The Most Awkward Kissing Scenes Of The Past Decade

It's no secret that filming kissing scenes in movies can often be far more uncomfortable than the way it ends up appearing onscreen. Having to make out with someone while an entire crew of people watches, even when (or sometimes especially when) working across from a kissworthy hearthrob of a co-star, can often be among of the most awkward experiences of an actor's career. Every so often, that outright discomfort is visible in the finished product, and the results end up being memorable in the worst way.

At the same time, some onscreen kisses are actually supposed to be awkward, putting the audience in the characters' uncomfortable situation and heightening the tension with an added level of physical intimacy. The past decade of movies has seen its fair share of both kinds of awkward kissing scenes, and here's a not-so-fond look back at the ones we'll still be cringing at in the years to come.

One of the foundations of the plot of Hunger Games, aside from poor children killing children for the entertainment of the rich, is the love triangle that develops between Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), and rival suitors Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth), often serving as a welcome romantic break from all the state-sanctioned murdering. But absolutely none of these three actors enjoyed their kissing scenes — and for good reason. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta share a post-CPR kiss with a drippy backstory. While filming one of the takes, Jennifer Lawrence had a "snot bomb" running down her face... right into Josh Hutcherson's mouth. Nobody volunteered as tribute for that. 

Like Hunger Games meeting Jackass, this wasn't Jennifer Lawrence's only nasty kiss on set. Being good friends with Liam Hemsworth in real life, Lawrence decided to prank her co-star before their scheduled kissing scenes. Talking to The Independent, Hemsworth recalled, "If we had a kissing scene, she would make a point of eating garlic or tuna fish or something that was disgusting and right before the scene she'd be like 'I didn't brush my teeth.' I'd be like 'great, I can't wait to get in there and taste it.'" This information puts an entirely different spin on all of Katniss and Gale's romantic moments. 

After proposing to his longtime girlfriend Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Bumper (Adam DeVine) is unceremoniously and publicly dumped by Amy, who claims she is far from ready to stop playing the field, even though in Pitch Perfect 2 (and its predecessor) she's only been interested in him. They spend much of the movie apart until Amy has an epiphany at a capella boot camp and decides she really does love him and now wants to change her final answer to a resounding "yes." To the tune of Pat Benatar's We Belong sung by Wilson and DeVine (but not a capella for once), Bumper and Amy reconnect in one of the most awkward kissing scenes of the past decade — although this one's definitely awkward on purpose. As they weirdly lip-lock and roll around the grass while also managing to keep singing, the awkwardness heightens the romantic comedy ick factor we've come to know and love since gross-out rom-coms like There's Something About Mary.  

As the dinosaurs take over once again in Jurassic World, the fourth installment of the popular movie adaptations of Michael Crichton's bestselling novels, a lot of questionable things go down on Isla Nublar. First, they've made a hybrid dinosaur from recombinant DNA that is not only majorly aggressive, but its chameleon traits allow it to fully blend into any surroundings. Second, as Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen (Chris Pratt), and her nephews are being hunted by dinosaurs, Claire and Owen share an awkward lip lock that is completely out of place. Yes, there are indeed times in life when a well-timed kiss even amid inappropriate circumstances can help to relieve tension, whether in real life or onscreen. But the jury is still out on whether this applies to being under attack from hordes of dinosaurs as the island you're on burns up from one end to the other. Funnily enough, according to Jurassic World's leading lady, the kiss was unscripted and spontaneous — which only makes it worse that it came off so awkward.

The Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt sci-fi drama Passengers doesn't only feature one of the most awkward kissing scenes of the past decade, it's also arguably one of the most uncomfortable movies of the decade to boot with an incredibly problematic plot. Pratt plays Jim, a passenger on a space colony ship who wakes up decades early during the voyage. He sees another passenger, Aurora (Lawrence) who he falls in love with at first sight, and decides to wake her up so he won't be alone anymore — despite the fact that it'll doom her to death on the ship along with him. Yikes. 

