10 Toxic Relationships from Movies

Dirty Dancing

Nobody puts Baby in the corner. At least that’s what the much older man in a position of power claims. Sure it’s got that super romantic dance sequence, but this film shows a lot of issues seen in toxic relationships. Let’s just start with the fact that Ferris Bueller’s sister is definitely underage and impressionable. So, when an OLDER and much more mature man starts wobbling his hips at her, she swoons. Not to mention he’s an instructor at the camp she’s at, which puts him in a position of power. Just to make matters worse, much of the attraction is due to her revolting against her controlling father (daddy issues much?), but she still keeps is a secret from everyone. But hey, that lift at the end is pretty romantic, right?

500 Days of Summer

It’s pretty obvious from the beginning of this movie that it’s not a love story, but a breakup story. I still love this movie a lot, but then again I’m no stranger to toxic relationships. In this one, though it’s much more about a man projecting his romanticized idea of a woman on to her. Of course, Summer is that manic pixie dream girl that was super trendy for a while there, but manic pixie dream girls usually end up having serious mental issues. In this case, Summer uses Ben to get all the benefits of a relationship while insisting that they aren’t in one. In other words, she doesn’t want to buy the cow when the milk is free… Which sounds way worse when talking about a guy. Still, both of them are at fault for creating this toxic relationship.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

One of the very first warning signs in this film is when Joel freely admits, “Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?” Just like with 500 Days of Summer, he finds himself falling for a manic pixie dream girl, and loves the idea of her much more than her. He’s so desperate for attention though that he puts up with the emotional abuse he experiences until he turns passive aggressive and eventually just aggressive. Both of the people in this movie are so desperate for external validation that they cling to anyone willing to offer any form of it. Unfortunately, that’s one of the cornerstones of most toxic relationships.

Fifty Shades

Now we’re getting to the movies featuring obvious toxic relationships. Where do you start with the Fifty Shades trilogy? Is it how controlling Christian Grey is, even beyond the point of being dominant? Is it that his jealousy stems from underlying insecurity? Is it that he sees control as a form of love? Maybe it’s that he slowly transforms Anna into him by the third movie? Of course, there are tons of articles about how this movie does complete injustice to the BDSM community. Mostly because those relationships are built on trust. These two barely trust each other at all and find themselves jealous of anyone and everyone.

Twilight

Ah, the movie that romanticized toxic relationships for young girls everywhere. Let’s just start with the fact that Edward is, like, 100 years old, which makes him a bit old for a high school girl who is still maturing. That doesn’t stop him from inserting himself into her life repeatedly and then telling her they can’t be together only to end up making out a few minutes later. Eventually, his pushing and pulling causes her to become dependent on his acceptance and devastated when she can’t have it. It’s a film that shows almost all the warning signs in toxic relationships, codependency, manipulation, jealousy, and holding each other emotionally hostage. This series bites the big one when it comes to love.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to toxic relationships in movies. However, it’s a pretty good starter pack for anyone who wants to really see what kind of warning signs to look out for in the future. Unfortunately, for many of us and many of the characters in these movies, we’re doomed to repeat the past until we work on our own issues. So, if you’re overly familiar with toxic relationships work on the relationship with yourself before you go looking for love. More importantly, though, I want to hear what your favorite toxic relationship movie is. So leave a comment below!