History Main / HardToLightFire

* ''Series/TheLastOfUs''. Having become infected, Theresa spills gasoline and hand grenades across the floor to immolate herself [[TakingYouWithMe and as many infected as she can]] so they won't follow Joel and Ellie. Instead of just pulling the pin on a grenade she tries to use her zippo keeps refusing to light until the very last moment. Justified given that her zippo may well have been built over twenty years ago.

* ''Series/TheLastOfUs''. Having become infected, Theresa spills gasoline and hand grenades across the floor to immolate herself and as many infected as she can so they won't follow Joel and Ellie. Instead of just pulling the pin on a grenade she tries to use her zippo keeps refusing to light.

* ''Film/{{Lou}}'': The title character drops all her matches in the water while trying to light a fire thanks to her arthritic hand, so she uses alcoholic gel and cotton wool from her first aid kit (instead of using it to treat her companion's abrasion) as tinder, lighting it [[MacGyvering using a battery with aluminium foil held across the contacts to short-circuit it]].

** Chakotay from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' demonstrates that, despite being a MagicalNativeAmerican, he's "the only Indian who can't light a fire by rubbing two sticks together." Until he gets the idea to use hair as kindling.

* ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'': There's a quick joke where Bowen tries, and fails, to start a fire to roast some meat, until Draco gets tired of waiting and ignites the fire himself.

This trope is about how oil lamps, fuses, [[PowderTrail trails of powder]], bonfires or explosive gases never, ever light when you need them to. Matches get dropped or blow out, and lighters spark in vain, their butane exhausted. An unprepared would-be pyro may even remember everything they need to start a blaze, ''except'' the means of ignition. Whether it's necessary to [[KillItWithFire incinerate the monster]], blow up the villains' DoomsdayDevice, kindle a campfire to avoid [[KillItWithIce freezing to death]], or even [[TakingYouWithMe go out in a literal blaze of glory]], no fire in fiction ignites easily if RuleOfDrama is better served by it refusing to do so.

* One of the grunts from ''Film/DogSoldiers'' goes through a whole bunch of matches trying to light a petrol-trail on fire, but they keep breaking. In desperation, he calls for Sarge to help, and Sarge pitches a MolotovCocktail to set it alight. Later, when Sarge attempts a TakingYouWithMe by cutting the kitchen gas line and luring the werewolves in, one of them knocks the lighter out of his hand, only to get blown to bits when Sarge switches on the stove's pilot light.

* In ''Film/{{Grabbers}}'', the heroes deduce that the tentacled monsters are poisoned by alcohol, so they get roaring drunk for protection against their attacks. In fact they're ''so'' drunk that two of them can't light the muzzle-wick on their petrol-loaded super soaker. Then when they finally do manage to bring lighter and wick into contact, the weapon's wielder rushes outside into the rain, which extinguishes the flame before he can use it.
* ''Film/{{Husk}}'': When Scott attempts to ignite the gasoline soaked cornfield, Chris's lighter—which has been working perfectly up till now—suddenly refuses to light.

* ''Film/SkyBandits'': When Barney and Luke attempt to blow the bridge over the canyon to prevent the {{Posse}} catching up with them, Barney plants the dynamite in the middle of the bridge, but then cannot find any matches. He calls to Luke desperately for matches, and Luke provides him with a single match. Barney lights the fuse, which then burns out without detonating the dynamite. Barney is reduced to setting off the dynamite by shooting it. Luke later reveals he had a whole box of matches and was just messing with Barney. This also marks the first instance of the film's RunningGag of Barney never having a match when he needs one.

* In ''Film/{{Tremors}}'', Val and Earl forget to bring the lighter when they run for the cliff with the last pipe-bomb, forcing Rhonda to join them in running for the edge.

** Briefly poses a problem for Skimmer in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', when he needs to light a signal flare on a windy rooftop. His matches blow out almost instantly, but a blazing branch from the fireplace inside proves more resistant.

* Subverted in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'': Arthur Weasley has immense difficulty with lighting a campfire while camping at the Quidditch World Cup. However, he is a wizard with little to no experience with non-magical technology such as matches, and is so excited when he finally manages to light one that he drops it in surprise. Hermione, a muggleborn witch, is able to start the fire with no problem.

* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': When Steve and Carl are lost in the woods when cutting down a Christmas tree. Steve has three matches in his survival kit. When Carl lights the first, Steve sneezes it out, but got the firewood lighted on the second try.
* In an episode of ''Series/GilligansIsland'' Gilligan has a very few waterproof matches, which will come in handy if they get waterlogged. But when time comes to build a fire he can't; Gilligan wasted all the matches on '''testing''' them.

** Thanks to their efforts the Scouts are declared an illegal organisation, and Tim Brooke-Taylor tries to [[FieryCoverup burn all his Scout gear]] using the two sticks method, but has less success than Bill. Graham obligingly hands Tim a cigarette lighter... which Tim proceeds to [[ComicallyMissingThePoint rub against one of the sticks.]]

* PlayedForLaughs in a Creator/HowieMandel HBO special from the mid-1980s. The special is filmed in Chicago, so at one point he takes the viewer on a tour of the city. They got to Water Tower Place, which was one of the only (if not the only) edifice to survive the Great Chicago Fire. Howie demonstrates by trying to light it with a match but fails. "See? An asbestos building!"

* ''Series/MythBusters'' has confronted this trope several times, when their attempts to light up a PowderTrail, pooled gasoline, methane-filled outhouse or the like have failed repeatedly. During the testing of one myth, the Build Team attempts to start a fire with the tried-and-true "rubbing two sticks together" method... and they fail miserably, almost leading them to declare it a myth that they've just busted.

* In mobile game "Day R Survival" the in-game time of setting up a campfire depends on a tool used: matches, lighters, torches and such take between 5 and 15 minutes, flint kindles a fire in half an hour while using nothing but pieces of wood will require you to spend three hours on it.

* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage'': A brain teaser has you be stuck in a remote cabin in the woods with only one match. You see a stove, an oil lamp, a fireplace and a candle in the cabin. What should you light first? The answer, of course, is [[spoiler:the match]].

This trope is about oil lamps, fuses, [[PowderTrail trails of powder]], bonfires or explosive gases never, ever light when you need them to. Matches get dropped or blow out, and lighters spark in vain, their butane exhausted. An unprepared would-be pyro may even remember everything they need to start a blaze, ''except'' the means of ignition. Whether it's necessary to [[KillItWithFire incinerate the monster]], blow up the villains' DoomsdayDevice, kindle a campfire to avoid [[KillItWithIce freezing to death]], or even [[TakingYouWithMe go out in a literal blaze of glory]], no fire in fiction ignites easily if RuleOfDrama is better served by it refusing to do so.

* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage'': A brain teaser has you are stuck in a remote cabin in the woods, with only one match. You see a stove, an oil lamp, a fireplace and a candle in the cabin. What should you light first? The answer, of course, is [[spoiler:the match]].

* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', during the battle with the Huns, Mulan is trying to light the last firework but she drops her match. She eventually resorts to using Mushu's dragon breath to light it at the last second.