Outcasts, loners, nerds, and geeks our film heroes don’t all wear capes.
Steve Yedlin/Focus Features; Francois Duhamel/Annapurna Pictures; Everett Collection
Movie underdogs come in many shapes in sizes.
These underdogs may be flawed in their own particular ways, but we find them fascinating regardless.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ‘Brick’; Kaitlyn Dever in ‘Booksmart’; Efren Ramirez in ‘Napoleon Dynamite’.Credit:Steve Yedlin/Focus Features; Francois Duhamel/Annapurna Pictures; Everett Collection
Here are our picks for the most compelling awkward underdogs in film.
Talk about a night to remember.
We all could learn a thing or two from Christmas.
Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in ‘Booksmart’.Francois Duhamel/Annapurna Pictures
It’s 1973 in Los Angeles, and she tries her best to ward off leering men.
Kayla (Eighth Grade, 2018)
Bo Burnham’s directorial debut,Eighth Grade?
She also single-handedly made archery the new pop culture craze, thanks to her trusty bow and arrow.N.R.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ‘Brick’.Steve Yedlin/Focus Features
And a certain allure for the ladies.
(Shout out to Deb.)
Messing up a soup in the kitchen, he is startled to see an anthropomorphic rat improving the dish.
Sissy Spacek in ‘Carrie’.Everett Collection
The rodent introduces himself as Remy (Patton Oswalt), and an unlikely partnership is born.
Don’t underestimate the value ofhalf-and-half, mental concentration, andplaying now and loud.
Respectively played byJonah Hilland Michael Cera, the brash Seth is the yin to gentle Evan’s yang.
Logan Lerman in ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’.John Bramley/Summit
It’s a heartwarming tale of family, animals, and the joys of chasing the most unlikely dreams.
No financial or social status to his name.
Mckenna Grace in ‘Troop Zero’.Amazon Studios
Jack Reynor and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo in ‘Sing Street’.Everett Collection
Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in ‘Licorice Pizza’.Paul Thomas Anderson/MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
Viveik Kalra in ‘Blinded by the Light’.Nick Wall/Warner Bros.
Elsie Fisher in ‘Eighth Grade’.Linda Kallerus/A24
Jennifer Lawrence in ‘The Hunger Games’.Murray Close/Lionsgate
Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.Fox Searchlight/courtesy Everett Collection
Anne Hathaway in ‘The Princess Diaries’.Everett Collection
The cast of ‘The Mighty Ducks’.Everett Collection
Efren Ramirez and Jon Heder in ‘Napoleon Dynamite’.Everett Collection
Remy and Linguini in ‘Ratatouille’.Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett Collection
Bill Murray and Chris Makepeace in ‘Meatballs’.Everett Collection
Michael Cera in ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’.Everett Collection
Michael Cera and Jonah Hill in ‘Superbad’.Everett Collection
Melanie Griffith in ‘Working Girl’.20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Michael St. Gerard, Ricki Lake, Leslie Ann Powers, and Clayton Prince in ‘Hairspray’.Everett Collection
Elizabeth Taylor in ‘National Velvet’.Everett Collection
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014).Martin Scali/Searchlight Studios
