History Main / TheUnHug

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': When Monk's brother Ambrose is first introduced, the somewhat estranged siblings try to hug. This doesn't go well, partially due to the fact that both of them suffer from SuperOCD, and they end up AirHugging.

* Between Parker and Jules in ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' who have something of a father-daughter relationship. Parker wanted to congratulate Jules on a job well done and Jules wanted to thank Parker for coaching her through a negotiation. Parker extended his hand for a handshake while Jules attempted to pull him in for a hug. Then they switch places with Parker going in for a hug and Jules offering her hand. They end up having a bit of an awkward moment when they finally settled for a hug, with Jules quickly leaving afterwards and Parker remaining frozen in place.

[[folder:Film]]
* At the end of ''Film/MeanGirls'', Janis and Damien's hug is very awkward and not sincere.

* In the 1958 film version ''Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof'', Maggie hugs her husband, Brick. Brick instinctively raises his arms to hug her back... then lets them down and tells Maggie to let go.

* ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' Immediately upon the death of King George V, his eldest son David (the future Edward VIII) breaks down sobbing over his mother, Queen Mary. Mary, a true believer in StiffUpperLip, is uncomfortable with her son's lack of composure and does not return his hug.

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': At a big party for Lassie, Lassiter and Juliet exchange an utterly awkward but completely sincere hug.
-->'''Lassiter:''' Eh--um--''oh, come here.''

-->'''Liz:''' ''[surprised]'' This is the best hug I've ever had!
-->'''Jack:''' [[AwesomeEgo I know.]]
* On ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Zoe and Mal have a "highlighting lack of sexual tension between close friends" hug variant.
* Happened hilariously on ''Series/{{Merlin}}'': Merlin saves Arthur's skin again and after Arthur reluctantly apologizes, Merlin goes in for a hug. Arthur steps back, hands out, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUYIABM3CLQ and...]]
-->'''Arthur:''' What're you doing?
-->'''Merlin:''' I thought you were going for a hug.
-->'''Arthur:''' Noooo.

* On ''Series/DoctorWho'', in the episode "The Parting of the Ways", when the Doctor says goodbye to Lynda as she's heading off to help defend the space station.
** ''Series/DoctorWho'' also has the Twelfth Doctor react in an un-hug manner when Clara hugs him for the first time (in fact he takes the exact same pose as the man in the top photograph here). He gets better at it as time goes by.
* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': When Monk's brother Ambrose is first introduced, the somewhat estranged siblings try to hug. This doesn't go well, partially due to the fact that both of them suffer from SuperOCD, and they end up AirHugging.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' finale, the potential future Picard is flashing forward to establishes that he and Dr. Crusher married and divorced, and when they meet, they have a hard time deciding if they're going to hug or shake hands.
* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Leo and Josh patch things up after an argument, and Leo spreads his arms in an expansive ''all done, then'' gesture. Josh interprets this as an attempted hug.
-->'''Leo''': Boy, did you read that wrong.

* The ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' are so dysfunctional they have trouble hugging. Harper even lampshades it.
* Between Parker and Jules in ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' who have something of a father-daughter relationship. Parker wanted to congratulate Jules on a job well done and Jules wanted to thank Parker for coaching her through a negotiation. Parker extended his hand for a handshake while Jules attempted to pull him in for a hug. Then they switch places with Parker going in for a hug and Jules offering her hand. They end up having a bit of an awkward moment when they finally settled for a hug, with Jules quickly leaving afterwards and Parker remaining frozen in place.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Left with no one else to console her, Cersei reveals her hidden anguish to her hated younger brother, Tyrion, who realizes that he should do ''something'' to comfort his sister in spite of their antipathy. As he reluctantly walks toward her, he can't find any words to say and can't even hold her gaze, much less hug her. He ends up standing awkwardly beside her as she weeps.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'', "Colony": Agent Mulder is called by his father to visit his mother due to a family emergency. When he arrives, Mulder greets him and goes for a hug. Bill Mulder, however, just extends his arm. They shake hands, but Mulder is visibly disappointed.
* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' in the episode "Paper Airplane", Jim and Pam, whose marriage has become strained by Jim's new job have been tense or outright fighting throughout the episode. Before he leaves for work again, Jim embraces Pam. Pam, however, does not respond for a few moments, before remembering that she loves him and hugs him back.

