The only thing more excruciating than sitting through an awkward date of your own is watching other people do it.
Which is probably why the awkward date scene has been a staple for comedies and in particular romantic comedies for years now. There's so much humour to be mined from the anxiety that the characters feel and the cringe worthiness of the unfathomable decisions they make during the dates.
We've compiled a list of the five best examples of the awkward date in movies for your viewing pleasure. That is of course if you can bare not to look away.
1. Knocked Up
One of the best scenes in Knocked Up is the the fateful date when Alison tells Ben that she's pregnant with his baby. The scene is beautifully played by the two leads and the awkwardness comes twofold. We the audience know that Alison is pregnant and so we're dreading the drawn out fashion in which she reveals the news to Ben. On top of that we're experiencing the same awkwardness that Alison feels as she learns more about Ben and realises that he's perhaps an even bigger waster than she imagined.
2. Fargo
Marge Gunderson's 'date' with Mike Yanagita is easily one of the most awkward scenes on this list. Marge agrees to get together with her old high school classmate Mike in order to catch up, completely oblivious to the fact that Mike thinks it's an actual romantic date. The most cringewothy moment comes when Mike attempts to sit beside Marge in her booth only to be immediately shot down. It goes from bad to worse for Mike as he starts to tell one lie after another before finally confessing that life hasn't gone how he'd hoped and he's just incredibly lonely.
3. Baby Mama
The opening scene of Baby Mama takes the idea of giving too much information on a first date and taking it to the extreme. The movie opens with Tina Fey's character, Kate, narrating as we see her in work and hear about how she's put off starting a family in order to further her career. Shortly after it's revealed that Kate's narration is actually her on a date telling a man up front that doesn't have time to wait to fall in love and get married. She wants a baby now and she's not afraid to say it. Even if it is too much to reveal to her poor unsuspecting suitor on a first date. It's short, simple and perfectly executed.
4. When Harry Met Sally
As arguably the greatest rom com of all time, it's only natural that When Harry Met Sally would get a mention on this list. While most would assume the diner orgasm scene would take the honours, that technically wasn't a date and in any case the double date scene trumps it. Harry and Sally bring along a date for each other in the form of their respective best friends. However it's clear from the beginning that neither couple has much in the way of chemistry and when they run out of conversation topics before they've even ordered dinner things begin to get really awkward. Then of course the best friends start to hit off with each other...
5. Annie Hall
A terrific scene in one of the all time great comedies. Alvy Singer and Annie Hall make awkward conversation on a date about Jewish people and photography while subtitles reveal what they're really thinking the whole time. The brilliance of the scene is that it allows us to not only witness the awkward conversation between the two characters but through the subtitles also get an insight into the internal neurosis that both characters are feeling.
