BAD ROMANCE: THE MOST BIZARRE MOVIE COUPLES

The couple: 'R' (Nicholas Hoult) and Julie (Teresa Palmer).

Why it's odd: 'R' is a zombie. Sure, he's a relatively fresh corpse – and the corpse of handsome youngster Nicholas Hoult at that – but generally speaking, love affairs involving one or more dead bodies are generally frowned upon in polite society. It's also something of a turn-off if the boy has recently eaten the girl's ex-boyfriend's brains.

The couple: George (Charlton Heston) and Zira (Kim Hunter)

Why it's odd: Bestiality for starters. Though the romance between space-traveller-turned-slave George Taylor and simian sexpot Zira isn't exactly explicit (we don't know, we haven't watched the deleted scenes yet), it's always iffy when a man makes out with a monkey. Tim Burton also courted controversy in his 2001 remake, when Helena Bonham Carter's ape made out with – eww – Mark Wahlberg. Gross.

The couple: Howard (Chip Zien) and Beverly (Lea Thompson)

Why it's odd: He's a duck. She's a woman. And we're pretty sure they have sex. Do we need to draw you a diagram? (We tried, but all our pencils kept committing suicide).

The couple: Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy)

Why it's odd: He's a werewolf, she's a newborn baby: it's like something from Jerry Springer's nightmares. To be fair, the movie of 'Breaking Dawn' does tone down the oddness of Jacob 'imprinting' on the Cullen's new baby (he just wants to protect her, apparently) but any relationship that makes the union between Bella (aged 17) and Edward (aged 108) look normal is still pretty out there.

The couple: Harold (Bud Cort) and Maude (Ruth Gordon)

Why it's odd: Weirdo teen Harold is obsessed with death and frequently fakes suicide to get attention from his mother. Naturally then, the healthiest possible relationship he could pursue is one with 79-year-old fellow oddball Maude, who quickly becomes the love of his life, even though hers is almost over. Alas, the hottest relationships always burn out instead of fading away, and the partnership dissolves when Maude pops her clogs.

The couple: Connor (Matthew McConaughey) and Jenny (Jennifer Garner)

Why it's odd: This modern re-telling of 'A Christmas Carol' has no small amount of charm and wit, with McConaughey's love rat guided in his new romance by the spirits of his ex-lovers. Except for one little thing: it's never mentioned why all of his ex-girlfriends are dead. The only possible explanation is that McConaughey is a serial murderer and quite fancied wearing Jennifer Garner's head for a hat.

The couple: Benjamin (Brad Pitt) and Daisy (Cate Blanchett)

Why it's odd: Benjamin is ageing backwards, which does tend to complicate the concept of 'age of consent'. He starts his life as an old man and falls for Blanchett as a little girl (weird), then he gets younger as she gets older and they meet in the middle (less weird), then he turns into a baby as she becomes an old woman (back to weird again). There isn't a court in the world that would allow this romance to continue.

The couple: Robert (Sean Connery) and Virginia (Catherine Zeta-Jones)

Why it's odd: Though it's undeniable that Sean Connery is still a silver fox, pairing him with Catherine Zeta-Jones was icky to say the least, given the 39-year age difference – there were eight World Cups and one World War in the years between their births. Connery is as cool as you like, but his poor old ticker must have started palpitating when he saw Zeta-Jones do her gymnastics routine in a pair of tight-fitting lycra pants. Nurse!

The couple: Nick (Mel Gibson) and Darcy (Helen Hunt)

Why it's odd: When Mel's ad exec is electrocuted in the bath while getting in touch with his feminine side, he's gifted the world's creepiest superpower – the ability to read women's minds. Rather than go quietly insane, Gibbo mentally rifles through brain of his hot new boss, Helen Hunt, swindling her into bed with his new, terrifying, Derren Brown-esque abilities. So Mel Gibson isn't Hollywood's #1 Super Hunk? Who knew!

The couple: Henry (Adam Sandler) and Lucy (Drew Barrymore)

Why it's odd: Drew Barrymore's character has the unfortunate ailment of suffering from short-term memory loss, meaning every time she wakes up, she forgets the previous day's events. In the movie's climax (spoiler alert!), Adam Sandler's lovesick idiot takes the extreme measure of kidnapping Barrymore's character on a boat, indoctrinating her afresh every morning and convincing her of her own romantic feelings towards him. True love or Stockholm Syndrome? You decide.