I think one cancels out the other. No rational person would think a murderer had a “charming personality”. How could they if they took the life of another person?

I live in one of the poorest cities in America & I could never define a drug dealer as “likeable”. I walk among drug addicts every day - just on my own street last year we had 4 drug-related deaths: 3 women & 1 man, 1 Hispanic, 1 white & 2 black people.

This is why I chose Pulp Fiction

You didn't think Shelley Levine (Jack Lemmon) was likable?

Re: Movies You Like w/ No Likable Characters?
 

2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr. Strangelove
Raging Bull
Whiplash

You didn't Peter Sellers' POTUS was likable?

In real life, of course one cancels out the other. But with movies you get to put yourself in another character's shoes, including those who are criminals. In the case of Pulp Fiction, I find the characters likable because of charismatically the actors play them, their amusing conversations and friendship with each other. However, I would never classify them as good people. There's a difference.

Re: Movies You Like w/ No Likable Characters?
 

When it comes to Pulp Fiction I could see Travolta's character Vincent being likable, but Jules (Samuel Jackson) was vicious in the way he killed the kid on the couch.

Re: Movies You Like w/ No Likable Characters?
 

I think you can have different actor playing the same kind of roles, but with the audience feeling very different towards them. As said earlier, "who they do might not be who they are"

The Indian who took them, Micky and Mallory, in was very likable (the one who released the snake to be a snake).

I think it's less to do with individual characters than it is to do with how the business itself is so crooked (they make a point of saying that the land they're selling is "bad" at one point, much less how most of their leads can't or won't buy it anyway) that it makes it hard to like anyone who continues to work there, even if they are as desperate and sympathetic as Shelley Levene. I will admit that I was on the fence about including it simply because of him, though - kind of tough to find films with absolutely no likeable characters, there's always at least one who complicates the answer.

Another example I thought of - Repo Man. Everyone in that movie is a selfish prick to one extent or another - the only possible exception might be Miller and he has the "John Wayne was a [f-slur]" line.

Re: Movies You Like w/ No Likable Characters?
 

I thought about him but figured it was such a small role. It would be like picking Kavanaugh the Cop. He was the one who Mickey said to "DROP IT!" and Kavanaugh dropped the doughnut and not the shotgun. Every movie you could pick out at least one small character who isn't completely bad

The Indian was much, much more central. Not only was his character the only one that had been nice to Mickey and Mallory, but he had the key descriptive explanation of the movie (the whole "Snake go be a snake" speech/diatribe). His part is incredibly integral. Also, Mickey said later on that killing him took the lust for murder out of them. While his part may seem minor, I would argue that it is the linchpin of the film.

she is really self-destructive and she knew what the people around her were doing, but she accepted it because she liked the lifestyle Christopher gave her.

True. Jules was a sadist.

She was still likeable.

Re: Movies You Like w/ No Likable Characters?
 

Apocalypse Now and Glengarry Glen Ross come to mind. Not one healthy soul to be found in them, hehehe.

What?! :p

What, what? I don't get it? My post was made four years ago, I don't even remember what the conversation was about.

Every time Jules asked the dumb kid on the couch a question the dumb kid said “what?”. Jules said if he said that word again he would shoot him. The kid replied “what?” & that was the end of him. :rolleyes:

There’s definitely been a whole mood of suddenly resurrecting very old threads over the last few days.

Ha:p I initially missed your joke but it was pretty darn funny now that I get it:D

It's all by one person as well.