History Main / TestKiss

* In the first episode of ''UltimateSpiderMan'', Peter recounts how he and Mary-Jane did this when they were twelve. Their immediate reaction was to gag, spit, and decide to stay just friends.

* In the third season of ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Cordelia and Wesley finally kiss after half a season's worth of UnresolvedSexualTension. The kiss is incredibly awkward, they pull apart, say some polite goodbyes, and never consider the idea again.

* In '''Hatari''' Dallas (Elsa Martinelli) is a bit more direct about it. She walks up to Shawn (John Wayne) and asks him how he likes to kiss. She lays one on him, and he seems to like it (until they're interrupted by Pockets (Red Button).

* In the ''[[{{ptitle4t24ha9c}} P.S. I Love You]]'' film, Holly and her friend Daniel kiss beofre quickly pulling away, laughing and claiming it was like kissing [[LikeBrotherAndSister a sibling]].

Alice and Bob are friends, and maybe one of them has a crush on the other. They decide to do a test to find out whether they should start a relationship. What does the test consist of? Their FirstKiss, of course!

If it's a good kiss, this will be TrueLovesKiss. This is especially likely if one party is the VictoriousChildhoodFriend or if [[TheyDo they are]] the OfficialCouple.

However, the fact that they aren't sure about it to begin with says something. When neither party (or only one) feels that crucial something, they say its because there are NoSparks between them. This bad kiss could be the impetus for one of them to seek another mate, or to give up on a crush he or she has outgrown.

The test kiss will likely be unsuccessful if one party is the UnluckyChildhoodFriend, the RomanticFalseLead, a RomanticRunnerup, wants to be JustFriends, or if they're PlatonicLifePartners.

This trope appears in many romantic comedies in which there are two or more love interests. It's especially common when someone is having doubts about an upcoming wedding.

In test kisses, the experimental nature of the kiss is emphasized. However, both parties don't always know it's an experiment. Often, what one party is testing is his or her own feelings, and sometimes their own sexual orientation. Without this experimental focus, or perhaps some stakes attached, it's just any old getting-to-know-you kiss.

Sometimes a character will suggest a test kiss because he/she sure that the other loves him/her, but she/he is denying/suppressing it for some reason. In these cases, the kiss is meant to be a wake-up call, proving to the oblivious/taken/heroically withholding character that they can no longer ignore their feelings.

* In ''Film/TwentySevenDresses'', Katherine Heigl's character kisses her boss, who she has crushed on for years, and finds she doesn't feel anything for him.
* Every kiss in ''{{The Princess Diaries}}'' is a kind of test kiss. Mia has a theory that a good kiss causes ones [[FootPopping foot to pop]], and when she kisses the WrongGuyFirst, it is kept from popping by used gum or a fishing net.
** In ''The Princess Diaries 2'', Mia kisses her fiance to see if they have chemistry, and they [[NoSparks don't]].
* In ''Film/{{Spider-Man}} 2'', Mary Jane asks her fiance to kiss her upside down, reenacting her awesome kiss with Spiderman. He feels it; she doesnt.
** The trope is invoked again a little later in the movie, when Mary Jane asks Peter Parker to kiss her, knowing that it would prove he does, in fact, love her, though he just denied it. This is a special case of TestKiss, because she is testing his identity as well as his love for her. They're [[AlmostKiss interrupted]] by a car crashing through the window of the diner they're meeting in.

* Janis and Damian's kiss in ''MeanGirls''. Intentionally comical since it is Damian is gay and Janis is rumoured to be a lesbian.

* Jacob forces Bella into this in Eclipse, book 3 in the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' series. It's a rare example because [[spoiler: it's a good kiss, but not a happy ending for Jacob. She figures out that she does love him, but she loves Edward more, and she's not going to leave him for Jacob.]]
* In {{Literature/Dinoverse}}, Bertram and Canadayce's FirstKiss doesn't entice Bertram at all, although he'd been nursing a crush on her before - he speculates that it's like kissing a sister, which dismays her. She later tries again, and again it does nothing for him. It's worth noting that at the time, [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting he was an Ankylosaur and she was a Leptoceratops]], and both kisses were [[AlternateAnimalAffection awkward beak-claspings]]. Upon returning to their proper time and bodies, she tries a third time and produces the desired effect.

* In ''{{The Big Bang Theory}}'', Leonard and Leslie decide to skip all that pointless date business and proceed directly to the goodnight kiss--no sparks fly.

* This happened at least twice on ''{{Boy Meets World}}''.

* In the third season of ''{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'', Cordelia and Wesley finally kiss after half a season's worth of UnresolvedSexualTension. The kiss is incredibly awkward, they pull apart, say some polite goodbyes, and never consider the idea again.

** This is done via the use of a chemical placed on each person's tongue. If the kiss is sweet, the pair are genetically compatible. This also occurs after Crichton is almost forced into marriage with a Sebacean princess because their test kiss came back positive.

** It also happened during season four with Ricky and Adrian. She had a great kiss with her new guy, but she felt she needed to kiss Ricky to be sure she's really over him. He reluctantly obliges and neither of them [[NoSparks feel anything]]. She was ecstatic, but her new boyfriend was not pleased, and thought she disrespected herself and him by having to kiss someone to make sure it's over.

