Watch: Hollywood's Most Iconic Dinner Scenes
For Dreaming of: A dinner probably gone very wrong
There’s something about a great dinner scene in a film. Perhaps it’s because a dinner is something we can all relate to in one way or another, with a director exploiting or magnifying cross-cultural culinary differences that we might find horrific, or using a culinary gathering to twist the plot into something gone terribly wrong. But often, these are the moments that we’ll remember for a very, very long time, and re-watch again and again. Hollywood gold on plate, if you will. A fair warning: a few of these scenes are graphic.
Here’s a few of our favorites to remember:
Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom
The exotic Maharaja’s dinner at Pankot Palace. Favorite lines: “I had bugs for lunch” and “Snnnake Surrrprise!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e-T2iA7H-w
Beetlejuice
The “Banana-Boat” seance dinner with Catherine O’Hara to resurrect the deceased homeowners, with shrimp cocktail and her modern art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k09a7rYjKeU
Vegas Vacation
The way I’ll always see a Las Vegas hotel buffet: cheap, dirty, and with Randy Quaid. Favorite line: “I’ll have some of the yellah!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lvhkfCBwxQ
When Harry Met Sally
Meg Ryan’s stellar deli orgasm performance. Director Rob Reiner’s own mother utters the now-iconic quote: "I'll have what she's having"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNEX0fbGePg
Talladega Nights
The “dear baby Jesus” prayer during family dinner, with the complete American spread of “Dominos, KFC, and the always-delicious Taco Bell.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY5VNDvea1M
Mrs. Doubtfire
Classic scene at Bridges Restaurant in the Bay Area, with Robin Williams jumping between a family dinner with his ex-wife’s new beau, and his new, boozy boss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EklzTR3YP8g
Titanic
Jack dines in First Class, proving their snobbish stereotypes differently. The interrogation quibs: “Tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson?” & “You find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJAYmU-TRZw
If you’re wanting to have a full-length dinner experience, here are a few more culinary notables:
The Menu
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
The Hundred-Foot Journey
Photo Source: Topazzi World
Syllogi’s ‘Musings’ is a series helping you paint a picture of a destination while traveling from your living room. From relevant books and articles, inspiring movies and tv shows, to songs and even treats and dishes, our goal is to curate a sensory experience that will prepare you for an upcoming trip, reminiscence on adventures past, or simply to envision a place that exists in your bucket list fantasies.
