The 28 Best Ice Cream Moments in Pop Culture
Ice cream is an incredibly versatile food. Not only can it cap the end of a great meal, but it also is a great TV-binging or movie-watching companion. Sorry, popcorn. But the same also goes for its on-screen appearances. It fits in romantic scenes (Allie and Noah’s date in The Notebook), horror movies (the entirety of Ice Cream Man), dramas (There Will Be Blood’s “milkshake”) and comedies (Kevin justifies getting three scoops with “I’m not driving” in Home Alone 2). Yahoo Movies once even dedicated an entire gallery to ranking the ice cream truck vendors in movies.
So grab yourself a scoop or two and check out some great guest appearances starring ice cream in its many forms. Can you add any others?
1946: It’s a Wonderful Life
A lot can come up in conversation when ordering ice cream. In this one between George Bailey and Mary, we find out where coconuts come from, how to become a member of the National Geographic Society, that George would like a few wives, and that Mary will love George ‘til the day she dies. All in the time it takes to scoop some ice cream. Important stuff happens when ice cream is around!
Gif: WeHeartIt
1953: Roman Holiday
Wandering princess — played by whom other than Audrey Hepburn — indulges in a gelato cone on Rome’s famous Spanish Steps. “So that was your mysterious appointment?” Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) asks.
1979: Kramer vs. Kramer
Billy (Justin Henry) undergoes a familiar childhood dilemma: not wanting to eat his dinner. His father (Dustin Hoffman) forces him to eat his meal — Salisbury steak? That’s not so bad — but he heads to the fridge and takes a spoonful of chocolate chip ice cream instead. Family guy fans might remember a reenactment of this scene with Peter and Tom Tucker in Season 5.
1980: The Shining
“How’d you like some ice cream, Doc?” During a seemingly innocent scene, Dick Hallorann takes Wendy and Danny on a hotel tour, but Danny has an eerie vision when they swing by the stock room. Luckily, this one involves ice cream and not dead people.
Gif: Gurl
1991: Full House Season 5, “Gotta Dance”
Michelle Tanner is a sucker for ice cream. Uncle Jesse bribes uses that to his advantage and bribes Michelle with a triple-dip, double-fudge ice cream sundae with whipped cream and a cherry on top to find out the inside scoop on the party Becky’s throwing.
1991: City Slickers
Knowing what ice cream to pair with every meal is not only a useful skill for dates, but also can make for a high-pressure challenge. Billy Crystal and Josh Mostel’s characters face off in this dessert trivia showdown.
Gif: Popsugar
1992: Home Alone 2
Three scoops are better than two, especially when you don’t have to drive right after.
Gif: BigFooty
1993: Seinfeld Season 5, “The Lip Reader”
George Costanza + a banana split = one of the messiest, funniest, most entertaining human interactions with ice cream ever.
Gif: Panda Whale
1994: Pulp Fiction
When Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) orders a $5 shake, Vincent (John Travolta) is taken aback by its steep price. He does agree it tastes delicious, though.
Gif: gifsTumblr
1994: Forrest Gump
When he gets wheeled into the ward next to Lieutenant Dan, Forrest offers him a vanilla ice cream cone, which Dan throws into the bedpan. Perhaps he wanted chocolate?
1995: Ice Cream Man
Sometimes ice cream takes a dark turn. This vendor’s ice cream recipe: milk, cream, sugar, and human body parts.
1996: Friends Season 3 “The One With the Metaphorical Tunnel”
Rachel and Monica comfort Chandler though his relationship issues with a hefty tub of [low-calorie, dairy-free, soymilk] ice cream. “When you start getting screwed over all the time,” Monica says, “You gotta switch to low-fat.”
1999: “Ice Cream” by Sarah McLachlan
“Your love is better than ice cream,” sings a guitar-strumming, boa-wearing Sarah McLachlan. A certain set of girls who happened to be in their late teens, early 20s when this song came out still can’t eat ice cream without this tune popping in their head.
