Anticipatory Breath Spray

A character believes the time has come for the big kiss from his Love Interest.

To make the moment as perfect as possible, the character will spray breath spray into his mouth to chase off any potential halitosis issues before leaning in to kiss his intended.

This trope is often used comically, and the character spritzing breath spray is usually rebuffed.

Make-Out Point is a co-trope.

Examples of Anticipatory Breath Spray include:

Advertising

• A 1970s campaign for the breath spray Binaca actually encouraged the behavior illustrated by this trope.

Film

• Subverted in Dumb and Dumber: Lloyd points the nozzle toward his mouth, but the spray comes out sideways. He's too dumb to realize it, and goes for the kiss anyway.
  • The second time it happens he sprays someone in the eye with it.
• Tim Robbins in The Player has one of those little bottles which deposits a drop on your tongue, instead of a sprayer.
• In The Princess and the Frog, Naveen does this with some perfume that's on the dresser with him after Tiana agrees to kiss him and break the curse.
• Inverted in Tootsie where John sprays his mouth after kissing "Dorothy Michaels". He does it straight later.
• At the start of the second Shrek movie, when it turns out the narrator is actually The Ace. When he talks about how he will kiss the princess to wake her up, in interjects his monologue with a spray.

Live-Action TV

• Wayne Brady pantomimes this pretty much anytime a scene has him as the boyfriend(sometimes girlfriend) of one of the other performers on Whose Line Is It Anyway.
• In Greek, Dale is about to kiss Casey at their kissing booth, so he takes off his glasses, and spritzes some Binaca...directly into his eyes.
• In one clip of America's Funniest Home Videos, a guy did this (to himself) right after the preacher said he could kiss the bride.
• In kiddie sitcoms, usually this will be done by the Abhorrent Admirer; for example, Nevel in iCarly.
  • Sonny With a Chance: Done by Marshall (the studio boss) on a date with the studio's teacher in his car on a date at Make-Out Point. It's done for comedy, but she's into him as well.
• In an episode of The Drew Carey Show, Mr. Wick does this before attempting to flirt up some girls, then makes a face as he realizes he grabbed a bottle of cologne.
• In an episode of The Troop, Etienne Leibowitz brags that in every drama club production he gets a kiss. He points out to Haley she will kiss him too, or get blackballed from drama club. Cue breath spray.
• Family Matters: In one episode, during a Dave Koz Concert, Steve and Myra do this just as they're about to kiss in one episode.
• Hilariously subverted in an early episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where Joel does this...before simply convincing the visitor (Mike Nelson playing Valeria) to leave them alone.
• In an episode of Full House, a boy does this to tease Stephanie during a New Years party after stating an intention to give her a kiss. But as the moment of truth draws near, he starts to lose his nerve. Stephanie then turns the tables on him and even takes it step further by slowly eating a peach (or at least as close as you can get with a pair of preteens) in front of him.
• An episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide had the lead actor for Romeo and Juliet do this whenever he brought up the eventual kiss with "Juliet," Ned's Love Interest. It became a running gag in that episode.

Newspaper Comics

• A dog does this in one Far Side strip. The spray can is labeled "Dog Breath".

Video Games

• You can do this in the original Leisure Suit Larry game, although it doesn't actually help.
  • Actually, gradually your breath starts becoming bad, and if you then decide to chat up a lady she'll end up disliking you at first. Using breathspray will at least make her smile.

Web Comics

• Slick of Sinfest, in preparation of a date, applies some cologne and inhales breath spray. Unfortunately, he gets the bottles mixed up.

Western Animation

• Inverted on The Simpsons. Troy McClure and Selma are about to make out, he says "excuse me a moment", pulls out a spray bottle, and sprays Selma's mouth.
• Sheldon has done this in My Life as a Teenage Robot at least once.
• Raoul did it before getting a kiss from Browsia on El Tigre.
• Wandissimo did it to himself, and then to Wanda in an episode of Fairly Oddparents.
• Robin actually took a hit of breath spray, then shot down the moment himself in Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo.
• Vlad in Danny Phantom does this when Danny's mum is flirting with him.
  • And Tucker does it just speculating on the idea of putting his mouth on a girl's. He's talking about mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
• Pepe Le Pew from Looney Tunes would do this on occasion when preparing to kiss the item of his affection, usually a cat with a stripe painted on her back.
• Tiny Toon Adventures: In 'Aroma Amore', after being greeted by Fifi La Fume, Furball does this after spitting out a fish he put in his mouth before embracing her with open arms.
• Professor Farnsworth on Futurama does this when he thinks aliens are going to force him to mate continuously.
• In a 6teen episode, Jonesy tries this with a bottle of perfume before trying to hit on a girl (He was working at a perfume counter at the time) and ends up regretting it when he finds it tastes terrible.
• In one "Screaming with Binky" quickie on Garfield and Friends (viewable here), Binky the Clown does this right before screaming at a cartoonist.

Real Life

• Adrian Brody, immediately prior to announcing Charlize Theron's Oscar win for Best Actress in a Leading Role. (Brody, a surprise winner - even if his role was Oscar Bait at its fullest - for Best Actor in a Leading Role the year before, planted a surprise kiss on presenter Halle Berry.)