ComingSoon.net has selected some of the most memorable moments of “nourishment” depicted on screen. Check out our picks in the gallery below!
It is often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day—for some characters, the most important meal is one witnessed by an audience of billions. While films like The Thomas Crown Affair shamelessly promote products like Pepsi One, other films tastefully use food to paint a more vivid picture of their story’s world and characters. Food almost always affects the plot of a film, because, well everyone has to eat. Would Lady and the Tramp ever have fallen for one another without spaghetti? Seeing someone enjoy a meal, chug a beverage or consume anything (even if it’s in a strange/humorous way) makes them a more relatable persona onscreen.
A movie’s ability to include miniature yet iconic moments with the help of various articles of consumption can add to its enjoyability. Rocky needed protein in his diet to properly train for his fight with Apollo Creed (hence the eggs). Here’s a collection of some food-based moments in cinema history (excluding films that have edible titles like Chocolat, Eat Pray Love, etc.)—people eating things.
The 10 Most Iconic Food Moments in Film
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Buffalo liver? Dances with Wolves (1990)
The internet seems to be split on whether or not John Dunbar eats a buffalo liver or heart after the iconic hunt in this classic Kevin Costar flick. Regardless, this exists at a pivotal moment of acceptance for our protagonist and the Sioux. Now, with Daenerys Targaryen's horse heart meal, animal organ eating seems to have become commonplace.
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Mashed potatoes, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Everyone at one point or another has fiddled with their food. Richard Dreyfuss just makes his mashed potatoes into the shape of the Devil's Tower. Deal with it.
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Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Ghostbusters (1984)
In an attempt to exile all terrible thoughts from his mind, Ray recalls a beloved childhood mascot of his—the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. An iconic moment, in an iconic movie, with an iconic product.
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Raw eggs, The Rocky Franchise (1976-2006)
No one can forget Rocky waking up in the wee hours of the morning to train; this is elevated by his unforgettable protein shake: raw eggs. Four of them to be exact. Fans love this moment so much that it has become one of the most frequently referenced training techniques in cinematic history; that and running up the steps of the Philadelphia art museum.
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Big kahuna burger. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Jules: Mm-hmm! This is a tasty burger! Vincent! You ever had a Big Kahuna burger?
[Vincent shakes his head]Unfortunately, neither have we.
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Shawarma, The Avengers (2012)
After saving the world and realizing the fighting isn't quite done, Tony Stark suggests the whole gang get some shawarma afterward (an improvised line by RDJ). This after-credits scene is arguably the most memorable in the MCU.
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Chunk and food, The Goonies (1985)
The character of "Chunk" is nicknamed as such for a reason. The boy loves his grub; from pizza, rocky road ice cream and Baby Ruth candy bars to whipped cream. Chunk's relationship with food not only moves the plot forward in surprising ways but has been talked about for the last thirty-plus years.
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Shit pie, The Help (2011)
Revenge has never tasted so...
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Pie eating contest, Stand By Me (1986)
The “Revenge of Lardass Hogan.”
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Milk sniff, The Big Lebowski (1998)
Milk is a necessary ingredient in a White Russian, The Dude's drink of choice. At the beginning of The Big Lebowski, the titular character is seen buying (and sniffing) milk with a check. An iconic introduction to an iconic character.
