# Do embarrassing moments in films make you squirm? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2002, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919 "2002-11-26T17:55:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/21 "2002-11-26T19:46:04Z")
I mispelled embarrassing twice. How emberesing. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/22 "2002-11-26T20:24:59Z")
I often feel bad for the actors when they have to do embarassing things. I just think about how much it must have sucked to do that with all the crew watching and stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/23 "2002-11-26T20:39:22Z")
There’s a love scene (and I use the term VERY loosely) in the movie _Werewolf_ between a couple that looks kind of like Neve Campbell and Jim Carrey. I have a hard time watching their painful adolescent fumbling because I always end up being embarrased for them. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/24 "2002-11-26T21:22:45Z")
What about being embarassed for the actor or actress simply because they are in the movie? A once great performer has fallen, kind of thing. Like Bela Lugosi’s small part in **Plan 9 From Outer Space** or Marlon Brando in almost anything he does now. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/25 "2002-11-26T21:44:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lenny & Carl \* > \*\*The telephone call Mike makes to Nikki in **Swingers**. If you’ve seen it (and if you’re a guy), you know what I mean. I CAN NOT watch it. No matter how many times I’ve seen it. It’s just too painful. \*\* I didn’t care much for that movie as a whole, but I related all too well to that particular scene. At the time I saw it, I was newly divorced after 6.5 years of marriage… meaning I hadn’t tried to call a woman for a date (or even tried to flirt with a woman) in over 8 years. Truth to tell, I wasn’t good at it to begin with, and I sure hadn’t gotten better at charming small talk after 8 years of marriage. I never embarrassed myself in real life the way Mike did, but I could imagine it WAY too easily! That was truly painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/26 "2002-11-26T22:50:24Z")
Make that 5 for Meet the Parents. That is exactly what I was thinking of when I read the topic. Same thing with Ellens show, I am like “JUST SHUT UP NOW!” when they make it worse and worse and worse _pants_ There are also some scenes in movies that are just so cringeworthly _off_ that they rub me the exact same way. Most recently the “torch in the face”, and “Lets go hunt some orcs” moments in FOTR. I just squiiiiirrrrm! Ick! ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/27 "2002-11-26T23:17:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Iteki \* > \*\* > There are also some scenes in movies that are just so cringeworthly _off_ that they rub me the exact same way. Most recently the “torch in the face”, and “Lets go hunt some orcs” moments in FOTR. I just squiiiiirrrrm! Ick! \*\* There’s a great directors commentary on _Blade 2_ where the director gets the same cringes. At a scene of particulairly clunky dialogue he first says “Now you’re about to hear the worst line in the movie” and after it starts going on about the fights he and the screenwriter had about keeping that line in. He does the same thing about 2 of the more obvious CG shots. It’s a very entertaining commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/28 "2002-11-26T23:38:12Z")
I think I’m all right with embarassing scenes, but I found out the hard way that a male friend of mine doesn’t like _The Gods Must Be Crazy_ because of the embarassing way the hero completely clutzes out whenever he’s around the heroine. I still feel kind of bad about that evening. :o CJ ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/29 "2002-11-26T23:50:19Z")
My answer is yes. I’ve noticed it in regular movies and television (especially when it’s obvious an actor is acting well beneath their abilities, and not enjoying it at all), but it’s most striking for me when I see a porn film (a rare enough occurrence in itself), in which the participants clearly don’t want to be there. I saw one a few months ago in which the young-ish girl in one scene had this scared/confused deer-in-the-headlights look throughout her scene, and the guy just looked bored. It was not at all pleasant, and I shut it off pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/30 "2002-11-27T02:43:28Z")
Ahhhh… I see I have plenty of company! How reassuring 🙂 Thanks for pointing out some films I had better avoid: _Meet the Parents_, _Swingers_ (and it sounds like a good film on imdb) and, oh yes, _Liar Liar_. We finished watching _The Party_ this evening (we stopped it yesterday because of a phone call and the fresh memory of some of the beginning cringes made me find something else to do) I steeled myself and sat through it, much to my enjoyment. It really is a funny movie, totally within the Henry Blake/Peter Sellers style. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/31 "2002-11-27T02:55:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lenny & Carl \* > \*\*The telephone call Mike makes to Nikki in **Swingers**. If you’ve seen it (and if you’re a guy), you know what I mean. I CAN NOT watch it. No matter how many times I’ve seen it. It’s just too painful. \*\* Oh man. when I opened this thread it was to post exactly this moment. I’ve still never watched it all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/32 "2002-11-27T02:59:37Z")
