History Main / UncomfortableElevatorMoment

* In the book version of ''AmericanPsycho'', [[CompleteMonster Patrick Bateman]] makes small talk with Tom Cruise in an elevator. It even ''reads'' awkwardly in the novel.

* Happens in ''GrandTheftAuto: Vice City'', where you're attemping a biking mission. You have to drive through an office and then take the elevator up to one of the top floors.

[[Film/SpiderMan http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elevator.JPG]]
[[caption-width:350:[[VisibleSilence ...]]]]

* beat*

* Never get on an elevator with TheTick.

{{Uncomfortable Elevator Moment}}s traditionally take place inside TheElevatorFromIpanema. The elevator "music" itself often forms part of the humor and/or tension in the scene. It can also take the form of a CrockerTeaBreak in a fight.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UOK4LqIKNI This]] McDonald's commercial.

[[folder:Commercials]]
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UOK4LqIKNI This]] McDonald's commercial.

** It beat having a literal graphics-freeze loading screen, though.
*** Not really. The elevator sequences are made long enough for a console (360 in this case) to load the next area. But when they put it on PC, they forgot that the PC can load it much more quickly. A load screen would be much, much faster than sitting through bad-console-hardware elevator times.

* A subversion from ''{{Dogma}}'', as Bartleby and Loki enter an elevator:

Particularly in visual fiction, the Western "protocol" is often milked to generate ironic, uncomfortable silences from characters inside the elevator, when some other reaction might well be expected or justified. In short: an Uncomfortable Elevator Moment.

Uncomfortable Elevator Moments traditionally take place inside TheElevatorFromIpanema. The elevator "music" itself often forms part of the humor and/or tension in the scene. It can also take the form of a CrockerTeaBreak in a fight.

!!Examples

[[folder:Real Life]]

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* In ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', the humongous supervillain Rhino steps into an elevator where a meek-looking man is already inside. He then awkwardly tells the man "Top Floor", and explains that his fingers are too big to push the buttons.

* ''{{Evangelion}}'' had several of these, the most famous of which was stretched out just about as far as it could be (about a ''minute''). Then to show it wasn't StockFootage they put the whole scene in the Movie and re-animated it. Wanna bet it's in the Third of the new movies?

* In the "Brawl" anniversary battle between the [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Nostalgia Critic]] and the AngryVideoGameNerd, the two keep fighting throughout a hotel, even while the are waiting for an elevator to arrive. When it does they simply stand inside, apparently ignoring each other. The fight continues once they reach their intended floor.

*** Well, it's Krista Allen... SoYeah.

* There's a story about how when Paul Wolfowitz was president of the World Bank, he found himself in an elevator with a woman wearing a blue ribbon and asked her what it meant. She told him it was being worn by World Bank employees petitioning for his resignation. SoYeah.