Did you know it was National Pancake Week?* You really should. (MLK gets a day, pancakes get a week. Right.) Anyway, be sure to check out our as-random-as-this-holiday gallery of 14 memorable movie breakfasts. The ones you’re thinking of are on there (Pee-Wee’s eggcellent contraption, Uncle Buck’s giant flapjack), as well as some black-and-white ones that in my opinion don’t really do justice to the kind of blinding HD wattage you can get on citrus these days. But if you’re like me, your favorite and very random choice for best movie breakfast was left out. (And so was Pulp Fiction.) In this matter, as with most, I’m all about Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead, in which Sue Ellen (Christina Applegate) is reduced to serving up a whole box of Cap’n Crunch, family-style, in the days before her stoner brother Kenny decides to get his act together and learn to cook beautiful Belgian waffles. (We couldn’t find a photo of either of these moments, but the one pictured is pretty righteous in itself. What’s best is that the frozen pizza box isn’t even in frame — you just have to go on faith that it’s up there.) And you, P-Dubs? What’s your favorite breakfast scene in a movie? What are you eating for breakfast right now? Me: Chocolate doughnut (emphasis on the ugh) with rainbow sprinkles.
*In case it’s too early for you to read between the grill marks, this was basically just an excuse for me to write a post about food. But yes, it’s a real holiday — just ask the folks at the Quaker Oats Press Room.
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I’m surprised they left out Raising Arizona. “These are good cereal flakes, Mrs. McDunnough.” (or words to that effect)
Are you ripping off this idea from Moviefone?? I just saw this same poll on their site just yesterday. It featured a black and white shot of James Cagney and the grapefruit-in-her-face scene from THE PUBLIC ENEMY. Anyway, one of my favorite breakfast sequences is actually not from a movie, but from an episode of TWIN PEAKS where agent Dale Cooper is ordering his bacon “super crispy” and tries his first cup of “hot black coffee” at the Great Northern Hotel.
Two of my favorites are already there: Uncle Buck and Reservor Dogs, but I have got to agree with “Don’t tel mom…”, a classic!!!
In Sixteen Candles when the grandmother has a cigarette in one hand with the world’s longest ash and struggles to barely open the box of Entenmann’s donuts, greeting her success with “Breakfast is Served!”
My favorite is the one from Pretty Woman. He didn’t know what she liked, so he ordered everything. She starts to sit on the table. Everything about them is set out right there…
Oh, and the croissant miraculously becomes a pancake, and that is just great!
I liked the breakfast scene in Chasing Amy where Jay, Silent Bob, and Holden have their conversation about relationships. It contained the origin of the movie’s title, and resulted in Holden’s ill-fated epiphany.
Oops! I goofed! That movie breakfast list WAS on ew.com. Sorry.
I can’t recall if this was a breakfast scene but I will always remember the concoction made by Mary Stuart Masterson in the movie Benny & Joon. The one where she blends milk, Cap’n Crunch, peanut butter and so on, then drinks it. Ever since I saw that scene I’ve always wanted to try it
Plus, Johnny Depp’s face when he tastes it is just priceless. As for what I’m eating for breakfast today…nothing exciting really. A slice of toast with peanut butter and sliced banana on top. Mmmmmm. It’s all about the peanut butter apparently.
What about Doc Brown’s Rube Goldberg-esque contraption at the beginning of “Back to the Future” (including Einstein’s can of dog food, too)? Classic.
I’ll give you the Dustin Hoffman special:
The first time he (unsuccessfully) tries to make breakfast for his son after his wife has walked out on them and, after burning himself, he mutters “damn her” to himself. Good stuff.
Also, a short little moment toward the end of “Rain Man” where Raymond (Hoffman) seems poised to freak out again when he can’t find the maple syrup on the table. Of course, it turns out that Charlie (Tom Cruise, before everyone started hating him) had temporarily hidden it out of sight as a joke. Nice little bonding moment between the two characters.
I agree with Greg – Grandma trying to open the doughnuts with the extra long cigarette ash was a classic moment (among many) in “Sixteen Candles.” Interesting that it’s National Pancake Week the same week as Shrove Tuesday (AKA Mardi Gras), on which the traditional dinner is pancakes and sausage. OK, enough trivia for me today…
It’s not a full length movie, but can I add the scene from Wallace and Gromit: the wrong trousers where Gromit is sleeping in Wallace’s bed and gets attacked by the Penguin via Wallace’s breakfast machine.
