel may not sleep with each other -- but they damn well fall in love.

[Biohazard]

Do the lead guy and lead girl have to hook up?

No.

It usually works better if they do, though. Getting it to work otherwise is very difficult, which is why it is so rare. But it can work, depending on the story.

[Joaneasley]

Lost in Translation isn't about plain, old asexual friendship. Even though Bill Murray wasn't much to look at at that point, it's still about the erotic need both characters had to be found desirable and intriguing by someone of the opposite sex. That makes Lost in Translation more like Casablanca. There's sexual tension, but they have commitments they have to honor. And I agree, that works.

[Ralphy W]

Jeepers Creepers

(ETA: The two leads are brother and sister.)

[TheKeenGuy]

Originally Posted by wcmartell

If I mention LONG KISS not having the two leads hook up, they point out that it was a flop and might have made a bunch of money if they'd done the nasty. Um, I don't think so.

Well of course they didn't hook up. One was black and the other was white and it was the 90's when that always meant that the final scene would culminate in a very passionate hand-shake.

That kind of chick-sh*t "let's not offend the racists" thing always pissed me off. That's over, right?