Ah, cringe! That painful yet oddly fascinating emotion you feel when you watch someone make an absolute fool of themselves. There’s something illuminating - not to mention hilarious - about watching people violate social norms in the most exquisitely agonizing ways possible. There’s no quicker way to understand someone than when they’re thrust into an uncomfortable situation, and that goes for the viewer as well as the characters on screen. Cringe is a way to pluck at the delicate strings holding polite society together, to test just how much people are willing to put up with to keep from making a fuss.
This is a pretty diverse list in terms of genre and tone, using a pretty broad definition of “cringe.” Still, all of them mine the collision of the rational and the irrational for (somewhat pained) laughter. From surrealist satire to broad studio comedy, and even a bit of psychological horror, here are some of the best movies to make your next movie nightdeeplyuncomfortable.
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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
In order to bend reality, a writer first has to understand it. That’s what makesThe Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, a late-career triumph from the surrealist masterLuis Buñuel, so uncomfortably funny. The group of rich people whose quest for dinner is repeatedly thwarted by the invisible hand of God aren’t caricatures; they’re not hateful tyrants begging to be punished for their hubris. They’re just rich people, neither particularly nice nor particularly mean, politely bristling at each new obstacle but displaying extraordinary patience given the circumstances. They may be vacuous and idle, but they feel like real people you might see in a fancy new bistro - which is why it’s such a gas to see them deal with a dead restaurateur, a bishop with a gardening fetish, and a soldier who, completely unsolicited, tells them how he killed his father.
The King of Comedy(1982)
The King of Comedygot renewed attention in 2019, when theScorsese-apingJokerended up following some of its plot beats. But what makesThe King of Comedybetter is that, despite its dark psychological undercurrents, it’s actuallyfunny. Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is a dangerous, obsessive individual with delusions of grandeur, but he’s also cheerfully oblivious to reality in a way that brings to mind Michael Scott; this is a man who offers gum to someone he’s kidnapping. He’s a menace, but even his most menacing moments feel like bits - bringing a date uninvited to the mansion of late night host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), or bungling Langford’s ransom recording in laughably slapstick ways. But as funny as Rupert can be (and not a half-bad stand-up, either), his inability to take no for an answer makes the laughs more than a little painful. And we haven’t even gotten intoSandra Bernhardtrying to seduce Langford by singing “Come Rain or Come Shine” while crawling across a dinner table.
After Hours (1985)
Coincidentally, the next movie on this list is the movie Scorsese made right afterThe King of Comedyflopped at the box office, and his taste for dark, cringe-inducing humor hadn’t been satisfied.After Hourssometimes plays like a magical realist East Coast version ofCurb Your Enthusiasm, where an unassuming office worker named Paul (Griffin Dunne), over the course of a single night, manages to piss off seemingly the entire population of Manhattan. Taking clear inspiration from the works ofFranz Kafka(who dabbled in cringe comedy himself), Scorsese puts Paul through one off-putting crucible after another, from the routine embarrassment of being short on change to being pursued by a lynch mob led by a deranged ice cream truck driver. Throughout, the nocturnal atmosphere and jittery pace lendsAfter Hoursan almost hallucinatory aura that pairs well with its uncomfortable humor - it’s funny the same way nitrous oxide is funny.
Lost in America(1985)
The best cringe comedy comes from the collision of delusion and reality, and few movies dismantle the delusions of their protagonists more brutally (and comically) thanLost in America.Albert Brooks’ yuppie satire features David Howard (Brooks) storming away from his high-paying advertising job to travel America with his wife Linda (Julie Hagerty). Of course, they soon discover that finding themselves in America isn’t as easy as it looked inEasy Rider; several fights and a number of bad bets on a roulette wheel later, they’re living in soul-crushing poverty, working lousy jobs while being mocked by just about everyone they meet. It’s a little tragic, but Brooks never loses sight of the humor, milking real comedy, however painful, out of David’s desperate attempts to convince the casino to give them their money back as a promotional tactic, to say nothing of lines like “your song sucks, I hate your suit, and I could hurt you!”
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
The zipper scene. The “hair gel” scene. The bit where the hitchhiker loses his mind over the concept of “5-minute abs.” The bit where Ted (Ben Stiller) gets mistaken for a serial killer. The bit where Healy (Matt Dillon) almost kills Mary’s (Cameron Diaz) dog. There’s no shortage of moments inThere’s Something About Marythat could drive viewers to watch through their fingers, and in this day and age some gags can come across as mean-spirited. But it’s hard to get too mad at theFarrelly Brotherswhen there’s clearly heart behind every curse word and bodily function. By the time the whole cast gets together to lip sync “Build Me Up Buttercup” at the end, you can’t help but sing along. Also, theBrett Favrereveal is top-notch.
