Top 10 Movie “Other” Guys Who Don't Suck

This one is a love triangle for the ages. Two best friends, Rafe and Danny, are fighting in World War II, when Rafe’s plane is shot down and he is presumed dead; leaving his girlfriend, Evelyn, and Danny to seek comfort with each other. But when Rafe returns, understandably pissed that his best buddy moved in on his girlfriend, Danny tries to make things right. He ultimately sacrifices himself when they are captured by Japanese soldiers, and sends Rafe home to take care of Evelyn and Danny’s baby. Any guy willing to lay down his life for his buddy is okay in our books.

Heck just wants Rachel to be happy, even if it’s not with him. When he realizes that the person Rachel truly loves is a woman named Luce, he graciously steps aside, and encourages her to be with the person who is truly right for her. Such a good guy, right? In many movies like this, the guy usually turns out to be a real jerk, so you don’t feel too bad for him when the woman leaves him. But this time, Heck doesn’t do anything wrong, Rachel just can’t love him the way he wants to be loved.

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, Ilsa walks into Rick’s. Desperate to get her husband out of the country before he is captured by Nazis, Ilsa visits her old flame, Rick, to get them travel papers. Funny thing is, even though Ilsa ends up staying with her husband, he’s barely even in the movie. Rick is the guy you end up rooting for, and much of the movie is spent reminiscing about their past love affair. But, like any honorable man would, Rick wants Ilsa to be safe, even if it means being away from him, and the two part ways again. They’ll always have Paris.

Just to be perfectly clear, we are not taking sides in the endless Team Edward or Team Jacob debate. We’re just saying Jacob is also a pretty valid choice for Bella. They definitely have chemistry, and admittedly love each other – and he’s even said himself that she wouldn't have to change for him. He might be a bit aggressive about making his feelings clear, but there’s no doubt that if Bella decided to be with Jacob, he’d love her just as much as Edward would. Unlike his vampiric nemesis, Jacob definitely doesn’t suck.

Esmeralda may have ended up with Phoebus, but Quasimodo was no slouch either. The entire plot of this movie is centered around misjudging people based on their appearance – and though people may see him as a monster, he’s actually kind, brave, and beautiful on the inside. Esmeralda is also misjudged for superficial reasons, so when she meets Quasimodo, the two easily bond and become best friends. They save each other’s lives on several occasions, and always have each other’s backs. Although they don’t end up together, Esmeralda never saw him as anything but beautiful.

We’ll be the first to admit that Duckie suffers a bit from “nice guy” syndrome. He’s Andie’s longtime best friend without ever telling her how he really feels – and yet, blames her for not feeling the same way. That’s… not the best. But in the end, Duckie is a good friend to Andie. He’s there for her when she’s down, and is even the one who convinces her to forgive Blane when he comes back for her. He may not be perfect, but Duckie’s okay in our book.

Everyone seems to have reached a general consensus that Peter Kavinsky is totally swoonworthy. But Lara Jean’s best friend and other love letter recipient, Josh, deserves some credit too. Even though he was dating her sister, Josh never stopped being Lara Jean’s best friend. He always did his best to include her, and never make her feel like a third wheel. While things get a bit awkward when Lara Jean’s letters get out, he does his best to handle it maturely, and helps her sort out her true feelings about Peter. If anyone’s truly deserving of his own love letters, it’s Josh.

This is another one of those shipping wars we’re staying completely impartial to, but we will say that Gale was pretty great in his own right. Katniss may have decided Gale just isn’t the right guy for her, but he is intelligent, brave, and a valiant fighter in the resistance against the Capitol. These two have been best friends for ages, and he probably knows Katniss better than anyone else does – even taking care of Katniss’ family while she was in the Games. Peeta is great and all, but Gale is still pretty awesome.

Poor James Marsden just can’t catch a break. Richard White doesn’t stand a chance with Lois Lane. Prince Edward didn’t get his fairytale ending with Giselle. At least in “Enchanted”, he does get a happy ending with Nancy. But when Noah comes back into Allie’s life in “The Notebook”, there is no happily ever after for Lon Hammond Jr. There's nothing particularly wrong with Lon. He’s kind, fun and handsome. He's a man of wealth and privilege, and from the same world as Allie. It sounds perfect on paper, but he’s just not Noah. It’s one of those situations where, while they both seem like a great match, they’re just not right for each other in the end.

If you were stranded in New York City late at night and a strange man approached you in the subway offering his help, you’d probably assume, just like Brooke, that he had some ulterior motives. It turns out Nick is just a nice guy who tries his best to help Brooke get back home in time to avoid some life-changing drama. Brooke presumably returns to her husband, but arguably should have stayed with Nick. We might be biased because we never even see the husband, and we get to accompany Nick and Brooke on an amazing all-night adventure. But we have no qualms taking sides on this one: we’re team Nick.