From the big screen to your smallest room, with the help of Victoria Plum customers, we've compiled the top 10 bathroom movie scenes of all time. Do you agree with our choices?
The bathroom is a room that is very seldom seen in the movies. Unlike the bedroom (careful now!), the living room or the kitchen, directors seem to be wary of shooting in the bathroom. Maybe that’s because they don’t think that what goes on in there is an essential part of the storytelling process.
However, that’s exactly what makes movie scenes set in the bathroom so interesting. This is, after all, a room in which we all spend a significant amount of time. So the fact it only appears in the movies rarely makes it more startling when we see it on screen.
There are a few very memorable bathroom scenes but here are ten of the very best, many of which were suggested by you.
DISCLAIMER: We should warn you that this being the bathroom, some of the scenes that are set here tend to be a little on the risqué side of things, bearing in mind what goes on in there.
10. Pretty Woman
To ease you in, let’s start with a fairly harmless one. Julia Roberts singing in the bathtub in Pretty Woman is an iconic scene from an iconic film. Some carefully placed bubbles make it all clean and above board, yet a generation of men still fell in love with her, despite the awful singing.
9. Home Alone
We continue with a seasonal, family favourite. A young Macauley Culkin, playing the part of Kevin McCallister, is left to his own devices as his family go off for the holidays, accidentally leaving him behind. In one of the most memorable scenes, Kevin is singing along to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” whilst sprucing himself up in the bathroom, before slapping on a rather too generous helping of aftershave, prompting the now famous face grab and shriek of terror!
8. The Big Lebowski
This Coen Brothers classic is one of the funniest films ever made. The scene in question involves our hero, known simply as "The Dude", having a relaxing bath when in burst three anarchistic German robbers with a ferret on a leash. This might all sound extremely bizarre, but trust us, it’s really a very funny scene! See for yourself:
7. Mercenary for Justice
The all-action hero Stephen Seagal features in a real smackdown of a bathroom scene from this 2006 movie. Facing up to an armed assailant would be terrifying for most - but not for Big Steve! His attacker is spectacularly and brutally dealt with, ruining a rather opulent bathroom in the process.
6. The Shining
Ok, here’s where it starts to get a little creepy. Jack Nicholson’s character and his son Danny are warned not to go into room 213. So what do they do? They go in and have a look, of course. Which is where Jack finds something in the bathroom that is not entirely pleasant. Time to hide behind the sofa!
5. Trainspotting
A cult classic, but often controversial film, directed by Danny Boyle, contains a rather surreal scene involving the “Worst Toilet in Scotland”. The main character Renton, played by Ewan McGregor, ends up swimming in possibly the most horrid toilet we have ever seen. Certainly a far cry from his later work in Star Wars and Moulin Rouge!
4. There’s Something About Mary
Another one that’s not for the squeamish—but for entirely different reasons. This scene involves a man who is in a hurry and a zip. That’s all that needs to be said really (we did warn you). Guys might want to look away for this part of the film.
3. The Naked Gun
Whilst this scene doesn’t even really feature the bathroom itself, the beauty of the comedy comes from the fact the viewer has to use his or her imagination. Frank Drebin, the ever clumsy Detective of Police Squad, played brilliantly by the late, great Leslie Nielsen, gives a speech at a press conference. He then goes off to the bathroom with his radio mic still on— with hilarious consequences!
2. Jurassic Park
How could we have forgotten this infamous toilet scene? Jurassic Park really was a seminal piece in the history of cinema, with its superb CGI breaking new ground and amazing audiences worldwide.
With the park’s security systems offline, the visitors are left at the mercy of some of its most fearsome inhabitants. One of the unfortunate victims attempts to make a run for it, but only succeeds in escaping to the nearest toilet. When the building is simply blown away by the giant T Rex, we see our protagonist sat on the toilet petrified. Before, finally, becoming a light dino-snack!
1. Psycho
Ok, so you all knew it was going to be here. The classic shower scene and the most famous by a long stretch. The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, created this tour de force of cinematic terror that has become an icon of cinema in its own right. Often copied but never bettered, it is, without doubt, one of the scariest scenes in cinema history and still chills us to this day.
Take our bathroom movie quiz
If you consider yourself a bit of a film buff, why not take our bathroom movie quiz? Will you be a "box office splash" or perhaps "pan-ned by the critics"?
Do you agree with our choices?
Tweet us @VictoriaPlumUK and tell us which is your favourite bathroom movie scene using the hashtag #BathroomMovies.
This article was first published on 13th September 2013.