1999: Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
T.J. (Eddie Griffin) gets riled up when Deuce (Rob Schneider) disrupts a relaxing hot tub and ice cream session with talk about girls and cops. When he drops the cone in the hot tub, he picks it up and keeps eating it. When he breaks the cone and it falls in once again, he scoops up the vanilla clump with his hands and picks up where he left off. That’s dedication.
1999: Girl, Interrupted
Lisa (Angelina Jolie) orders a vanilla sundae with hot fudge with rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, and cherries. When the ice cream shop employee suggests adding nuts to her order, the girls explode in laughter.
Gif: Snarky Chickens
2001: The Princess Diaries
Though physically transformed into a princess, Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) breaches royal etiquette when the ice cream she has at a banquet is too cold. The diplomats around her copy her antics out of respect.
2002: Sex and the City Season 5, “Anchors Away”
Some people like sprinkles, some like hot fudge, but this woman’s favorite ice cream topping is lithium.
2003: “Milkshake” by Kelis
If you are unfamiliar with the phrase, “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,” you most likely lived under a rock during the early 2000’s. Kelis’ song was a major hit and it turns out, not the singer’s only foray with food. Her last album was called “Food.” She has a TV show called Saucy & Sweet on the Cooking Channel, and a cookbook, “My Life on a Plate,” coming out on Sept. 28. Check back to our Cookbook of the Week column where we will feature it.
Gif: Fun107
2004: The Notebook
Allie and Noah confirm their status as one of the silver screen’s cutest couples and ice cream’s status as the perfect date food in this sweet clip.
2006: Little Miss Sunshine
When Olive (Abigail Breslin) orders waffles a la mode at the diner, Richard (Greg Kinnear) makes her second guess her choices and manages to turn a family breakfast outing into a depressing talk about body image.
Gif: Kotaku
2007: Hot Fuzz
Two English cops munch on ice cream cones in their car when one of them has an a-ha moment mid-bite. “What’s the matter, you’ve got brain freeze?” “No, I’ve got brain waves.”
Gif: Giphy
2007: There Will Be Blood
The famous line, “I drink your milkshake!” is uttered in the final scene, as a clever metaphor for oil-drilling (though Saturday Night Live made a great case for it as a Food Network show). Director Paul Thomas Anderson said the rant is actually based that rant over a transcript from the Teapot Dome scandal in the 1920s, when a New Mexico senator was accused of accepting bribes for oil-drilling rights.
2007: Knocked Up
Girl talk in bed with ice cream right out of the carton is a great way to end the night. Leslie Mann and Katherine Heigl’s characters discuss love and relationships in one of the mellower scenes in this Judd Apatow comedy.
Gif: Photobucket
2010: “California Gurls” by Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg
A Candy Land-inspired music video is not complete without ice cream motifs. Snoop Dogg does it right with an ice cream-patterned suit, scoop-topped scepter, and a table full of cones and sundaes galore.
Gif: Gifrific
2010: The Office Season 6, “The Cover Up”
Jim (John Krasinski) is surprised to find his quirky boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) eating ice cream in the break room one morning. But he’s even more surprised when Michael reveals its really mayonnaise and black olives.
2012: “Bangarang” by Skrillex feat. Sirah
In this video a group of young renegades hijack an ice cream truck for some frozen treats. When they grow up, one of them finds himself snagging a cone from the same spot.
2012: The Ice Cream Kid Gif
Let’s not forget that the internet is now a part of pop culture, too. This gif of a little boy eating (and by “eating” we mean “smearing on his face”) chocolate and vanilla popsicle became an online sensation for obvious humorous reasons.
2013: Saturday Night Live “Ice Cream”
Ever made a joke that didn’t land? When a couple quips about needing two ambulances after they eat their ice cream, their servers make things really awkward. The digital short was actually filmed in NYC scoop shop, Sundaes & Cones.
Read more about food in film and TV:
The Most Memorable TV and Movie Thanksgiving Meals
