TMS Discussion: The Arrogant, Attractive Antagonist

(Paramount Pictures)

Remember that time period when every villain in a comedy, fantasy or action/adventure movie seemed to be a conventionally attractive, athletically built jerk? No? Maybe you had to be there. In the late 1980s to roughly early 2000s, Hollywood really liked its male leads to be one-upped by an equally good looking antagonist who was conceded and vain in all the wrong ways. Not a redeemable bad boy like Judd Nelson’s John Bender in John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club (1985) or a terrifying villain who just happens to be played by a handsome actor a la Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993). This specific handsome bad guy was delusional enough to think he was perfect and better than everyone, thus trying and failing to impressive the female lead. Sound kind of familiar now? Like Gaston in Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise’s Beauty and the Beast (1991), Billy Zane’s Cal Hockley in James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), James Spader’s Steff and Craig Sheffer’s Hardy Jenns in Howard Deutch’s Pretty in Pink (1986) and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), and so on.

(Amblin Entertainment / Universal Pictures)

Why and how did this trope become a fad in moviemaking? Well, based on experience as a ‘90s kid and some basic film history, I can estimate this characteristic probably kicked off right after Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future (1985). Like with any huge hit, the film industry tries to capitalize on the best qualities for future projects. Sometimes it’s a stale attempt at lightning striking twice, sometimes they do catch on. In this case, Tom Wilson’s Buff Tannen definitely feels like the blueprint for the beefcake douchebag type. Biff isn’t a lax smooth-talker like Steff or stylish heir like Cal. In fact, he’s essentially the definition of a bully. But his demeanor and aesthetic are much more confident than Crispin Glover’s George McFly, who is insecure and weak, yet unfazed by Future’s lead and George’s son, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), who is just as confident as Biff. Wilson’s antagonist is also constantly harassing George’s future wife and Marty’s mother, Lorraine Baines (Lea Thompson) into dating him, to no avail, which mirrors how Gaston would treat Belle in Beauty and the Beast six years later. I’m guessing after Anthony Perkins popularized the pretty boy villain way back with Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960); Hollywood once in a while tries to spice up their antagonists’ personas beyond scary and/or ugly, and will bring out the ‘sexy but evil’ schtick. In this case, they focused on good looks with shallow arrogance. Amusingly, Zane began his film career playing one of Biff’s posse in BttF a decade before co-starring as Cal in Titanic.

(Walt Disney Pictures)

Looking back on this trend decades later, the characteristics are a bit silly and on-the-nose that can venture into ridiculous, like the dumb jocks in Jeff Kanew’s Revenge of the Nerds (1984) or cartoony jerks in John Hughes’ Weird Science (1985). I actually think both Biff’s and Gaston’s personas are weakened in the BttF sequels and Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast (2017) by making the characters too dumb. There was some actual, effective menace to Biff and Gaston in their initial iterations that help make the classics they’re a part of timeless. But tropes like this are fun to analyze and enjoy as viewers all the same; and we can look back on them and wonder if they’ll make an appearance in future films or series.