Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Ryan Gosling in The Place Beyond the Pines
Streaming Services 3 new to Prime Video movies you should watch this weekend (March 7–March 8)
Misery
Streaming Services 3 new to Netflix movies I recommend you watch this weekend (March 7–March 8)
Cillian Murphy as Tommy in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch right now
(L to R) Steven Yeun as Detective Mike Ro, Matt Damon as Lieutenant Dane Dumars, Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, and Kyle Chandler as DEA Agent Mateo 'Matty' Nix in The Rip.
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
The Lion King is undoubtedly one of the best movies on Disney Plus
Movies The 30 best movies on Disney Plus to watch right now
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Horror Movies Passenger horror movie trailer leaks online, and it looks like the scariest movie of 2026
Cartman, Eric, Kenny, and Kyle in an episode of South Park
Animated Shows The 25 best South Park episodes of all time, mmkay
Glen Powell as Becket in How to Make a Killing
Comedy Movies How to Make a Killing is Glen Powell's latest mid-budget movie, and I hope he never stops making them
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride bombs at the box office with $13.6 million opening against a $90 million budget
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Walton Goggins as the Ghoul in Fallout season 2
TV The 25 best shows on Amazon Prime Video to watch right now
Best anime movies: Chihiro and No-Face sitting in a train carriage during Spirited Away.
Anime Movies The 30 best anime movies to watch right now
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3
Amazon Prime Video The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
For All Mankind
Apple TV Plus The 25 best shows on Apple TV to watch right now
David Lynch as Gordon Cole and Laura Dern as Diane in Twin Peaks: The Return.
Streaming Services The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Most Awkward Movie Moments

Features
By Simon Kinnear published 10 September 2012

Excruciating embarrassment alert

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Bridget Jones' Diary (2001)

The Movie: The film of the newspaper column of the fictional diary of Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger), torn between dashing Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and bad boy Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant).

The Awkward Moment: Bridget has finally got Daniel into bed, but as he undresses her he discovers her "absolutely enormous panties."

Look Away When: Trying to convince Bridget that the pants are not a turn-off, Daniel slimily says, "Hello, Mummy." Yuck.

You may like
  • Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
  • Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3 The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
  • Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break. The best movies on Hulu to watch right now

Bananas (1971)

The Movie: This early Woody Allen sees the writer/director play Fielding Mellish, a reluctant revolutionary who just wants to marry Nancy (Louise Lasser).

The Awkward Moment: The Fielding Mellish honeymoon night - as shown live on TV by Wide World of Sports . "They approach each other cautiously - nothing unusual about that," exclaims presenter Howard Cosell.

Look Away When: Nancy tells Cosell, "He's not the worst I've had. He's not the best I've had, but he's not the worst."

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

The Movie: Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) were meant for each other. They just won't admit it.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The Awkward Moment: The friends go on a double date - Sally with Jess (Bruno Kirby), Harry with Marie (Carrie Fisher). Neither has anything in common.

Look Away When: Harry and Marie exhaust a potential line of conversation within seconds, and go back to stony silence.

Rushmore (1998)

The Movie: Wes Anderson's breakthrough charts the life of precocious teenager Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) and his undeclared love for teacher Miss Cross (Olivia Williams).

You may like
  • Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
  • Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3 The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
  • Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break. The best movies on Hulu to watch right now

The Awkward Moment: Insane with misplaced jealousy, Max berates Miss Cross' old friend Dr Peter Flynn (Luke Wilson) when the latter is invited to dinner without Max's knowledge.

Look Away When: Max blurts out the truth when Miss Cross asks how she's hurt Max's feelings, and he tells her, "I'm in love with you."

American Beauty (1999)

The Movie: Sam Mendes' suburban satire revolves around the mid-life crisis and eventual murder of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) - but who killed him, and why?

The Awkward Moment: Lester's neighbour and closeted homosexual, Colonel Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper), gets the wrong idea and tries to kiss Lester.

Look Away When: The Colonel's face crumples into the sad realisation he's made a terrible mistake.

The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

The Movie: Will, Simon, Neil and Jay hit Malia in the biggest Britcom success in years.

The Awkward Moment: Jay (James Buckley) introduces his mates to club etiquette - dance your way over to the girls you fancy.

Look Away When: Will (Simon Bird) joins in, looking like he's pretending to ride a horse.

Shame (2011)

The Movie: Steve McQueen's study of a self-loathing sex addict in New York is pretty much one long awkward moment, but if we had to choose…

The Awkward Moment: Brandon (Michael Fassbender) plays gooseberry as his boss David (James Badge Dale) hits on his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan).

