5 Best Anti-Romance Movies

Sometimes there's nothing better than curling up on the couch, putting an arm around somebody you deeply care about and watching a romantic movie. Then there are other times that you're just so fed up with all the cheesiness and you just want to see a relationship go to hell in a hand-basket. Well for the people out there who've had enough happy endings to last them a lifetime here's a list of Hollywood's best anti-romantic films.

"The War of the Roses"
Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara (Kathleen Turner) had a story-book beginning to their relationship. Meeting by chance, they fell in love, got married, had kids, were successful and lived in a stunning home. However none of that could prevent the breakdown of their marriage and turning them both into ticking time bombs of hatred towards each other, ready to explode at any moment. The decision to divorce is only the beginning of the war that ensues. Is it possible for either one of them to truly win when neither one of them really deserves to?

Director Danny Devito has a true knack for dark comedy and this film manages to be hilarious while being the absolute antithesis of romantic. The opening of the movie is played wonderfully straight as the two meet and fall in love, but then the cracks start to show after the wedding and those cracks widen into gaping chasms by the end of the film. It's refreshing that the film doesn't really paint either Oliver or Barbara as the villain, though neither one is really the hero either. This isn't a movie where audiences will root for one or the other, as they're both pretty miserable human beings by the time the credits role. However there's still a ton of fun to be had in watching these two former love birds square off in a battle of wills and cruelty.

"Fatal Attraction"
Dan (Michael Douglas) is a successful lawyer with a loving wife (Anne Archer) and an overall enviable life. This doesn't stop him having what he thinks will only be a weekend affair with Alex (Glenn Close,) a woman he meets through work. While Dan was happy to have a good time and walk away, Alex is not prepared to let things end so smoothly. She quickly develops and obsession with Dan, constantly trying to force herself into his life and craving his acknowledgment. When he refuses to give into what she wants, Alex's desperation turns into violence towards Dan and his family.

Generally thought of as the movie that took an entire generation of potential cheating males and scared them straight. It is most definitely a male nightmare of a movie, and the thing that many men fear in the back of their minds: "what if she's a psycho?" Starting as a slow boil thriller it eventually goes a little over the top by the end, but that's part of the appeal of the whole thing. Michael Douglas has that unique charm that makes viewers like him even though he's frankly an adulterous jerk. Glen Close and Anne Archer both earned Oscar nominations for their work in this film, and deservedly so.

"The Break-Up"
Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) and Gary (Vince Vaughn) are a Chicago couple that have been living together for a little a decent period of time. However the little quirks and hang ups that each has begins to grate on the other, until is explodes in a fight. Brooke accuses Gary of being immature, while Gary is fed up with Brooke trying to manage and control his life. Each has a point but neither will admit that the other does as well. Soon it becomes a game of on-upsmanship as each tries to drive the other to the breaking point. They do this out of spite but also in misguided belief that it will cause the other to admit they were wrong.

Definitely the most light-hearted entry on this particular list, but still a worthy entry in the failed relationships sub-genre. It's a bit of an examination of the ways in which men and women fail to communicate with each other. Unlike the characters in "The War of the Roses," Gary and Brooke never really hate each other. In fact they both still feel something even as the relationship falls apart, but neither is ever willing to admit fault. They just keep playing the game until the game drives them apart. While not the high comedy it was marketed as, it's still a surprisingly astute take on why many relationships fail. And yes there are some laughs to be had along the way.

"Sleeping Dogs Lie"
Amy (Melinda Page Hamilton) is an ordinary girl, from an ordinary family with a nice relationship with an ordinary boy. Unfortunately she does have one somewhat perverse misstep in her sexual history, one that she isn't sure whether or not to tell to her fiance (Bryce Johnson.) Her co-workers and her mother (while not knowing what the secret actually is) both espouse the virtue of building a relationship on total honesty, and that no matter what it is if he loves her then he'll understand. But when the secret finally comes out it shocks her fiance and family so badly that thing may never be able to go back to normal ever again.

It's often said that relationships need to be based on openness and honesty. Hollywood has certainly been touting that line of thinking for decades, with lies or misunderstandings making up the bulk of the relationship drama in movies. However writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait seems to have been different feelings on the matter, and he used this movie and it's raunchy premise to prove his point. The instant she tells of her little secret everything goes to hell. While Goldthwait hadn't quite gotten as comfortable as a director as he seemed to be with 2009's "World's Greatest Dad" he is very careful to never overplay his hand here. Despite the obscene nature of some of the movie the characters are all treated very humanely, they all feel well explained and they aren't humiliated for cheap laughs. This oddball film serves as an abject lesson in knowing when to keep a secret.

"Sid and Nancy"
The Sex Pistols were the face of British punk rock, and few partied harder than bassist Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman.) Already living a volatile lifestyle, Vicious finds himself falling fast and hard for groupie Nancy (Chloe Webb.) She introduces Sid to heroin and the addiction as well as their relationship soon helps lead to the split that breaks up the band. Determined to keep the party going Sid tries to go solo, with Nancy at his side. But with two people as damaged as Sid and Nancy living the squalid life of heroin addiction there is ultimately only one way that this story can end.

Sex, drugs and punk rock, the perfect mix for a whirlwind romance and an extremely bad ending. Oldman and Webb manage to have a crackling chemistry, which makes it easy to believe them as a couple that gravitated towards each other. Of course probably the best thing they could have done would have been to stay as far away from each other as possible. A doomed romance in every possible sense of the term is what lies at the heart of this film. Some may still argue that this a legitimate romance film since the two do actually seem to love each other. While maybe one could admire their love in the abstract, would anybody ever want to actually live it? If this is romance than romance truly sucks.