* Zack and Jessie did this on ''{{Saved By The Bell}}''. They found out they didn't like each other, but Kelly and Slater walked in and [[MistakenForCheating got the wrong idea]].
* A variant on ''{{Sex And The City}}''- Miranda was MistakenForGay by someone in her law firm who tried to fix her up with another woman that she ended up taking to a formal function put on by her firm (being more accepted as a lesbian in a relationship than she would straight but single). She eventually admits the truth, and in an awkward elevator ride down with the lesbian she kisses her, then concludes "Nope... definitely straight."
* In the third season of ''{{That 70s Show}}'', Jackie and Hyde do this, and state that they felt nothing - though it looks like Hyde is not entirely sincere. They still get together in the fifth season.

* In ''Bring It On: In It To Win It'', one of the male cheerleaders comes out as straight (apparently, he liked the fact that girls would change in front of him). Nobody believes him, so one of the girls grabs him and kisses him, which cues this line:

* In ''ER'', Carter and Lewis make one. They remain good friends after it.

* In the ''P.S.ILoveYou'' film, Holly and her friend Daniel kiss beofre quickly pulling away, laughing and claiming it was like kissing [[LikeBrotherAndSister a sibling]].

* In the ''PSILoveYou'' film, Holly and her friend Daniel kiss beofre quickly pulling away, laughing and claiming it was like kissing [[LikeBrotherAndSister a sibling]].

* In the ''P.S. I Love You'' film, Holly and her friend Daniel kiss beofre quickly pulling away, laughing and claiming it was like kissing [[LikeBrotherAndSister a sibling]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}!'': Ethan is just starting to realize that he's gay. Robin insists on a test kiss, which has inconclusive results. Then ''[[{{Jerkass}} Mike]]'' kisses him...

-->"I'm whatever you ''don't'' want me to be, baby."

* A rather extreme one in ''BatmanAndRobin'' as Robin lets Ivy kiss him to find out if they're really in love or if Batman's telling the truth about her pheromones and KissOfDeath. [[spoiler:Good thing he was wearing ''[[CrazyPrepared fake rubber lips]]''.]]
* In ''BackToTheFuture'', Marty [=McFly=]'s mother test kisses him in the car before the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, only to realize that Marty isn't the boy for her, because kissing him was like "kissing her brother."

* In ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Asuka decides to kiss Shinji because she's bored [[BelligerentSexualTension (or so she claims)]]. She pinches his nose because his breath tickles, causing him to turn blue while she kissed him. Afterwards, he's left gasping for breath, while Asuka is in the bathroom gargling soap. [[spoilers:Asuka is later revealed to have taken the fact that Shinji didn't hold her as a rejection.]]

* In ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Asuka decides to kiss Shinji because she's bored [[BelligerentSexualTension (or so she claims)]]. She pinches his nose because his breath tickles, causing him to turn blue while she kissed him. Afterwards, he's left gasping for breath, while Asuka is in the bathroom gargling soap.

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[OfficialCouple Katara and Aang]] are trapped in a cave and separated from the rest of their party. The following dialogue occurs.

* Peggy Hill from ''KingOfTheHill'' lost her virginity to a friend while testing if he was gay or not. She concluded that he was gay. Very, very gay.
* Stan of AmericanDad tries to become gay in order to speak at a republican convention. After kissing his gay neighbor Terry, he is shocked to find that he doesn't feel anything and learns that being gay is not a choice.

* In ''BackToTheFuture'', Marty McFly's mother test kisses him in the car before the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, only to realize that Marty isn't the boy for her, because kissing him was like "kissing her brother."

* In ''[[{{Ptitlepkcob0i7}} 27 Dresses]]'', Katherine Heigl's character kisses her boss, who she has crushed on for years, and finds she doesn't feel anything for him.

* In ''{{Shortpacked}}!'': Ethan is just starting to realize that he's gay. Robin insists on a test kiss, which has inconclusive results. Then ''[[{{Jerkass}} Mike]]'' kisses him...

* In ''27 Dresses'', Katherine Heigl's character kisses her boss, who she has crushed on for years, and finds she doesn't feel anything for him.

** Didn't Bobby and Connie practice kiss in the early episode [[CargoShip "Plastic White Female"]]?

* Jacob forces Bella into this in Eclipse, book 3 in the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' series. It's a rare example because [[spoiler: it's a good kiss, but not a happy ending for Jacob. She figures out that she does love him, but not enough to leave Edward for him.]]

** It also happened during season four with Ricky and Adrian. She had a great kiss with her new guy, but she felt she needed to kiss Ricky to be sure she's really over him. He reluctantly obliges and neither of them [[NoSparks feels anything]]. Her new boyfriend was not pleased, and thought she disrespected herself and him by having to kiss someone to make sure it's over.

** It also happened during season four with Ricky and Adrian. She had a great kiss with her new guy, but she feels she needs to kiss her ex, to be sure she's really over him. He reluctantly obliges and neither of them [[NoSparks feels anything]]. Her new boyfriend was not pleased, and thought she disrespected herself and him by having to kiss someone to make sure it's over.