Joey Evans is despicable

First time I've seen this musical in any form but I am completely turned off by Joey. He is not charming, handsome, or funny as imdb says. He feeds coffee and donuts to a dog. He's not nice to anyone, especially women but also not his piano player friend either. Turns me off. (The only redeeming value so far is Rita Hayworth's ZIP. Fun number.) I'll finish watching the movie but only because I'm hoping his character gets his comeuppance in the end. I'm curious why people like this movie with a central character so unappealing.

UPDATE: Nope. No redemption. He treated Linda like crap when she came to him at the end and offered marriage. OK, I did get the impression that he loved her but this guy needs major therapy. I have read that the movie is not very much like the original stage play so it might be interesting to see a production of that to compare. But so far the Pal Joey reputation (aside from the songs which I know many of were not written for the musical) is lost on me.