Ha! It’s a classic.
Not movie related, but has anyone seen the new Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl ads? There’s one with the moon, who’s totally chilling out in the suns office as he eats this breakfast. The moon and sun eclipse (they are in business together after all). Afterwards, the moon’s all happy with his breakfast and says to the sun “we should do this more often”.
Why do I find that cheesy ad so endearing?
EW’s list was awesome. My favorite was “Uncle Buck” so it made me smile to see my favorite made the list.
As for my breakfast? Two, Count them TWO Tastey Cake brad Honey Buns and (for a healthy daily dose of irony) a coke zero…
How about the Movie Grosse Point Blank where Martin Blank (Cusack) and Grocer (Akroyd) are sitting at the dinner and Martin ordered the egg white omelet and the two had the conversation. PRICELESS OHOHOHOH
I would totally vote for Don’t Tell Mom… but since that’s already up there, I’ll go with “Go”. Timothy Olyphant in all his glorious hotness,looking incredulously at Katie Holmes in a rare (for her) bit of believable naïveté. Love it.
The post-rave breakfast in ‘Go’ is fantastic in its inanity. Compared to the literal trip-fest that was the night before, two of the film’s stranger characters share a subdued cup of coffee and discuss the pleasures of Christmas surprises and how one can hate the “Family Circus.” Top notch, and it perfectly sets-up the even more bizarre ending.
“Weird Science” of course: “Hey, that looks pretty good! Now fix yourself one…d!<&weed!"
I appreciate the completely hilarious breakfast in Knocked Up. The morning after has never been so mortifying.
What about “My Stepmother is an Alien”. That was some breakfast Kim Basinger cooked up that morning, pretty much eveything but the kitchen sink.
I love the scene in As Good As It Gets when Jack Nicholson’s character Melvin Udall goes in to his favorite diner for breakfast and discovers a couple sitting as his usual table.
Hands down winner….Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces trying to order toast from the world’s most hateful waitress.
Other favs already mentioned here: 16 Candles and Chasing Amy.
Can’t remember which movie it’s from but breakfast = Fruit-Loops and Chocolate Syrup. I just developed type two diabetes typing that.
In “Lilies of the Field,” an overworked and underfed Sidney Poitier orders up “a real breakfast”:
In “Lilies of the Field,” an overworked and underfed Sidney Poitier orders up “a real breakfast”:
“Double OJ and squeeze it fresh.
A stack of wheatcakes with lots
of melted butter… maple syrup. And fry me three, four, five eggs
with a mess of sausages and a mountain of white toast with strawberry marmalade and… keep the coffee coming.”
Will Farrell in elf eating a sickening amount of sugar with maple syrp and ugh I have to go gag now.
The only breakfast scene that immediately came to mind is from “My Cousin Vinny” where they opt for “breakfast” from a menu that has three words on it — breakfast, lunch, dinner. Then they are serves a plate of lard with some eggs and grits floating in the middle. And Vinny asks “what’s a grit?”
Grits is basically “Wheatina”.
From Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the breakfast that was a little undercooked at All American Burger. When he was called a moron, by the unsatisfied customer Brad told the guy that if he did not shut up, he was going to kick a 100 percent of his a-s.
Elf!! When Buddy serves them spaghetti and syrup for breakfast after they had just had it for dinner the night before. He even puts it in freezer bags for their lunch. Then Buddy makes his own concoction of cereal and spaghetti. Awesome.
EP – I love those ads too! “Cereal is cold…and wet… It’s cloud thing.”
Not a movie breakfast, but I love the fake SNL commericial from WAAAAAY back with John Belushi eating his breakfast of “Little Chocolate Donuts” cereal while he was “in training.” Even funnier now that there is actually a cereal called “Choco Donuts” out there (God help us).
Besides the scenes that made the list, I have to say the breakfast scene from the end of “Moonstruck”. It takes me back to my childhood. Ironically I had eggs over bread this morning as well…
Big Night: scrambled eggs
Wallace & Gromit: Wallace’s Rube Goldberg breakfast machine “Tuesday, Gromit! Porridge!”