Look Away When: They all head back to Brandon's apartment, where Sissy and David audibly get down to business.

Goodfellas (1990)

The Movie: Scorsese's Mob masterpiece is a reminder that, while it's OK for Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) to bust his friends' balls, he can't take the same joke.

The Awkward Moment: Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) unwisely rattles Tommy by telling him to "go home and get your fuckin' shinebox."

Look Away When: Tommy returns - with murderous intent.

Parenthood (1989)

The Movie: Ron Howard's dramedy about a crazy suburban family is fit to bursting with a great cast - Steve Martin, Jason Robards, Dianne Wiest and Keanu Reeves amongst them.

The Awkward Moment: When there's a power cut during dinner, dad Gil (Martin) searches for the flashlight but finds his wife's dildo instead.

Look Away When: Daughter Taylor (Alisan Porter) remarks innocently, "It was kind of big." Grandma (Helen Shaw) replies, not so innocently, "it sure was."

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

The Movie: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' Oscar-winning debut sees the dysfunctional Hoover family travel cross-country to help daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) pursue her beauty queen dream.

The Awkward Moment: Olive does her dance routine to Super Freak , and it's wildly inappropriate.

Look Away When: The family storms the stage and joins in with Olive.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Current page: Page 3

Prev Page Page 2 Next Page Page 4
Simon Kinnear
Read more
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
 
 
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in Sonic 3
The 25 best movies on Prime Video to watch right now
 
 
Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah and Patrick Swayze as Bodhi "Bodhisattva" in the movie Point Break.
The best movies on Hulu to watch right now
 
 
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
The 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
 
 
Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry in The Gray Man.
The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
 
 
Sam Rockwell as The Man From the Future in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die got me in the mood for more time-travelling fun and these 6 sci-fi comedies fit the bill
 
 
Latest in Movies
An apparently dead person wearing a matted fur bunny suit
Severance star Adam Scott's new horror movie Hokum just got an intensely creepy first trailer
 
 
Don Lee in The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil
James Wan is set to direct his first movie since the Aquaman sequel, and it's a remake of a hit Korean crime thriller
 
 
Kate Winslet at the 2023 BAFTA Television Awards
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum casts Kate Winslet as female lead
 
 
Grogu saluting in The Mandalorian and Grogu
New Mandalorian and Grogu TV spot doesn't give much away about the movie, but it does show Baby Yoda sneezing everywhere
 
 
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford in Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars fans are discussing why two major characters barely interacted, but I think it makes total sense
 
 
Ghostface in Scream 7
Scream 7's Ghostface star doesn't know who she kills in the new sequel: "I'm going to leave that up to the audience"
 
 
Latest in Features
In Pokemon Pokopia, the transformed Ditto trainer takes a selfie looking aghast in front of a glowing piece of land where a relic is buried
I've spent 20 hours in Pokemon Pokopia obsessing over its mysterious world and what it hides beneath the surface
 
 
BG3
The future of RPGs is isometric
 
 
Photo of a Mario nendoroid figure holding a microSD Express card with a Turtle Beach Switch 2 case in the background.
These Mario Day-inspired Switch 2 accessories will power up your console more than a super star
 
 
Underside of Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop with glass viewing window and RGB fans
We could get a shock when 2026 gaming laptop prices are unveiled, here's what you need to know about buying this year
 
 
Emily Rudd as Nami and Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in Netflix's One Piece
One Piece season 2 ending explained: Who is Mr. Zero? Who dies? Will there be a season 3?
 
 
In Hitman World of Assassination, Agent 47 sits at the departure gate in an airport during the loading screen
After weeks spent locked into Hitman's Freelancer mode, I realize there's one vital thing 007 First Light needs to learn
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Steam logo from Valve
    1
    Valve peels back the curtain in rare Steam presentation: "More games are finding success" than ever, and nearly 6,000 made over $100,000 last year
  2. 2
    Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man director explains how the Netflix movie differs from the show: "Inherently, it is more cinematic in its conception"
  3. 3
    The Dispatch leads had "a mix of arrogance and stupidity" as they faced down publishers telling them single-player narrative games were "niche, or worse, dead"
  4. 4
    Xbox lead thinks "we have been in a golden age for indies" since 2008, and it's "a fantastic time to be a developer" if you ignore all the smoke: "The present is awesome"
  5. 5
    The Future Games Show returns this week - here's how to watch

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...