10 Scenes That Made A Good Movie Worse And 5 Scenes That Made A Bad Movie Better
Sometimes, all it takes is one scene. Just one scene to completely change how you view a movie. A breathtaking scene can elevate what has otherwise been a terrible movie into something special (or at least not terrible), while a scene that doesn't work for one reason or another can totally drag a good movie down. Here are some of the most noteworthy movie-stealing scenes, for better and worse...
1.Ruined: Big
Big is a goofy movie about a 13-year-old boy who wakes up in the body of a man. For the most part, it's endearing and funny, but there's a super weird romantic storyline with an adult woman that involves an implied sexual encounter between the two that is all kinds of uncomfortable and wrong. It renders the movie almost unwatchable now.
2.Ruined: Superman: The Movie
Superman: The Movie is a lot of fun, even 45 years (!) later — but there's one scene that is super cringe to watch, and feels completely out of place. When Superman takes Lois along on a joy-flight to show off his skills, it starts out magical and romantic, but goes a little too extreme when we hear an inner monologue from Lois that is basically a poem about her gigantic crush on Superman. It's cheesy and jarring. Luckily, it's over quickly.
3.Ruined: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman is over-the-top in a lot of ways, but the one scene in which it goes too far and puts a lot of viewers off is at the end of the movie, when main character Eggsy is "rewarded" with anal sex from Princess Tilde. In apparently attempting to subvert the sexist tropes that dominate British spy films, Kingsman actually reinforces them.
4.Ruined: Mean Girls
Sure, some aspects of Mean Girls haven't aged well, but on the whole, it's a clever, funny classic that was a quintessential part of many a '00s childhood and teendom. But even at the time, the scene where Regina George gets struck by a bus felt unnecessarily shocking and, well, mean.
5.Ruined: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka is a mostly charming romp through a delightful chocolate factory. Even as children disappear one by one and, er, almost get killed, there's a whimsical vibe and fun songs to keep the mood up. But there's one scene where Willy Wonka escorts Charlie and the other kids and their family members on a boat through a tunnel and he starts singing and then yelling in an extremely creepy way as sinister lighting flashes across the group. It's frankly terrifying and feels unnecessary.
6.Ruined: Ghostbusters
There's no doubt Ghostbusters is a comedy classic. But there's one joke in particular that really doesn't land: when Dan Aykroyd's character Ray is awoken by a ghost, who then proceeds to give him a blowjob for some inexplicable reason. Not the kind of ghostbusting any of us signed up to see.
7.Ruined: Captain America: Civil War
Steve Rogers was at the center of several major ships in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's safe to say there was one romance the vast majority of fans did not get on board with: the one with Sharon Carter, niece of Steve's former flame Peggy Carter, which resulted in a kiss that was just awkward to watch.
8.Ruined: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Breakfast at Tiffany's is often hailed as one of the greatest rom-coms of all time, but it features incredibly offensive scenes (yes, multiple scenes) featuring Mickey Rooney in yellowface as a Japanese character — or rather, caricature — Mr. Yunioshi. It makes for a very hard viewing experience, no matter how charming or well-dressed Audrey Hepburn is.
9.Ruined: Booksmart
Long before the mess of Don't Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde was winning the hearts of audiences and critics alike with her directorial debut Booksmart. But there's one part that draws on a teen trope that should be left in the past: a teacher/student relationship. Ick.
10.Ruined: Crazy, Stupid, Love
Crazy, Stupid, Love is a pretty charming rom-com — definitely one of the best of the 2010s. But there's a storyline involving the teen babysitter taking nude photos of herself, which she later hands over to the boy she formerly babysat like it's a cute little gift, when it's the exact opposite.
11.Saved: Love Actually
Look, I have long been a staunch defender of Love Actually, and once watched it every Christmas. But as the years have passed, I've become increasingly frustrated and uncomfortable with a lot of the movie. There's still one scene that gets me EVERY TIME, though — Emma Thompson's character, Karen, hiding in the bedroom to quietly cry when she realizes her husband Harry is cheating on her. It's beautifully acted and paced and just absolutely breaks your heart. Of course, there are other scenes I still love, but this one is, like, objectively excellent by any measure.
12.Saved: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
There's a lot that doesn't work about X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Deadpool, anyone?), but it starts out so strong, with a montage of flashbacks that tells the story of Wolverine and Sabretooth fighting together side by side in multiple wars — and veering into drastically different moral directions. It's stylish, effective, and tells a lot about plot and character in a short period of time.
13.Saved: Wonder Woman 1984
The Wonder Woman sequel fell far short of the quality and expectations set by its excellent predecessor. Diana's romance with Steve — a major focal point of the movie — even becomes downright uncomfortable as he inhabits the body of another man and mires the whole thing in questionable consent. But the scene in which the two must bid a final farewell to each other, hiding behind a pillar in the midst of absolute chaos in the streets of Washington, DC, is quiet and beautiful and hard to watch without tearing up.
14.Saved: Ghost Ship
Ghost Ship is pretty gross (and not in a fun way) with an absurd plot (and not in a fun way). The opening scene is both gross and absurd, but it is in a fun way, and if the rest of the movie had matched this balance, well, it'd be a very different story. If you haven't seen the movie — basically, it opens with the guests and crew of a ship getting cut in half on the dance floor by a wire. It's shocking, gruesome, tense, and kind of hilarious.
15.Saved: Deep Blue Sea
Deep Blue Sea is a pretty silly movie, but it has one of the most spectacular and surprising death scenes of all time. Samuel L. Jackson's character Russell Franklin is monologuing about how nature can turn against you quickly and is just getting to the part where he is telling everyone they should seal the hole behind him to prevent the mutant sharks from hurting them when BAM... One jumps out and gobbles him whole. It's the kind of scene you never forget witnessing for the first time.