-->'''John:''' That was the worst hug I've had in my ''life.''
-->'''Birbiglia:''' You didn't warn me!

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': In the series finale, when Ron and Shego arrive to rescue Kim and Drakken from the [[AlienInvasion Lowardians]], Kim and Ron eagerly hug while Drakken and Shego (who briefly looked like they were about to do likewise) awkwardly try to act nonchalant.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' At the end of the first episode, Dipper and Mabel share an "awkward sibling hug".

** At the end of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', Hermione runs up to Harry and gives him a big hug, and then turns to Ron, who holds out his arms a little bit. They end up shaking hands instead of hugging. This is a indicative of Hermione's feelings - hugging Harry is just hugging a friend, but Ron might be more and she's not yet ready to deal with this.

* A one-sided example: In ''Film/LordOfTheRings'', Aragorn hugs Haldir.

* ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' Immediately upon the death of King George V, his eldest son David (the future Edward VIII) breaks down sobbing over his mother, Queen Mary. Mary, a true beliver in StiffUpperLip, is uncomfortable with her son's lack of composure and does not return his hug.

* Happens in the Creator/{{Syfy}} miniseries ''Series/{{Alice|2009}}'' between The Mad Hatter and Alice, as Alice is leaving Wonderland.

* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Leo and Josh patch things up after an argument, and Leo spreads his arms in an expansive, ''all done, then'' gesture. Josh interprets this as an attempted hug.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Left with no one else to commiserate with, Cersei bears her hidden anguish to her hated younger brother, Tyrion, who realizes that he should do ''something'' to comfort his sister in spite of their antipathy. As he reluctantly walks toward her, he can't find any words to say and can't even hold her gaze, much less hug her. He ends up standing awkwardly beside her as she weeps.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': In the series finale, when Ron and Shego arrive to rescue Kim and Drakken from the [[AlienInvasion Lowardians]], Kim and Ron eagerly hug while Drakken and Shego (who momentarily looked like they were about to do likewise) awkwardly try to act nonchalant.

!!Examples:

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:RealLife]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has the Twelfth Doctor react in an un-hug manner when Clara hugs him for the first time (in fact he takes the exact same pose as the man in the top photograph here). He gets better at it as time goes by.

* Happens in the SyFy miniseries ''Series/{{Alice|2009}}'' between The Mad Hatter and Alice, as Alice is leaving Wonderland.

-->Lassiter: "Eh--um--''oh, come here.''"
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Liz and Jack should ''not'' attempt to hug without extreme circumstances.
** Later subverted to highlight the [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness importance of a moment.]] Liz is [[spoiler: getting married]] and Jack gives a nice hug.
-->Liz: [surprised] This is the best hug I've ever had!
-->Jack: [[AwesomeEgo I know.]]

Can overlap with ManHug, where men develop a special way of hugging to keep this from happening out of embarrassment. Also see AirHugging. Maybe the natural result is NoHuggingNoKissing is violated.

** At the end of ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', Hermione runs up to Harry and gives him a big hug, and then turns to Ron, who holds out his arms a little bit. They end up shaking hands instead of hugging. This is a indicative of Hermione's feelings - hugging Harry is just hugging a friend, but Ron might be more and she's not yet ready to deal with this.
** In ''Deathly Hallows: Part 2'', Voldemort attempts to hug Draco, who just sort of stands there. It's obvious that Draco just wishes he weren't there at the moment and that Voldemort has absolutely no experience with giving hugs.

* ''ShesOutOfMyLeague'', Kirk's nasty ex gives him an awkward hug, (then pushes him away) after he reluctantly gives her his blessing to accompany his family on a trip ''with her new boyfriend.''
* ''TheKingsSpeech'' Immediately upon the death of King George V, his eldest son David (the future Edward VIII) breaks down sobbing over his mother, Queen Mary. Mary, a true beliver in StiffUpperLip, is uncomfortable with her son's lack of composure and does not return his hug.

