11 Movie Scenes that are Vicariously Embarrassing to Watch

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I love how movies make you feel certain emotions as you watch them. It's one of my favorite parts about going to the movies. I always find it interesting, though, when I get vicariously embarrassed during awkward moments. Meaning I am embarrassed for the characters in the movie in the positions that they are put in. I started thinking about this while I was watching Goodfellas over the weekend. Is it just me, or does it seem like this movie is on every other day? Anyway, There's a scene where Joe Pesci starts to get pissed off at Ray Liotta for telling him he was a funny guy. The scene went from being fun to uncomfortable very fast, and I started to feel embarrassed for Liotta's character. 

I started to think of what other movies that made me feel like that, and came up with the following list of films. I'm sure there are others out there, but this is a good starting point for a discussion. Look over the list and then let me know if there are some movie scenes that you would add to it! The following are in no particular order.

Goodfellas - Funny guy

Joe Pesci is absolutely terrifying in this scene because he's a loose cannon and you have no idea what he's cab able of. Even when he's joking around you don't know if he's going to beat Ray Liotta to death. This is such a brilliant and intense scene and you can't help but feel uncomfortable.

Timeless scene from the 1990 film, Goodfellas Property of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

Swingers - Answering Machine 

No matter how many times I watch this film, when Jon Favreau's character starts to leave one message after another on that poor girls answering machine, I cringe with horror because he won't leave well enough alone, and it just gets worse and worse as it goes on. It's brilliant. These days people just text like cowards. No one has the balls to call anymore… except this guy… *points to self*

A painful lesson from Mikey about how not to leave a phone message. www.N8tip.com

American Pie - Premature Ejeculation

Freakin' Jim ejeculated twice while his whole school was watching online! How could you not feel the embarrassment for the poor guy. 

After getting lucky with Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) in his bedroom, Jim (Jason Biggs) attempts to score. However, his bodily functions are not well adapted to the sexual stimulation he is about to experience and he releases prematurely. Hilarious !

Dumb and Dumber - Bathroom Explosion

I don't know about you, but unfortunately, I can relate to this scene. Not to the extent that It's portrayed here, but I've been in the same ridiculous situation. I'm sure some of you have been too! No? Well... shit.

the toilet scene from dumb and dumber

Something About Mary - Stuck Zipper

Ben Stiller gets his junk stuck in a zipper before he head out to prom with his date. How can this not be included on the list! I laughed my ass off watching this scene, but it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy. 

Ted (Ben Stiller) is still in love with his high school prom date, Mary (Cameron Diaz), even though it's been years after the humiliating incident that cut their date short. Ted hires Pat, a private detective (Matt Dillon) to track her down, but Pat ends up falling in love with her too, starting a battle for Mary's heart Own it on DVD: http://www.foxconnect.com/there-s-something-about-mary-single-dvd-fullscreen-...

Superbad - Boob Punch

I don't know about you, but in high school, it was hard for me to go up and talk to a girl I liked. It takes a hell of a lot of courage. The fact that Michael Cera builds up the nerve to talk to her, and then ends up accidentally punching her in the boob at the end is a funny blunder that I'm glad never happened to me. 

Funny scene from Superbad. They both like each other and end up in an awkward situation.

Bridesmaids - Dueling Engagement Speech

Yeah, most of this movie revolves around uncomfortable humor, but when Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne start trying to show each other up during the maid of honor speech, the hilarious uneasiness of it went to a whole new level. 

Bridesmaids dueling speech

Taxi Driver - XXX Cinema

What better place to take a girl on a first date than a XXX movie theater to watch a foreign porno… awkward.

Travis takes Betsy to a porn movie theater.

These last three scenes that have been included, would fall under a "it's so bad it's embarrassing" section.

The Karate Kid II - Final Fight

The final fight scene in the movie was laughably unbearable. After Daniel miraculously beats the shit out of the guy and then honks his nose, I just couldn't help but feel embarrassed for him. Why would he do that!?

Uploaded by Diogo Medeiros on 2009-03-30.

Superman - Lois Lane's "Can You Read My Mind?"

Look, I'm a huge fan of Richard Donner's Superman, but Lois Lane's "Can You Read My Mind" narration when flying around with Superman was just too cheesy for me. I really felt the silliness and embarrassment of it as a kid. It's funny though, because when I watch the movie now and that scene comes up I still get that same feeling. Weird. 

Superman (1978) Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty Directed by Richard Donner

Star Wars: Episode 3 - Darth Vader's Noooooo!

There are so many embarrassingly bad moments during the course of Star Wars Episodes 1 through 3, but Darth Vader yelling "Noooooooooooooo!" at the end was just the icing on the cake. 

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