6. Taxi Driver - Theatre Date Scene
The awkward moment when... the guy takes you to a porn theatre on the first date! We've all been on dates that have just gone a bit awkward but this one's worse than anyone could imagine; in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver we see Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) fall in love with a woman...lovely! He plucks up the courage to ask her out on a proper date and she accepts...double-lovely! Unfortunately, since Vietnam, Bickle's emotional scars have meant he hasn't quite got to grips with modern etiquette and takes her to a porn theatre... not so lovely. Trying to be polite, she enters the theatre but storms out within minutes of the film beginning. This scene is pretty awkward for everyone because you can't believe someone would actually think it is acceptable to do that but you know Bickle isn't quite all there because of his traumatic time in the army. He doesn't understand why she is so disgusted and he begins to hold a grudge against her for it. Maybe Bickle's just ahead of the curve...yes, that's quite unlikely.