The remake of _Lolita_ just made my skin crawl off my body and run into the nearest sewer. There was so much hype about this movie that I had to see what the big deal was. There’s a scene late in the movie where Humbert (or whatever the hell his name is) and Lolita are in a motel room and she’s all over him like ugly on an ape. I stopped watching after that. Some books should never be made into movies. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/33 "2002-11-27T03:02:36Z")
Count me in as another person who cringes at scenes like this. It’s not so much that I feel bad for the characters (although that’s part of it) but that any person in real life would ram their head into the wall until unconscious rather than doing or saying what the character(s) involved are doing or saying. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/34 "2002-11-27T03:48:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minor7flat5 \* > \*\*It really is a funny movie, totally within the Henry Blake/Peter Sellers style. \*\* Just a nitpick, but Henry Blake was Mclean Stevenson’s character on _M_A_S_H. You’re thinking of Blake Edwards. I agree with your OP. I react much more strongly to onscreen embarassment than to say, dismemberment. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/35 "2002-11-27T05:39:34Z")
“Birdie num nums!” Best line I ever heard from Sellers. I used to squirm watching poor poor Gilligan. The others made him feel so stupid. All he was trying to do was help. Add one more vote for _Meet The Parents_. Being the outsider, trying to fit in is harsh enough in real life. To see it blown so far out of proportion was painful. But funny. Painful. Funny. Hey! We may be on to something here! ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/36 "2002-11-27T09:03:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lenny & Carl \* > \*\*The telephone call Mike makes to Nikki in **Swingers**. If you’ve seen it (and if you’re a guy), you know what I mean. I CAN NOT watch it. No matter how many times I’ve seen it. It’s just too painful. \*\* Yep, this is the first thing I thought of as well when I saw the thread title. Watching it in the theater for the first time, I was (literally!) squirming so bad I was almost under the seat in front of me. I noticed a lot of other people (men & women both) in the theater doing the same thing as well. One guy shouted out, “Please! Stop!” ---
**Author:** ![qshapadooy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c67d28/32.png) [@qshapadooy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qshapadooy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/37 "2002-11-27T11:30:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lenny & Carl \* > \*\*The telephone call Mike makes to Nikki in **Swingers**. If you’ve seen it (and if you’re a guy), you know what I mean. I CAN NOT watch it. No matter how many times I’ve seen it. It’s just too painful. \*\* I hate to throw in a me too, but that’s exactly what I thought about when I saw the thread title. In fact, I couldn’t sleep the other night, so I started watching that movie, but as soon as that scene started, I couldn’t bear to watch it. Partly I feel bad for him, another part because I’ve done something like that. Not nearly as extreme, but still can’t stand thinking about doing that. Memo to self: booze and romance do not mix. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/38 "2002-11-27T12:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Saltire \* > \*\*Just a nitpick, but Henry Blake was Mclean Stevenson’s character on MA_S\*H. You’re thinking of Blake Edwards.\*\* It seems that my brain is mush recently. At least they both have “Blake” in them 😃 Yesterday, for one reason or another I was going to bring up Miles Davis in conversation and I spent a few moments saying “You know the guy… uh. what’s his name…um… Birth of the Cool… Kind of Blue… That guy!” I must not have enough paint chips in my diet. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/39 "2002-11-27T13:04:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hamadryad \* > \*\*But yeah…watching any character make a painful ass of him/herself makes me want to go to the bathroom and pray that I time it right to miss the devastation. I hate that so very much. \*\* Me too. I see no humor in it. I just feel bad for the character. ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919/40 "2002-11-27T14:41:22Z")
If you enjoy the comedy of embarrassment, you should certainly try to check out the BBC sitcoms _The Office_ and _I’m Alan Partridge_. But be warned, they can be excruciating viewing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-embarrassing-moments-in-films-make-you-squirm/138919.md?page=3)