Five of the Best Elevator scenes
Borat (2006):
After walking in on his unctuous chum Azamat ‘making hand party’ over love of his life Pamela Anderson, an enraged Borat attacks, and a protracted naked battle royal between the two hirsute Kazakhs ensues, spilling out into the hallway of the Los Angeles Hilton, and eventually the elevator. There, a silent and unsteady truce exists as the two naked men wait patiently for their floor, Azamat resplendent with quivering moobs and Borat clutching a rubber fist, as members of the public flee the lift, leaving a solitary, bewildered survivor in a small corner of the cramped space to bravely ride it out with them until his floor.
(500) Days of Summer (2009):
Perfectly locking the sensation of falling for someone new into a shiny metal box on the end of a pulley, the very basic encounter between Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) involves little more than her breaking the barrier of communication by expressing her love for The Smiths (emanating from his headphones), singing illustratively There is a Light That Never Goes Out. and flagrantly annihilating the studied silence of lift-etiquette. Very short, sugar-sweet and perfectly emblematic of the pure distilled joy of attraction, the ‘holy shit’ Tom utters as she walks out onto her floor is something most of us can relate to heartily.
Die Hard (1988):
As eurotrash-bearded terrorist Hans Gruber escorts the president of Nakatomi Plaza Joseph Takagi by lift to the top floor to interrogate and execute him, we don’t expect the small talk to disappoint. With the pedestrian pedantry of a man who knows a good seam when he sees one and at odds with the tense orchestral score, claustrophobic framing and general obligations to malice, Gruber appreciatively remarks “Nice suit. John Phillips, London. I have two myself. Rumour has it Arafat buys his there.” Golden.
Spiderman 2 (2005):
As Peter Parker stands in the lift in full spidey resplendence, a regular Joe in an inferior Spiderman costume walks in and comments on the superiority of Spiderman’s get up, conversationally remarking that it looks uncomfortable. Symptomatically serious and non-forthcoming with the humour, Spidey reluctantly concedes that it is, indeed, itchy. A brief pause and he elaborates that ‘it rides up at the crotch’. Which, for Spiderman, is as funny as it gets.
Fun with Dick and Jane (2004):
Some may contend that Liar Liar is a better movie, but Fun with Dick and Jane has the better elevator moment, developing the comedic combination of Jim Carrey and sliding metal doors with aplomb. In one short ride, Dick manages to shun his colleagues, perform a triumphant rendition of ‘I Believe I can Fly’, freak out the people waiting for the lift and arrive on his floor with every outward appearance of mental stability.
After walking in on his unctuous chum Azamat ‘making hand party’ over love of his life Pamela Anderson, an enraged Borat attacks, and a protracted naked battle royal between the two hirsute Kazakhs ensues, spilling out into the hallway of the Los Angeles Hilton, and eventually the elevator. There, a silent and unsteady truce exists as the two naked men wait patiently for their floor, Azamat resplendent with quivering moobs and Borat clutching a rubber fist, as members of the public flee the lift, leaving a solitary, bewildered survivor in a small corner of the cramped space to bravely ride it out with them until his floor.
(500) Days of Summer (2009):
Perfectly locking the sensation of falling for someone new into a shiny metal box on the end of a pulley, the very basic encounter between Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) involves little more than her breaking the barrier of communication by expressing her love for The Smiths (emanating from his headphones), singing illustratively There is a Light That Never Goes Out. and flagrantly annihilating the studied silence of lift-etiquette. Very short, sugar-sweet and perfectly emblematic of the pure distilled joy of attraction, the ‘holy shit’ Tom utters as she walks out onto her floor is something most of us can relate to heartily.
Die Hard (1988):
As eurotrash-bearded terrorist Hans Gruber escorts the president of Nakatomi Plaza Joseph Takagi by lift to the top floor to interrogate and execute him, we don’t expect the small talk to disappoint. With the pedestrian pedantry of a man who knows a good seam when he sees one and at odds with the tense orchestral score, claustrophobic framing and general obligations to malice, Gruber appreciatively remarks “Nice suit. John Phillips, London. I have two myself. Rumour has it Arafat buys his there.” Golden.
Spiderman 2 (2005):
As Peter Parker stands in the lift in full spidey resplendence, a regular Joe in an inferior Spiderman costume walks in and comments on the superiority of Spiderman’s get up, conversationally remarking that it looks uncomfortable. Symptomatically serious and non-forthcoming with the humour, Spidey reluctantly concedes that it is, indeed, itchy. A brief pause and he elaborates that ‘it rides up at the crotch’. Which, for Spiderman, is as funny as it gets.
Fun with Dick and Jane (2004):
Some may contend that Liar Liar is a better movie, but Fun with Dick and Jane has the better elevator moment, developing the comedic combination of Jim Carrey and sliding metal doors with aplomb. In one short ride, Dick manages to shun his colleagues, perform a triumphant rendition of ‘I Believe I can Fly’, freak out the people waiting for the lift and arrive on his floor with every outward appearance of mental stability.