Top 10 Rom Com Moments That We Hate Watch

Jane Fonda has been the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award and the Honorary Palme d'Or — neither of which she received because of her slap fight with Jennifer Lopez in “Monster-in-Law.” In the film, Fonda played Viola, the titular “monster.” She sets out to ruin her son’s relationship with J.Lo’s character, Charlie. The battle comes to a head on the day of the wedding, when Viola wears a white dress rather than the one selected for her. Although really, the battle “comes to a face” — it leads to an escalatingly vicious slap fight. We assume the scene is supposed to be funny. But like a slap to the face, it’s really more painful than humorous.

Ben Stiller has had a few painful bathroom moments throughout his film career. In 1998, we all felt his pain with the unfortunate zipper incident in “There's Something About Mary.” In 2004, his character again found trouble in the restroom, but this time it was due to a lack of toilet paper. His panicked decision to use the embroidered towel was the wrong choice — especially thinking it would flush. The fear on his face as the water overflows out of the toilet might hit a little close to home, but it’s also impossible to look away.

To be clear, we aren’t talking about “Just a Girl,” No Doubt’s 1995 hit song. No, we’re talking about a much more awkward piece of popular culture — Julia Roberts’ declaration to Hugh Grant in 1999’s “Notting Hill.” We understand that it’s a pretty iconic rom-com moment, and we appreciate that. But that doesn’t change how cringey it is to watch, especially with the quiet voices and the pained smile on Roberts’ face. Plus, the infantilization of the situation with the use of the terms “girl” and “boy” rather than “woman” and “man” makes the scene more uncomfortable than cute in retrospect.

This 2000s rom-com stars Will Smith as Alex "Hitch" Hitchens — a “date doctor” who coaches men on how to get the woman of their dreams. The opening scene of the movie sees him help a guy get the attention of a beautiful woman via an elaborate setup involving her dog and a fake rescue. But as manipulative as it is, the most unappealing part of the scene is Smith’s monologue laying out why women reject men. The belief that “No” doesn’t mean “No,” and the dismissal of a woman’s agency are out-dated and damaging viewpoints. Add on the idea that men are the ones who can show women what they want, and this scene is, when we think about it, pretty gross.

Sometimes, we hate watch a scene because it’s cheesy. Sometimes, we hate watch a scene because it’s awkward, but funny. And sometimes, we hate watch a scene because we actually hate watching it. Melanie revealing that Bobby Ray is gay in “Sweet Home Alabama” falls into the last category. Although the movie as a whole is charming and a go-to rom-com for many out there, this moment is downright awful. It is a difficult sequence to get through, but at least it’s treated seriously. Melanie goes to apologize to her friend the next day.

This one is a slow build. What begins as a conversation between three girlfriends about one of their sexual experiences from the night before turns into a very explicit — and loud — discussion about private parts. The women talk about exaggerating their reactions in order to stroke their partner’s ego. At first, it’s just awkward to watch as the conversation gets louder and they start to attract attention. Then things go from awkward to full-body cringe-inducing. The whole thing breaks off into a song and dance number with lame puns and bad choreography. US test audiences hated this scene so much it was cut from the theatrical release. No such luck in Europe though.

A kid having a bit of a crush on the babysitter is a tale as old as time. The teenaged Robbie in “Crazy Stupid Love” is head over heels for the older-but-also teenaged Jessica, and attempts to declare his love many times throughout the film. But things go too far when she winds up giving Robbie intimate pictures of herself. Watching the scene feels all kinds of wrong. At least she didn’t give them to the kid’s dad as she originally intended, but giving them to his son truly isn’t much better. To make matters worse, the moment is supposed to be part of a heartwarming conclusion.

In general, using the word “hate” in any sentence related to Tom Hanks seems completely counterintuitive. However, it’s necessary when talking about this supermarket sequence. Meg Ryan’s character, Kathleen, finds herself with no cash in a cash-only line. As the people around her get more and more frustrated, Hanks comes over to charm the cashier and save the day. The first time we saw the exchange it was endearing, but now it’s anger-inducing. Hanks is charming, but also so smug — and it’s so annoying. He makes it seem like the cashier is being ridiculous for not just taking the card even though Kathleen is the one who messed up.

This scene is iconic, but it’s still awkward viewing. Laney is supposed to be a homely girl who no one notices until she cuts her hair, puts on makeup, and takes off her glasses. To everyone’s surprise, she’s actually a total hottie. The makeover is a popular trope of the rom-com genre. However, the messaging contributes to stereotypes about what beauty is and the unfair standard for female protagonists. Is that really what we want to be saying to young girls? Just because it’s a memorable part of the film doesn’t mean it’s easy to witness.

This one might be a little controversial. We know there are people who, no matter what anyone says, will always find Mark’s declaration of love to Juliet super romantic. Even if we fell into that group back when the film came out, for many of us, things have changed. Now, when we view the scene, we don’t see a sweet moment of honesty. We see a guy hitting on the new wife of his best friend. The fact that she reinforces and acknowledges his actions by chasing after him and giving him a kiss is unbelievable. Hate it or love it, we can’t stop watching.

Which of these moments are you hate-watching right along with us? Let us know in the comments.