30 Most Awkward Movie Dinner Scenes
Grub's up…
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Dinner Scene: Really, this could be breakfast or lunch, considering how many meals Lex and Tim Murphy (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) have missed while dodging dinosaurs, but considering the massive spread, we're going to count it as dinner.
Having made it back to the main park building, the kids decide to chow down and are quite happily filling their stomachs when…
Most Awkward Moment: …Lex pauses with a spoonful of jelly raised halfway to her mouth, and we realise the velociraptors have found them.
Wedding Crashers (2005)
The Dinner Scene: John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) attend a family dinner, where they attempt to explain their connection to the family despite not having any.
Then as William Cleary (Christopher Walken) starts talking, his daughter Gloria (Isla Fisher) starts, er, fondling Jeremy under the table.
Most Awkward Moment: Jeremy looks ridiculously awkward as he attempts to make conversation while Gloria does her thing.
Meet The Parents (2000)
The Dinner Scene: Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) squirms his way through a meal with Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) and her parents.
Chief troublemaker? Future father-in-law Jack (Robert De Niro), who has a laser memory when it comes to everything Greg's ever said, and he's not afraid of calling him on anything.
Most Awkward Moment: "What have you ever milked?" Pam asks Greg when he describes the home he grew up in as a 'farm'. "Cat," replies Greg before telling a horrific story.
American History X (1998)
The Dinner Scene: Murray (Elliot Gould) is discussing riots and the reasons behind the way people behave during riots.
Then the discussion spills over into argument when neo-Nazi Derek (Edward Norton) pipes up with his own unique views on race. He sounds informed, but he also sounds slightly unhinged.
Most Awkward Moment: "Yap, yap, that's exactly what I hate," spits Derek, who only seems to be interested in his own opinion.
Hannibal (2001)
The Dinner Scene: Hannibal (Anthony Hopkins) forcibly invites Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta) and Clarice (Julianne Moore) to dinner at Krendler's secluded lake house.
This being a dinner party thrown by Hannibal, of course, things are just a little bit twisted - not least when we discover that Hannibal's decided to cook Krendler's brain (while he's still conscious and alive) and serve it as the main course.
Most Awkward Moment: Krendler chews on a piece of his own brain, and seems to like it…
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
The Dinner Scene: Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) has gone all modern on us and is dating a black woman - TV manager Linda Jackson (Meagan Good).
In fact, the pair's getting on so well that Linda insists he come for a family dinner, where Ron quickly discovers he's out of his depth.
Most Awkward Moment: Ron starts talking 'jive' in an attempt to fit in with his 'homies'. Needless to say, everyone involved is massively insulted.
Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom (1984)
The Dinner Scene: Temple of doom? How about dinner of doom? Indy (Harrison Ford), Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan) have a sit-down meal at Pankot Palace.
Which seems decadent enough, until they're served chilled monkey brains.
Most Awkward Moment: Willie faints. Which is just embarrassing.
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Lars & The Real Girl (2007)
The Dinner Scene: Lars (Ryan Gosling) brings his new girlfriend over for dinner with his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer).
Their hopes that Lars has suddenly turned his life around for the better are somewhat dented, though, when it turns out Bianca is actually a life-size doll. They still go through with dinner, though…
Most Awkward Moment: Lars cuts up Bianca's food for her. Luckily he doesn't try to shove it into her mouth…
Back To The Future (1985)
The Dinner Scene: Marty (Michael J. Fox) wakes up in 1955 and, after a run-in with an automobile, ends up the guest at his young mother's house.
In the, uh, mother of all embarrassments, mama Lorraine (Lea Thompson) takes quite a liking to Marty, unaware that he's her future son.
Most Awkward Moment: Lorraine pinches Marty's thigh under the table, making him understandably jittery.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Dinner Scene: Quite frankly, the dinner from hell, as innocent blonde teen Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) is forced to break bread with Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his motley crew.
What's on the menu? Well, at some point, her…
Most Awkward Moment: Leatherface brings Grandpa (John Dugan) down to eat with them. To say Grandpa looks 'old' is to say that Mr Burns is 'kinda evil'…
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.
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