It's a while before Aurora finds out her awakening wasn't an accident like Jim's, at which point they've already begun a relationship that includes physical intimacy. Passengers was Jennifer Lawrence's first sex scene, as well as her first time kissing a married co-star. She was so uncomfortable with the scenario she ended up getting really drunk to film their scenes, which only made the situation even more awkward to film and to watch. Sadly, the awkward kissing scenes are far from the most uncomfortable aspects of this hugely troubling movie.   

After several bombs, master of the twist ending M. Night Shyamalan returned in 2016 with the multiple personality horror movie Split (which also ended up being a sequel to his 2000 film Unbreakable and the centerpiece of a trilogy that ended with 2019's Glass). James McAvoy plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man so traumatized by the abuse he survived as a child he has created an entire army of alternate personalities that help him cope. From prim schoolmarm Patricia to militant Dennis and flamboyant Barry, these personalities have begun to merge into the Horde and the Beast, a violent being who defies the laws of nature. 

The Horde has kidnapped three high school girls, including Casey Cooke (Anya Taylor-Thompson), and is keeping them prisoner for the Beast's next meal. One of Kevin's alters is nine-year-old Hedwig, who Casey manages to bond with and almost allows her to escape. In the process, Hedwig asks if he can kiss Casey, who has no choice but to comply. The result is a most awkward kiss that has viewers looking away from the screen as much as the onscreen gore. McAvoy's turn as Hedwig is so realistic you almost forget he's actually a grown man, which makes it that much harder to watch him kissing a teenage girl.

Pleasantville star Reese Witherspoon had a decidedly unpleasant experience on the set of her carnival period piece Water for Elephants with co-star Robert Pattinson. This romantic drama involves Pattinson as a Jacob, a veterinary student who drops out of school to join the Benzini Brothers Circus. There Jacob meets Marlena (Witherspoon) and her abusive partner, the big top ringmaster August (Christoph Waltz), and he can't help but fall in love with this beautiful but damaged woman even though August's temper would put them all in danger if he ever found out. 

During one of their kissing scenes, the music swells in elaborate and emotional waves, but Pattinson admitted to MTV, "I was doing it when I had a really bad cold. My nose is running all over the place, and it was in one of the additional photography scenes, and Reese had this wig on, and literally, I was wiping my nose on her wig." Witherspoon corroborated his story, saying, "He did have a very runny nose, yeah. It wasn't appealing; it wasn't pleasant."

E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy was a bestselling set of fan fiction inspired by Twilight but with a twist — pun intended. Like the books, the film adaptation explores the abusive relationship masquerading as kink between Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) and her lover Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). While other films featuring the most awkward kissing scenes of the last decade only had one major offender per movie, all three of the Fifty Shades trilogy are almost exclusively awkward kissing scenes, with even more awkward dialogue and absurd plot details thrown in to pad the pair's problematic relationship. Although the duo's infamously bumpy backstage relationship thawed over the course of filming the trilogy, filming those hookups never really got easier. "Shot of whiskey [and] mints," Johnson said when asked to describe their pre-sex scene rituals. "He does pushups and I just lay there and drink whiskey."

By the close of Avengers: Endgame, the decades-long love affair between Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) ends up taking on new prominence as the Avengers undo Thanos' (Josh Brolin) murderous snap. It was undeniable how much Cap loved Peggy — but Captain America: Civil War features an unintentionally awkward kiss between Cap and Peggy's great-niece Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), which takes place after they've both attended Peggy's funeral. Atwell herself told Entertainment Weekly, "I wouldn't want to date my great aunt's guy. It just feels like it crosses an incestuous boundary. And Peggy just died. That's even more disrespectful, right? It's like, 'Don't touch that. You can't tap that!" Not only does Atwell have an excellent point, Evans and VanCamp also had questionable onscreen chemistry that made a problematic kiss even more awkward to watch.