Bad Date: Difference between revisions

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Everyone knows dating is fraught with tension. As if the usual stress of trying to impress someone special weren't enough, sometimes things go badly. Really badly. That's what happens when you have a [[Bad Date]], which can be played for either comedy or drama.

Everyone knows dating is fraught with tension. As if the usual stress of trying to impress someone special weren't enough, sometimes things go badly. Really badly. That's what happens when you have a '''Bad Date''', which can be played for either comedy or drama.

The [[Bad Date]] has long been a staple of the [[Romantic Comedy]]. Common elements of the comically bad date include social gaffes, allergic reactions or intolerance to certain foods, tactless comments, interfering friends, poor wardrobe decisions, or any combination of the above. The [[Rom Com]] bad date tends to come in two types. The first type is a date suffered by the protagonist, which serves as a trial that the protagonist has to endure to secure his or her desired [[Love Interest]]. The second type is a way of weeding out [[Romantic False Lead~~|Romantic False Leads~~]] or otherwise demonstrating that a couple is not a good match. Either type of date can result from sabotage by another interested party who wants the date to fail.

The '''Bad Date''' has long been a staple of the [[Romantic Comedy]]. Common elements of the comically bad date include social gaffes, allergic reactions or intolerance to certain foods, tactless comments, interfering friends, poor wardrobe decisions, or any combination of the above. The [[Rom Com]] bad date tends to come in two types. The first type is a date suffered by the protagonist, which serves as a trial that the protagonist has to endure to secure his or her desired [[Love Interest]]. The second type is a way of weeding out [[Romantic False Lead]]s or otherwise demonstrating that a couple is not a good match. Either type of date can result from sabotage by another interested party who wants the date to fail.

The dramatic [[Bad Date]] is much the same thing, but not played for laughs. The couple may have a fight, with one of them storming out. Or one of them could just be obnoxious and the other one waits patiently for it to be over. Or, as it used to be called, it could end in a "bad date," once upon a time code for [[Date Rape]].

The dramatic '''Bad Date''' is much the same thing, but not played for laughs. The couple may have a fight, with one of them storming out. Or one of them could just be obnoxious and the other one waits patiently for it to be over. Or, as it used to be called, it could end in a "bad date," once upon a time code for [[Date Rape]].

Any [[Bad Date]] could be played for laughs, for drama, or for both.

Any '''Bad Date''' could be played for laughs, for drama, or for both.

If the bad date is the result of an online dating service, see [[Dating Service Disaster]]. If the bad date is just one in a series of bad dates suffered by the protagonist, it's probably part of a [[Terrible Interviewees Montage]]. If the character is trying to date two people at the same time, see [[Two-Timer Date]]. [[Date Peepers]] is a specific kind of interference that may result in a bad date. See [[Blind Date]], which can also overlap with this trope.

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=== Comedic Examples: ===

=== Comedic Examples ===

== [[Film]] ==

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* On ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', Ted often goes on dates that go badly. Barney is the quintessential [[Bad Date]].

* On ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', Ted often goes on dates that go badly. Barney is the quintessential Bad Date.

* Most of the entertainment value of ''The Millionaire Matchmaker'' comes from this trope.

* On Donna and Eric's first date in ''[[That '70s Show|That 70's Show]]'', Donna orders an iced tea and is mistakenly served a [[Intoxication Ensues|Long Island iced tea]]. Not only is the date spent trying to keep Donna from making an idiot of herself, but Hyde later shows up to profess his feelings for Donna.

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* ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'' has the bad date between Celia and Mike.

=== Dramatic Examples: ===

=== Dramatic Examples ===

== [[Literature]] ==

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* Joan's bad date with her fiance in ''[[Mad Men]]''.

=== Both Comedy and Drama: ===

=== Both Comedy and Drama ===

== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[Hitch]]'', he goes on a jet ski date and accidentally kicks her in the fact, then accidentally forces her to confront the reality of her genocidal ancestor, and on another date has a bad reaction to food and looks like an ass and... these are funny, but they also demonstrate that he's not actually any good at dating, in spite of his alleged expertise.