MovieChat Forums > Love (2016) Discussion > Why does everyone hate Gus?

Why does everyone hate Gus?

posted 8 years ago by matthewvincelli
15 replies | jump to latest

I don't understand why everyone is so caught in the characters physical appearance. There is so much more to love then looks, and that's what the show is about.

And why is everyone hating on Gus? He's not "fake nice" at all. He met Mickey, felt a connection and wanted to try and pursue a relationship, and took her out on a date.

Let's look at it from Gus's perspective:
She got him kicked out of his favorite place, embarrassed him in front of the crowd and mocked his song writing party. Then she showed up unannounced and was rude to his friends. He was hurt by her behavior, and decided he didn't want to pursue the relationship anymore.

He invited Heidi to the party as a friend, not with the intention of hooking up with her. Heidi seemed to have a Florence Nightingale infatuation for Gus because he helped her to keep her job. Once she got fired later one, that was over.

I don't get why everyone has to rip him apart because he doesn't look like Channing Tatum. He's just trying to live his life and show everyone the common courtesy that they deserve. How does that make him an *beep*

[–] doggie_rodriguez 8 years ago

I don't understand why everyone is so caught in the characters physical appearance. There is so much more to love then looks, and that's what the show is about.

The Gus haters claim it's not about his looks, but typically it's the first thing they mention when complaining about how much they hate him.

I don't know where this "fake nice" thing comes from. Someone said it and then everyone else just ran with it. But if you try to ask for examples they really don't come up with much.

One thing they often bring up is how he "cheated" on Mickey. But it wasn't cheating. After they slept together (and she had to finish herself off) she said she didnt want to go to breakfast with him or go to his stupid party. So from his POV there was not going to be a relationship.

And like you said, the Heidi thing just sort of happened. But it was okay b/c Gus wasn't in a relationship. Therefore it's not cheating.

Do I think Gus is perfect? No.

Is he a bad person? No.

Is Mickey a bad person? Eh. She's not evil. But she does a lot of selfish/mean things to people, but I don't think she realizes it.

[–] CaptainTiddlywinks 8 years ago

Gus' girlfriend at the beginning of the show called him fake nice after they broke up so that's where it originated. As to why, I'd say he is to some extent because he uses politeness and being overly accommodating as a tool for conflict resolution, which can be very passive aggressive. Essentially he has a difficult time being confrontational with people even when that is what he's feeling inside, because he has a desperate need to be liked and considered a nice person.

Sometimes being direct and honest is more compassionate even if in the short term it's confrontational or hurtful, as long as it comes from a genuine place and is useful. I don't think he's an *beep* underneath but he does need to be more honest about who he is and what he's feeling sometimes. Otherwise it bottles up and blows up at inappropriate times, such as the writers meeting or the fight with Micky in front of all his coworkers. If he had been more honest those events would have unfolded differently.

[–] hannahleach 8 years ago

I don't hate Gustav because of his looks. I felt as he was some what dorkey, and finally getting the girl, he would be a great guy. He just isn't. His whole change in character annoyed me so much. Then he sleeps with another girl a day later after giving mickey a whole speech about liking her, just made me dislike him and is betrayal, made me hate him. He rant outside of the meeting they all attended was horrendous to watch. It is just a TV show, but his words and making out she's crazy made him appear just like any guy, when I think we all wanted him to be the one. The decent one, and he wasn't. After what he said and how he acted, I just felt sad and angry at his character. Made him top unlikeable. Ruined it for me I'm afraid. The actress who played Mickey was incredible. Loved her fun quirky roommate as well. Gustav just turned into am *beep* like all guys. Just surprising when you expect more from a character.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 8 years ago

Why did you like Mickey? B/c she was much worse than Gus, yet you thought Gus was awful and loved Mickey.

[–] hannahleach 8 years ago

Because she never claimed to be nice or better than anyone. But Gus did. When in fact he's just like every other guy. She is more honest about her f ups. He isn't.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 8 years ago

So she gets a free pass about her f ups b/c that's just Mickey being Mickey? You can be a jerk if you are honest about it?

[–] limpdd 8 years ago

I won't even bother replying to her, but when she says "When in fact he's just like every other guy" you know that come from a place of sad prejudice.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 8 years ago

I agree. And she's definitely projecting her dating experiences onto Gus (and her life experiences onto Mickey too). I'm guessing that in real life she's a Mickey. But it's okay to be a jerk if you are upfront about it. 

