10 Iconic Rom-Com Scenes That Were HORRIFIC to Film

10 Iconic Rom-Com Scenes That Were HORRIFIC to Film

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the memorable moments in our favorite rom coms that were not nearly as magical behind the scenes.

#10: The Helicopter Rescue
“Anyone but You” (2023)

In this enemies-to-lovers story, Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney play two single people who pretend to date each other during a destination wedding. In a typical series of mishaps and romantic gestures, they end up stranded in the Pacific Ocean together. As sweet and exhilarating as it appears on screen, Powell later addressed his very real concerns about shooting the scene. While being in open water at night can be frightening enough, a horrific accident wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Apparently, the rescue helicopter was having mechanical issues, and they had to make an emergency landing.

#9: “Flower, Sir?”
“City Lights” (1931)

Charlie Chaplin was famously exacting and methodical as a performer and filmmaker. In the romantic comedy “City Lights,” his trademark Tramp character meets and quickly falls for a blind flower seller on the street. Unfortunately for leading lady Virginia Cherrill, Chaplin was not as taken with her off-screen. One sequence took days to shoot, as Chaplin kept calling for more and more takes of the first-time film actor simply offering his character a flower. The silent master was so frustrated with her performance, he ended up reshooting the scene months later. By then, their tension had only grown. He even tried to replace Cherrill late in the shoot. Needless to say, the story behind this meet-cute isn’t cute at all.

#8: The Waxing Appointment
“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005)

The same year “The Office” premiered, Steve Carell started to become a household name off the back — or should we say chest — of this raunchy sex comedy. In it, his pals become so invested in his first intimate experience that they take him to get some manscaping done. This includes a full chest wax. For the sake of realism, Carell really did have his chest hairs pulled out for the scene. Not only that, but actress Miki Mia, who played the waxing technician, wasn’t totally honest in her audition. Apparently, she hadn’t really been trained to do the procedure. No one can say Carell doesn’t suffer for his art.

#7: The Piano Scene
“Pretty Woman” (1990)

This classic nineties rom com wasn’t always so pretty behind the scenes. The steamiest scene shared by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere happens in semi-darkness on a piano. Roberts, who was relatively new to acting, confessed that scenes like this caused her intense anxiety. Luckily, the crew was so supportive that it made these moments way more comfortable than they could’ve been. Still, doing a movie with so many romantic sequences can’t be easy when you’re breaking out in hives from the stress.

#6: “A Lovely Night”
“La La Land” (2016)

Doing a musical number can be complicated enough. Not only is there choreography to nail, but it has to be lit and shot from all the right angles to capture every movement. Director Damien Chazelle and his stars, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, were trying to complete this iconic sequence on hard mode. “A Lovely Night” is a six-minute song-and-dance sequence played against the backdrop of Los Angeles at sunset. Well, the thing about sunset is that it doesn’t last long. And Stone and Gosling weren’t exactly trained dancers. They got it done, but the degree of difficulty made it stressful. Gosling says the scene still haunts him, albeit for a very specific and hilarious reason.

#5: Lunch Date
“His Girl Friday” (1940)

Howard Hawks’ unforgettable screwball comedy required its makers to constantly innovate. The feature-length sound film was just over a decade old, and “His Girl Friday’s” famously fast and overlapping dialogue presented unique challenges. A restaurant scene between Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy was especially challenging because they could not yet record sounds on different tracks. Also, Grant and Russell were constantly one-upping each other with ad-libs, which made it harder for the crew to anticipate where they’d be needed. The scene took four days to film — double the time anticipated — but the result crackles with wit and energy.

#4: Meeting at the Empire State Building
“Sleepless in Seattle” (1993)

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are a classic rom com pairing in this 1993 Nora Ephron film. In “Sleepless in Seattle,” the famed New York landmark becomes the site of the climactic meeting between a widower and a reporter. But getting permission to film at the Empire State Building proved to be incredibly difficult. Ephron even had to hound the publicist of the building’s owner, Leona Helmsley, who was in jail for tax evasion at the time. Though she was successful, the production only had access to the building for six hours. But Ephron and her crew made it happen.

#3: Westley vs. Inigo Montoya
“The Princess Bride” (1987)

When it came time for actors Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin to do their characters’ big fight scene, the screenplay was a bit daunting. It just described it as the best sword fight of all time. What ended up on screen looks effortless. In reality, it took weeks of preparation. The actors trained for almost a month before the actual sequence was filmed. They were in good hands, as they were trained by the same duo who worked on the lightsaber duels in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. The actors performed it all, with the exception of a few somersaults, and every moment was choreographed. It’s a good thing, too, as any small slip or mistake could result in a pretty bad injury.

#2: “Good Morning”
“Singin’ in the Rain” (1952)

For how easy its stars made it look, shooting “Singin’ in the Rain” sounds like a nightmare from start to finish. Gene Kelly was severely ill when he performed the title song. Donald O’Connor had to rest in the hospital for several days after shooting “Make ‘Em Laugh.” But Debbie Reynolds may have had the worst experience. Kelly was especially hard on her, as she was not as experienced as a dancer — although she could’ve fooled us. Filming the unforgettable “Good Morning” number reportedly took around 15 hours. By the end, Reynolds’ feet were bloody, and she had to be carried off set. She later likened the experience of making the movie to the difficulty of giving birth.

#1: Car Chase
“What’s Up, Doc?” (1972)

Hearkening back to the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, Peter Bogdanovich’s “What’s Up, Doc?” boasts a great cast and increasingly zany comedic set pieces. At the climax, Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand end up in a chase through the sloped streets of San Francisco. Each moment seeks to up the ante, eventually landing all of the characters and their cars in the San Francisco Bay. The production earned the ire of the city, as it didn’t have permission to film a car going down the steps in Alta Plaza Park, let alone an entire line of cars. The steps sustained quite a bit of damage as a result. Despite that, the whole scene still remains a sensational testament to timing and stunt coordination.

What behind-the-scenes story will stick with you? Tell us in the comments.