Opinion

Egyptian cinema has long charmed audiences with its “nice guys,” who appear devoted, protective, and romantic. The nice guy does the work to win the girl, wooing her with compliments and displays of affection. But behind the grand gestures and charming banter lies an insidious truth: that the “nice guy’s” love in Egyptian romantic comedies is often laced with control, jealousy, and fragile masculinity. Nice guys portrayed in cinema are often misogynistic men who exert patriarchal control, disguised as humor…