Summary
Some movie scenes can feel completely out of place and disrupt the overall tone and narrative of a film.
Unexpected scenes like random musical portions, sex scenes, or goofy dialogues can break immersion for the audience.
While surprising scenes can sometimes enhance a movie, scenes that are too different from the rest can fall flat and feel like they belong in a different film.
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Some movie scenes feel completely incongruous with the rest of the movie, and while sometimes this can be intentional, it often does not work. This can also happen because of last-minute script changes, reshoots, and decisions in the editing room that drastically alter a movie’s tone or narrative. Random musical portions, unexpected sex scenes, and goofy dialogues in what should be serious movies are just some examples of scenes that can completely break the immersion.
Of course, a surprising, stand-out scene can often bolster a movie, proffering bold experimentation with the medium or providing an actor with the opportunity to showcase something different. Sometimes, however, scenes that are way too different from the rest of the film fall flat and just feel out of place. From the pink elephants in Dumbo to Peter Parker’s dance in Spider-Man 3, some moments almost feel like they were supposed to be a different movie.
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10 Kate Explains Why She Doesn’t Like Christmas In Gremlins
Directed By Joe Dante
Gremlins
Release Date June 8, 1984
Director Joe Dante
Cast Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, Howie Mandel
Rating PG
Runtime 106 minutes
Genres Horror, Fantasy, Comedy
Writers Chris Columbus
Gremlins was supposed to be a family-friendly horror comedy movie set at Christmas. It was, therefore, a drastic and unnecessary diversion when one of the characters explains in great detail why she doesn’t like the holiday. Kate details a childhood Christmas when her father disappeared and was subsequently found dead inside a chimney dressed as Santa Claus. It is an incredibly shocking scene, and arguably a more grisly fate than is bestowed upon any victim of the eponymous Gremlins. It is markedly different in tone from the rest of the movie and seems like an unnecessary addition to a cute Christmas-themed horror movie.
9 Emo Peter Parker’s Dance In Spider-Man 3
Directed By Sam Raimi
Spider-Man 3
Release Date May 4, 2007
Director Sam Raimi
Cast Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Kirsten Dunst, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons, Thomas Haden Church, James Cromwell
Rating PG-13
Runtime 139 minutes
Genres Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Writers Sam Raimi, Alvin Sargent, Ivan Raimi
Spider-Man 3 featured two excruciatingly awkward dance sequences which had no place in the movie. The first depicted Peter Parker leaving a store dressed in a new suit. The second featured an elaborate dance sequence in a jazz club. Though some claim Peter’s emo dance scene is one of Spider-Man 3’s smartest moments, the scene was so incongruous with the rest of the movie that it seemed like a baffling choice. With so much else happening in Spider-Man 3, such as three iconic villains, these sequences should have been cut in favor of additional Sandman, Venom, or Green Goblin action. They are iconic, but not for the right reasons.
8 Eggsy & Tilde’s Sex Scene In Kingsman: The Secret Service
Directed By Matthew Vaughn
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Release Date February 13, 2015
Director Matthew Vaughn
Cast Michael Caine, Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong
Rating R
Runtime 2h 10m
Genres Action, Adventure, Thriller
Writers Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman
In the final scene of The Kingsman, Eggsy discovers a prison cell imprisoning a missing princess. Eggsy assured her he would return to rescue her after he had finished saving the world, to which she responded by offering sex if he succeeded. While “rewarding” a heroic male character with a seductive woman has been a tiresome trope of spy movies for years, this scene seemed like an unnecessary addition, and if anything, only highlighted how problematic this trope is. While this could have been the intention, the fact the controversial sex scene is referenced in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, suggests it was a joke that merely fell flat.
7 Carol’s Underwear Scene In Star Trek Into Darkness
Directed By J.J. Abrams
Star Trek Into Darkness
Release Date May 16, 2013
Director J.J. Abrams
Cast Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Chris Pine
Rating PG-13
Runtime 2h 12m
Genres Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller, Adventure
Writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof
Star Trek Into Darkness featured a wholly gratuitous scene in which Carol Marcus is depicted in her underwear. It’s only brief but seems shoehorned in to pander to a heterosexual male fantasy, which is then subtly legitimized by having Captain Kirk gawk at Carol in her state of undress. Star Trek Into Darkness’ Carol Marcus was a great character and her stripping was an entirely unwarranted addition. It offered absolutely nothing to the plot and appeared merely as an opportunity to showcase an attractive woman in little clothing.