[–] hannahleach 8 years ago

Apologies, just read back some spelling errors. Gus*

[–] sjaakdakpan 8 years ago

I really liked this show because there's so much to discuss and the people in some ways feel more like actual people than most shows. Therefore, it's also not very easy to say who's the nice person and who's not nice/unlikable.

I personally dislike Gus but I don't care about his appearance. In fact that's what gave him the benefit of the doubt for me. It probably matters that I am a guy myself so I identified more with him initially, which would explain "overlooking" some of the things Mickey did.

I just found him extremely obnoxious with his whole Magic experience. If there's something unique that you like it's great if you could share that with the person you like, but in no possible scenario would trying to force the girl to like it be a good idea, especially if she has specifically indicated to dislike it. His behavior at the place itself, with his jacket and ignoring Mickey's request to just watch the excited woman, further shows how he has a narrow picture of how to experience something.

Yes, arriving unannounced etc. sucks, but if she really wants to talk to you badly and a day ago you just told her that you really liked her, I'd expect him to at least find a space to talk things over. He didn't really give her that space and even proceeded to cowardly delete her contact because for a second he thought he was the man (Heidi).

His behavior at the writing meeting, again extremely obnoxious. You don't behave like that on your first meeting. Of course they initially note experienced people's ideas more. Just build something up instead of desperately trying to get your own ideas across.

So overall it's a lack of empathy, of imagining what other people's perspectives are, that result in each of these cases in a for me unlikable character. But still, very relatable, since there's many people like that IRL unfortunately, and together with the issues of Mickey that are also very existent, makes it a fun show for me.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 8 years ago

Yes, arriving unannounced etc. sucks, but if she really wants to talk to you badly and a day ago you just told her that you really liked her, I'd expect him to at least find a space to talk things over. He didn't really give her that space and even proceeded to cowardly delete her contact because for a second he thought he was the man (Heidi).

The last time he saw her she didn't want to have breakfast with him and told him his party sounded lame and that she did not want to go. Throw in the fact that from his POV she did not enjoy the sex it's easy to see why he left her place thinking they weren't going to date. So I get why he "moved on".

As for the magic thing, I think he was just overly passionate about it and wanted to share it when Mickey. It wasn't her cup of tea. I think they both acted equally poorly there.

[–] vafla9 7 years ago

My problem with Gus is not his looks. In fact, he is sort of my type appearance wise. However it was his attitude that would grind my gears. He is the type of guy that acts like he has been wronged by life all the time but however he will not do one thing himself to change his situation, instead he will just passive aggressively moan about it and make everyone else feel bad. He is also someone who seems way nice at first and then his faults start creeping in, but he is so subtle about them and a master at talking himself out of admitting anything via word vomit that he did anything wrong. The way he handled the date with Bertie was a perfect example of this; he is constantly doing things that she didn't ask for, making her uncomfortable and once he gets her text message by accident he should have just walked away with his dignity he starts getting all mopey and making the situation worse than it had to be. That's the type of thing that I can't stand: just because things aren't turning out the way that you wanted it doesn't mean that you have to take revenge by acting like a gigantic dill hole. So appearance: yes. Attitude: Hell no!

[–] Shiny-NZ 7 years ago

^ Yup. Mickey has some obvious issues, obviously - drug dependency, alcoholism, outbursts - pretty messed up self-esteem and whatnot
But Gus has some real red flags too - I agree with every word of vafla9's post about him playing a martyr and passive aggressive games etc. I think Gus has an exhausting, kind of Woody Allen'ish neurosis and is kind of self-absorbed.
He has real good points too! When he's relaxed - he's really funny and sweet - and he's kind of goofy with his music group and he has a romantic side - it's just that his romantic side comes with a side of 'poor me' which is draining.

[–] xsabresx 7 years ago

For me the scene with the jacket is a perfect microcosm of Gus. He got to wear the jacket all day and feel cool doing it but as soon as the wardrobe girl asked for it back he copped this whiney tone abut "why do you want it back, just let me wear it". That little scene summed up all of his feelings of entitlement.

[–] Acinca (104) 7 years ago

I don't necessary hate Gus, however; I am annoyed at times by his behavior at his work. He has this self righteous entitlement behavior that I know no one would tolerate at a job. For instance, when he's allowed to sit in during a session with the writers of the show, he expects them to worship him. Instead of being grateful he's so stuck up about how he wrote one story for the show. Then, he throws a hissy fit when no one likes his ideas. Talk about unprofessional. Plus, he acted like he was the boss when they started filming scenes from a story he wrote.
Pretty much, I like Gus when he's not working. That's just my opinion of him, btw.