Any movies where the main character is actually the side kick?

[Aldo]

I just got done watching Big Trouble in Little China (a movie I love btw. And it's funny how all through the movie Jack Burton (the Kurt Russel character) acts like he's the hero when in fact he really doesn't do a whole lot in the movie. He talks big, but it's Wang Chi (David Dun) who is actually the hero of the film.

So that got me thinking, are there any other movies where the main character acts like, and believes he's the hero when in fact he's actually more of a sidekick?

Movies about underdogs who rise out of the sidekick role and become the hero in the movie don't count.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I guess you could count the Pirates of the Caribbean, sort of? Orlando Bloom's character is the dashing hero who gets the girl in the end and everything, while Johnny Depp's character steals the spotlight for being sort of the anti-hero.

 

[Caliburn24]

The Devil Wears Prada. Anne Hathaway is second fiddle to Meryl Streep for the whole movie.

 

[Gaith]

The live-action show The Tick is the only one that springs to mind...

 

[TexasNightt]

The new Green Hornet? Kato got all the tricks.

 

[sojourner]

By the third film in the Back to the future series Doc Brown and Marty have changed places with Marty reduced to sidekick.

 

[od0_ital]

^

To be fair, the third movie is all about Doc Brown - Marty isn't in any real danger.

 

[Campe]

^

To be fair, the third movie is all about Doc Brown - Marty isn't in any real danger.

Actually, none of the BTTF movies are really about Marty. The first one's about George, the second one is about Biff, and the third one, as you say, is about Doc.

 

[Christopher]

How about Tron? Kevin Flynn is the main character, but Tron is the hero who saves the day. They're more parallel protagonists than hero and sidekick, though.

In The Middleman comic and TV series, it would be fair to say that Wendy, the apprentice, is the main character rather than the Middleman himself. She's the viewpoint character, the one from whose perspective the stories are told, and her personal life is more heavily featured than the mysterious MM's.

It's actually kind of a recurring formula to tell a story where the main character is the new recruit or apprentice. There's Men in Black, where Will Smith's character is the sidekick/apprentice to the veteran agent played by Tommy Lee Jones. There's the BBC's Merlin, focusing on the young Merlin in his role as servant to Prince Arthur and apprentice to the apothecary Gaius. In another genre, you could say that Boston Legal's lead character Alan Shore was a sidekick to Denny Crane -- certainly a junior partner in his law firm and a protege on a professional and personal level.

I'm not thinking of many movies that fit the pattern, but they must be out there. I haven't seen the Get Smart remake movie from a few years back, but I gather it reinterpreted Maxwell Smart as a wannabe agent who teamed up with the veteran Agent 99.

 

[auntiehill]

Kick Ass. I think Hit Girl (and Big Daddy) is the heroe, and Kick Ass is actually her sidekick.

 

[Admiral Shran]

I read the title to this thread and immediately thought of Big Trouble in Little China. Unfortunately, the OP beat me to it.

I have to mention every single TOS Trek movie, since Spock is essentially the sidekick and yet steals the show from Shatner every time.

 

[sojourner]

Stealing the show and being the main character aren't really the same thing though.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The only problem with Big Trouble in Little China as an example here is that Jack Burton kills Lo Pan which is like blowing up the Death Star.

Tron is a pretty good example, but an unusual story to say the least. Obviously Flynn is more of a protagonist than Clu, but what is interesting is that, story-wise, Tron is more of a protagonist than Alan. I agree that the hero is Tron. I really don't know what Flynn is. He could be anything from spiritual guide/Gandalf/Obi-wan type to Marty Stu.

 

[cultcross]

Kick Ass. I think Hit Girl (and Big Daddy) is the heroe, and Kick Ass is actually her sidekick.

That's what came to my mind as well - Kick Ass himself is very much the sidekick for most of the second half of the film.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I got the impression from an interview with Johnny Depp a while back that the Lone Ranger movie might go the way of the new Green Hornet movie.

Depp will be playing Tonto.

 

[Greg Cox]

Kick Ass. I think Hit Girl (and Big Daddy) is the heroe, and Kick Ass is actually her sidekick.

Good one!

 

[Captaindemotion]

What about the Star Was prequels? They're about the fall of Anakin Skywalker but he's not introduced until late in TPM and Ewan McGregor gets top billing for the next two movies.

 

[Ethros]

I guess you might say Terminator 2. Sarah Connor is the one leading them, and John is the most important one, yet obviously Arnie as the Terminator is all over the posters
(Same goes for T3)