6 Pink Elephants On Parade In Dumbo
Produced By Walt Disney
Disney’s classic animated movie Dumbo featured a bizarre psychedelic scene accompanied by the song “Pink Elephants on Parade.” It was quite a disturbing detour for younger viewers, proffering unsettling visuals and a much darker tone than the rest of the movie and most Disney animated movies at that time. A similar scene appeared 27 years later with the infamous “Heffalumps and Woozles” from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day – an equally sinister departure from the wholesome primary narrative.
5 Jennifer Aniston’s Strip Scene In We’re The Millers
Directed By Rawson Marshall Thurber
we’re the millers
Release Date August 7, 2013
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber
Cast Jennifer Aniston, Ed Helms, Will Poulter, Emma Roberts
Rating pg-13
Runtime 110minutes
Genres Comedy, Crime
Writers Rawson Marshall Thurber
Another unnecessary strip scene was centered even more blatantly in We’re the Millers. During one scene, the protagonists attempt to evade harm by distracting their captors with an extended strip scene performed by Jennifer Aniston’s character. This is somewhat narrative justified by Anniston’s character being an exotic dancer, but the entire scene still felt forced and weirdly placed. This is compounded by Jason Sudeikis’ character turning to the camera and shrugging – as if suggesting that he might as well enjoy the next few minutes in a weird, unnecessary sequence.
4 The Pie Fight In Dawn Of The Dead
Directed By George A. Romero
Dawn of the Dead
Release Date May 24, 1979
Director George A. Romero
Cast Scott H. Reiniger, Ken Foree, David Emge, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini
Rating 18+
Runtime 127 minutes
Genres Horror, Thriller
Writers George A. Romero
Zombie movie pioneer George A. Romero established the modern zombie genre, which makes his decision to add a zombie pie fight even more bewildering. Dawn of the Dead was the second movie in George A. Romero’s Living Dead universe and featured a scene wherein several characters run amok in a zombie-filled shopping mall, throwing custard pies in their faces. Considering the great lengths Romero had gone to establish the living dead as a genuinely horrifying threat, the pie fight scene in Dawn of the Dead plays against this, even though it can be considered a tongue-in-cheek moment.
3 Alan’s Dream In Jurassic Park 3
Directed By Joe Johnston
Jurassic Park 3
Release Date July 18, 2001
Director Joe Johnston
Cast Sam Neill, Laura Dern
Rating PG-13
Runtime 92minutes
Genres Sci-Fi, Adventure
Writers Alexander Payne
Jurassic Park 3 featured an incredibly incongruous dream sequence in which Sam Neill’s Alan has a nightmare about a talking Velociraptor. The scene felt totally out of place and was a puzzling addition to the narrative. A nightmare about a threatening Velociraptor would have been more effective, but instead, the scene undermined any sense of tension and threat as the characters arrived at the dinosaur-infested island. As a result, the following scene was more humorous than harrowing and indicated that the movie had opted for a lighter tone than previous Jurassic Park movies – which yielded less impressive results.
2 Mickey Rourke’s Monologue In The Expendables
Directed By Sylvester Stallone
The Expendables
Release Date August 13, 2010
Director Sylvester Stallone
Cast Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Charisma Carpenter, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Terry Crews
Rating R
Runtime 103 minutes
Genres Adventure, Thriller, Action
Writers Dave Callaham, Sylvester Stallone
Mickey Rourke delivered a heart-breaking monologue during Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, which truly demonstrated why Rourke is one of the finest actors in Hollywood. During the scene, Rourke’s character, Tool, explained a harrowing incident from his past in which he witnessed a suicide. It was delivered to perfection, with Rourke’s being dialogue the absolute highlight of the movie. It stood out from the rest of The Expendables because of how emotionally impressive it was. Rourke’s performance was the absolute best thing in The Expendables and was a far cry from the rest of the action-packed adventures the franchise is known for. It was out of place, yet it was a great scene.
1 The Romeo & Juliet Law In Transformers: Age Of Extinction
Directed By Michael Bay
Transformers: Age of Extinction introduced the franchise’s new human protagonist, Mark Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager. In one scene, Cade’s 17-year-old daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) introduced him to her 20-year-old boyfriend, Shane (Jack Reynor). When Cade objected to the age difference, Shane pulled a card from his wallet detailing the “Romeo & Juliet” laws, which protect him from prosecution for statutory rape with a minor.
Reynor addressed the controversial scene in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, clarifying that it was supposed to be a joke. Reynor explained that the scene was added to the script and was intended to be a comedic skit between the actors. Instead, the scene is just creepy and extremely problematic. The commentary on the age of consent is incredibly out of place in a movie that’s supposed to be about transforming cars.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly