MovieChat Forums > Your Friends and Neighbors (1998) Discussion > Is it just me, or is Cary the most likab...

Is it just me, or is Cary the most likable guy in the film? (Spoilers)

posted 11 years ago by Zando777
12 replies | jump to latest

Aaron Eckhart's character is also okay, but kind of a sad sack. Everyone else is fairly loathsome. Amy Brenneman is hot as always, but you dislike her for trying to cheat with the repugnant Stiller (and falling for Cary).

Cary is admirable for being honest and direct, especially when telling off Keener, even though he's also a lunatic misogynist.

The film also seems fairly critical of women, in that Cary is the male character most succesful with women. And none of the women are particularly loyal, direct, forthright, loving, strong, etc.

But Stiller's character is just scum here.

[–] archer1267 11 years ago

I personally thought the guy was the nastiest in a nasty group of people. And I hate it when someone eviscerates another person under the guise of "hey, I'm just being honest." Cary mentions "common decency" a couple of times but there's nothing decent in the way he treats people, especially women.

[–] stephan-128 11 years ago

His honesty can be useful to himself and others.

But he is a terrible, terrible person. The words that come to mind are "sociopath" and "monster".

[–] KolaDude 11 years ago

Cary is by far the most reprehensible character in this film. His honesty isn't direct, it is cartoonishly blunt, tactless and indecent, not to mention unsolicited. Nothing worse than someone throwing around their mean spirited opinions when no one asked them in the first place. Also, might I point out that he is also an unapologetic rapist. If the worse thing you can say about another character is that they cheated on their spouse, they have Cary beat by a mile.

I would say that he was also by far the most interesting characters to watch in this film but likable is way off.

BE YOUR OWN FANBOY

[–] TBickleMe 11 years ago

I think Cary just wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of in an honest way. He liked to make love, whats wrong with that? Keeners character was a complete unhappy bitch, and he invited her for coffee, probably leading to later love making. He told Kinsky's character that she was probably great in bed, and that is a compliment and he wanted to share that. Brenneman's a bored housewife who can't give anyone an erection. Well, Cary certainly gave her what she wanted, and he gave it to her GOOD, resulting in a baby. Even little Timmy , as Cary says, the other guys who held him down, they just banged him, but Cary made love like " they were on some beach" Timmy knew something special had happened. Cary could be tough, but ultimately he was fiercely loyal and gave everyone what they wanted but couldn't ask for.

[–] KolaDude 11 years ago

"Cary could be tough, but ultimately he was fiercely loyal and gave everyone what they wanted but couldn't ask for."

This justification for rape may be the closest thing to actually raping someone in the category of being reprehensible. There was no indication that he was psychic so no way of knowing that the boy he raped wanted to make love to him. Also, his stated reason for wanting to rape the kid had nothing to do with wanting to give the kid what the kid wanted. It was because the boy told on Cary. The fact that the boy may have wanted it (extremely unlikely but even if i were to hypothetically concede this point) was irrelevant to why Cary raped him. He is about as reprehensible as one can get. The fact that he has no insight into how self centered and horrible his behavior is and even tries to justify it only makes him less likable.

BE YOUR OWN FANBOY

[–] TBickleMe 11 years ago

It was more tender than you make it out to be. Sounds like it hit a raw nerve with you. Is there a part of you that was wanting the same?

[–] KolaDude 11 years ago

I get it. This is where I'm supposed to get mad that you are implying that I'm subconsciously gay. Nice try.

Anyway, we have no indication of the rape being at all tender other than Cary's representation of it which for all we know is a complete mischaracterization of what actually happened. What we objectively know is that a boy told on him for cheating and he punished that boy by sexually violating him. Bottom line, not a likable person.

BE YOUR OWN FANBOY

[–] jerseyboynorth 10 years ago

Honest,free-spirited, Abusive, and a misogynist. I loved it when he told off the Catherine Keener character in the bookstore.

I think the film is very realistic with all of the characters.

People don't change...they just get older

[–] rochelle-rochelle 10 years ago

Cary was my favorite character in the film because he was so shocking. Each scene was more freakier than the one before. I still laugh, in an uncomfortable way, when he goes ballistic on his date for getting her period while in his bed with the expensive sheets he now has to destroy. And the sauna scene......WTF?!!! The bookstore scene with Catherine Keener makes me sick and breaks my heart. His scenes are rough and nasty, but fascinating as hell!

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"YOU KNOW, WE ARE LIVING IN A SOCIETY! WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ACT IN A CIVILIZED WAY!"

[–] everydayboredom1980 8 years ago

He was the most interesting, but not the most likable.

He was a demented sociopath.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft (236) 4 years ago

Yeah, no. Definitely not.

[–] Orcsquisher (11) 4 years ago

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