* In {{Vlogbrothers}}, John shares an awkward hug with an actor he was interviewing.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' "Awkward sibling hug?"

* At the end of ''Film/MeanGirls'', Janis and Damien's hug is this.

* On ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Zoe and Mal have a "highlighting lack of sexual tension between close friends" variant.

* ''Series/{{Game of Thrones}}'': Left with no one else to commiserate with, Cersei bears her hidden anguish to her hated younger brother, Tyrion, who realizes that he should do ''something'' to comfort his sister in spite of their antipathy. As he reluctantly walks toward her, he can't find any words to say and can't even hold her gaze, much less hug her. He ends up standing awkwardly beside her as she weeps.

-->John: That was the worst hug I've had in my ''life.''
-->Birbiglia: You didn't warn me!

[[AC:TruthInTelevision]]

* ''TheKingsSpeech'' Immediately upon the death of King George V, his eldest son David (the future Edward VIII) breaks down sobbing over his mother, Queen Mary. Mary, clearly uncomfortable with displays of emotion, even at such a time, can't bring herself to put her arm around him, leaving her hand noticeably hanging outward.

* Sort of happens between Cersei and Tyrion in Season 2 of ''Series/{{Game of Thrones}}'', except that they don't even get as far as hugging. After spending a season and a half thoroughly loathing one another, Cersei finally breaks down in front of Tyrion, starts crying, and admits that there is something terribly wrong with her son. Tyrion realizes that this is the moment when you're kind of supposed to do *something* to make your sobbing sister feel better, but he's so out of practice that he crosses the room to her and then has no idea what to do. He winds up just sort of patting her hand a little, and then they both sit there silently looking awkward.

*** Actually, {{Emma Watson}} was just not comfortable with the boys yet. Her hug with {{Daniel Radcliffe}} was edited to make it longer, and when it was {{Rupert Grint}}'s turn, she just couldn't do it.

* ''Series/WestWing'': Leo and Josh patch things up after an argument, and Leo spreads his arms in an expansive, ''all done, then'' gesture. Josh interprets this as an attempted hug.

-->Lassiter: "Eh--um--oh, '''come here.''"

* ''Series/TheXFiles'', "Colony": Agent Mulder is called by his father to visit his mother due to a family emergency. When he arrives, Mulder greets him and goes for a hug. Bill Mulder, however, just extends his arm. They shake hands, but Mulder is visibly disappointed.

* A one sided example In Film/LordOfTheRings, Aragorn hugs Haldir.
* In the 1958 film version ''CatOnAHotTinRoof'', Maggie hugs her husband, Brick. Brick instinctively raises his arms to hug her back... then lets them down and tells Maggie to let go.

* ''{{Psych}}'': At a big party for Lassie, Lassiter and Juliet exchange an utterly awkward but completely sincere hug.

* On ''{{Firefly}}'', Zoe and Mal have a "highlighting lack of sexual tension between close friends" variant.

* The ''WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' are so dysfunctional they have trouble hugging. Harper even lampshades it.

* Sort of happens between Cersei and Tyrion in Season 2 of Game of Thrones, except that they don't even get as far as hugging. After spending a season and a half thoroughly loathing one another, Cersei finally breaks down in front of Tyrion, starts crying, and admits that there is something terribly wrong with her son. Tyrion realizes that this is the moment when you're kind of supposed to do *something* to make your sobbing sister feel better, but he's so out of practice that he crosses the room to her and then has no idea what to do. He winds up just sort of patting her hand a little, and then they both sit there silently looking awkward.

* Wrestling/{{Kane}} and DanielBryan's first few hugs played this hilariously straight, when they were forced to "Hug it Out". They did eventually get it right, however.

** At the end of ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', Hermione runs up to Harry and gives him a big hug, and then turns to Ron, who holds out his arms a little bit. They end up shaking hands instead of hugging.

Alice and Bob open their arms. They lean in and... fake to the left, flinch backwards, bump arms, cringe, and back away.