MEGAMIND and Nice Guy™ Syndrome

What is the difference between niceness and goodness? Megamind is all about one guy who doesn't understand the difference, and another who learns the difference.

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright talk about Nice Guy Syndrome, especially as seen in the character of Hal/Tighten (Jonah Hill) and how he thinks he deserves or can earn Roxanne's affection. But also how Megamind (Will Ferrell) learns what it really means to be good, how Roxanne (Tina Fey) and Metro Man (Brad Pitt) go against stereotypes, and the absolutely fabulous humor in this movie. They also give some advice for recovering "Nice Guys" or guys who realize they've maybe internalized some of these ideas, especially around romantic relationships, and want to actually be good instead of just "nice."

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Sophie Tellez
Edited by: David Sant
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis
Spanish Translation by: Juan Willems

[blacksun]

My uncle once summed up the entire argument thusly: Good people will never have to say they are good people. Their actions will say it for them. Nice people will tell you at every opportunity that they are nice but won’t show an ounce of being good.

[crumblemuffin]

One thing that made me fall in love with megamind it's how they dodge the "Oh you saved me and now I'm in love with you" superhero cliche and I'm so glad

[rainbowwigglecactus]

I love how she isn't scared when Megamind kidnaps her, not just because he's predictable but because she knows he won't actually hurt her. He just uses her to fight Metroman. But with Hal she's horrified because she knows he could and would actually hurt her

[argon]

"I do not want to live in a world where we have 3 despicable me's... and only one megamind"

And in the corner of a room, nestled deep in a drawer, tucked away in a dusty box, a single finger on a monkey's paw curled.

[veronikamajerova]

I like the theory that MetroMan chose to be a Music Man because music is something his powers can´t help him with. He has to learn how to play instruments on his own, just like any other human, and that challenge for him is refreshing.

[name_not_found]

There’s something that I always thought was interesting with this movie. When Roxanne is with Megamind in the beginning, when she was “in danger” and waiting for Metroman to save her, she wasn’t scared in the slightest. However, when she was with Hal, she was genuinely terrified of what he would do. It just goes to show how the “Nice Guy” Syndrome is a real problem for anyone.

[StrawberryBelle]

I like the part when Titan brings Roxanne the flowers. It shows how little he *actually* cares for her. He says he knows everything about her and then immediately after he says he doesn't know what kind of flowers she likes. He likes the idea of being with her but doesn't actually like her enough to learn about her.

[TheRogueCommand]

Little detail I love: when Roxanne learns the truth about Megamind, the rain rehydrates all the garbage he and Minion had "cleaned up" earlier. It's a great visual gag, but also I think it's a strong metaphor for Megamind's actions: he was trying to turn his life around for the better, but he was just covering up the problem vs fixing it.

[ezerstudio]

I feel like there’s this extra layer of “you could have had nice me but you wouldn’t give me what I wanted so now you get abusive me and that’s on you”

[GrabaCuppaPodcast]

I love the detail that Hal says "I know everything about you" but then immediately after says that he doesn't know what Roxannes favourite type of flower is. Just a cool little detail right there.

[emilydivis]

I think part of what makes Hal such a brilliant portrayal of the "nice guy" problem is how Megamind behaves in contrast. He pays attention to Roxanne and tries to make her happy. Her, specifically, as an individual. For example, he cleans up the whole city because he notices how sad she is to see the park covered in litter.

By contrast, Hal doesn't try to get to know Roxanne. He sees her as a girl he likes and that's all. "I didn't know what kind of flowers you liked, so I got you all of them." "Girls don't like bouncy houses, they like clowns!" Et cetera. Roxanne could have been literally any woman he thought was attractive and he would have behaved exactly the same way.

At the end of the day, Megamind sees Roxanne as an individual and develops an honest connection to her, while Hal fails to see Roxanne as a person - so not only does he not try to understand her, but he is completely flabbergasted when she doesn't react positively to the reveal that he's got superpowers. For someone who has known her for years, you'd think Hal would understand her basic personality.

[Rubatose]

The interesting part to me is how Roxanne was always so kind to Hal despite his awkwardness and his selfishness. She was never dismissive or rude to him. Even in that tower scene where she's trying to explain to him what's going on, she never once raises her voice or gets impatient with him, it's him who gets worked up with her. And that's such a perfect depiction of real life. You can be so kind, and so polite, and it doesn't matter, because if someone has decided you owe them something, they're going to be angry at you just for existing if they don't get it.

[ztslovebird]

I think it’s important to note that Megamind didn’t assume Bernard’s identity to get with Roxanne - he just didn’t want to be caught mourning Metroman in his fluffy jammies. And I think he continued to hang out with her because he never really had a friend outside of Minion and . . . whatever Metroman was to him. Falling in love was a complete accident.

[ScrambledAndBenedict]

You know what's so great about Roxanne in this show? She's not a damsel in distress, but she still shows genuine fear when it's warranted. She's not scared of Megamind since she's come to learn he's not a threat to her, and even trash-talks him, but when faced with Tighten she, while still being fairly tough, genuinely does show fear and become afraid of him. It makes her seem like such a real person, like that's how you'd expect someone to act like in her situation: she's not a distressed damsel but she's not this overly brave plank of wood either.

[mikagrossmann]

It just occurred to me that the "bouncy castle\clown" bit was a great indicator to Hal's true personality. When things don't go as he wants them to he becomes violent (he's beating the car, and really aggressively). And then, when due to his own actions he gets hurt (hurt his hand) he blames others ("stupid car!"). It's played for laughs here but it's a great indicator to what's to come.

[roguejester]

Tighten:" This is the last time you make a fool out of me."

Megamind:" I made you a hero. You did the fool thing all by yourself. "

I just love that bit.

[cheezemonkeyeater]

Don't look at it as you're disappointed we didn't get more Megamind. Look at it as you don't live in the timeline where Megamind was ruined by tons of terrible sequels.

Please stop commenting "This aged poorly." I know. another 50 people telling me won't make me know it any more than I already do.

[saifsufian]

A detail I love is that when Megamind captures Roxane she really doesn’t care and is calm because she knows that Megamind won’t hurt her, but when Titan captures her she is terrified because Titan will actually kill her

[DitantLine]

"Just kidding, I know everything about you."
"I grabbed some flowers, I didn't know what you liked, so I just grabbed, you know, all of them."

Perfect example of a NiceGuy (TM)
He may know a lot about her as an idea, but not as a person. He doesn't care about the person.

[SoaringDragon]

“I do not want to live in a world where… we have only one Megamind.”

Be careful what you wish for!