Waiting for Guffman (1999)
For those who like their cringe a little gentler than most, there’sWaiting for Guffman, aChristopher Guestmockumentary about small-town community theater. There’s something inherently cringe about community theater, but at the same time there’s also something quite human about it: earnest people trying to put on a show and make something great when their ambition outstrips their means. There’s a veritable smorgasbord of cringe inGuffman, from the guy auditioning for the show by doing a one-man rendition ofRaging Bullto the fact that the screamingly gay director has to play every male role. But while Corky St. Clair (Guest) and his motley crew of amiable mediocrities don’t impress the titular Broadway producer (in fact, he was never there to begin with), it’s still heartening to see them try. And hey, who wouldn’t want their very ownThe Remains of the Daylunch box?
Borat(2006)
After sixteen years of “my wife!” and “very nice!”,Boratremains a symphony of cringe comedy. Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen), a Kazakhstani journalist abroad in America, may be the platonic ideal of cringe. He thinks he’s normal, but he’s incapable of acting normal: his home country has warped him into casual displays of racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism. This puts him completely out of sync with Bush-era America - except, of course, for all the times it puts him exactly in sync with Bush-era America. The people Borat encounters (almost all of them non-actors) are often remarkably patient and accommodating with this bizarre man, and America comes out ofBoratlooking better than the movie’s reputation suggests. Still, the bit with the hotel receptionist? The Kazakhstan national anthem? The mankini fight scene? Some will run away likePamela Andersonbeing chased by an amorous Borat; others, however, will find this movie very nice indeed.
The Color Wheel(2011)
A movie about a brother-sister road trip sounds like a heartwarming journey of family and self-discovery. Leave it toAlex Ross Perryto turn it into one of the most uncomfortable comedies of the century thus far. The vibes are absolutelyrancidinThe Color Wheel, a porcupine-prickly mumblecore film about a pair of siblings named Colin and JR (Perry andCarlen Altman) who barely let a minute go by without bitterly insulting each other. The dialogue is snappy and takes the shape of banter, but the words are pure poison: if the viewer was their imaginary passenger, they’d take their chances tuck-and-rolling onto the highway after five minutes in their company. Worse, everyone these two meet, including pervy professors and hyper-Christian motel owners, is even more caustic and mean than they are.The Color Wheeltranscends mere unpleasantness into something like absurdist art, where every laugh hurts, and a toxic sibling rivalry turns, horribly, intoWhen Harry Met Sally.
Force Majeure (2014)
Cringe gets an austere arthouse twist inForce Majeure, the debut film of the Palme-winning Swedish directorRuben Östlund. A family ski holiday goes horribly wrong when an avalanche seems to strike during lunch, spurring father Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) to grab his phone and book it, leaving his family behind. Fortunately, it was a harmless controlled avalanche; unfortunately, Tomas now has to deal with a family who just saw their dad leave them for dead. Unlike the lousy American remakeDownhill,Force Majeureuses the gorgeous snowy landscape for brilliantly composed shots, emphasizing the building tension until it finally explodes like a grenade, its shrapnel shredding male ego in a darkly hilarious way.
The Lobster (2015)
The films ofYorgos Lanthimos, with their bone-dry deadpan and their pod-people dialogue, are naturally cringe, and some people are so unnerved by the clammy atmosphere they can’t finish. With the right mindset, though, they’re an outright hoot, especiallyThe Lobster. In a world where single people must find a mate or be turned into an animal of their choice, people get desperate, and desperate means funny. Wanna seeColin Farrellkick a little girl in the shins? How about small talk conducted while a woman screams in agony offscreen? Perfunctory handjobs from unfriendly maids,Olivia Colmandancing like a depressed animatronic,Ben Whishawbeing so down bad that he breaks his own nose - it’s a beautiful machine of sexual dysfunction.
Greener Grass (2019)
Plenty of films have tried to expose the dark side of suburbia, but few have done it better - or stranger - thanGreener Grass. The debut ofJocelyn DeBoerandDawn Luebbefeatures a bizarre suburban town where all the adults wear braces, drive golf carts, and occasionally forget whose family is whose. As is often the case with the best cringe, what peoplearen’toffended by is just as significant as what offends them. For instance, when Jill (DeBoer) offers her infant daughter to Lisa (Luebbe) to raise as her own, Lisa accepts with only minor hesitation, and when Jill wants her back,Jillis seen as the problem. The problems pile up, and time and again Jill is seen as bizarre for complaining: whywouldn’tshe be thrilled that her son turned into a golden retriever, or that the neighborhood wives are holding a baby shower for Lisa’s new soccer ball child? That’s only scratching the surface of this strange, awkward movie: there’s sloppy brace-face makeout sessions, ritual regurgitation, and a teacher leading her class in a sing-along about her mass murderer mother. The turn to horror feels only natural.
Shiva Baby(2021)
A young Jewish woman, her ex-girlfriend, her sugar daddy, his gentile wife, a screaming baby, and a host of well-meaning relatives: welcome toShiva Baby, or as some might know it, Hell.Emma Seligman’s debut feature plays like a horror movie with its nerve-jangling score and constant ratcheting up of tension, and viewers might end up having a panic attack right alongside Danielle (Rachel Sennott). But as painful as it might be, it’s so finely observed, with great performances and exquisite line readings (“what part of your service was your favorite?” “…the whole thing was beautiful.”) that paints the truth of a messy young woman.
