I really probably shouldn’t share this scene until I actually post my review of The Perks of Being A Wallflower. But I’ve still got three other Back to School films to review before I get to Perks and I want to share this scene now! In this dance scene that I love, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller take over the dance floor in spectacular fashion!
So, this year, the toadsuckers at NBC (the same people who put Whitney on the air and who fired Dan Harmon from Community) decided to bump the annual showing of It’s A Wonderful Life on December 14th so that they could re-air the Carrie Underwood version of The Sound of Music.
Really, NBC? The remake of The Sound of Music may have gotten great rating when it first aired but it wasn’t that good. In fact, it was downright annoying at times. Meanwhile, nearly 70 years after it was first released, It’s A Wonderful Life remains a classic.
With that in mind, here’s one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies. And yes, it is a dance scene.
NBC will air It’s A Wonderful Life on December 20th.
I was shocked and saddened to learn, earlier tonight, about the tragic death of actor Paul Walker. Though Paul is probably best known for appearing in The Fast and Furious Films, he also appeared in several other films, including 1999’s She’s All That.
Below, you’ll find my favorite scene from She’s All That. And yes, it does involve dancing. I was either 13 or 14 when I first saw She’s All That and I have to say that it gave me a lot of very unrealistic expectations about high school. Imagine my disappointment when I went to my first prom and discovered that, despite the best efforts of both the DJ and myself, hardly anyone was actually interested in breaking out into a carefully choreographed dance routine!
But, I guess that’s why we have the movies…
I’ve spent the last two weeks sharing with you some of my favorite cinematic dance scenes. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. While this particular series of scenes that I love is ending with this last entry, I do hope to share some more in the future. For now, what better way to end this series of dance scenes that I love than with the ballet from the classic 1948 film, The Red Shoes?
This scene is pure joy.
There’s no way that you can post a series of classic dance sequences without including at least one scene from Saturday Night Fever. Even though this scene is nearly 40 years old, it still perfectly captures the excitement and the promise and the pure exhilaration of spending a night out dancing.
That said, I still don’t understand how anyone could mistake John Travolta for Al Pacino.
Today’s dance scene that I love comes from one of the first movies that I ever reviewed at this site, the psychedelic classic Ghetto Freaks!
I love this scene from the 2011 Best Picture winner The Artist because, to me, it perfectly captures both the wonder of film and the beauty of dance. If watching Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo dance doesn’t make you happy, then there is no hope for you.
Today’s dance scene that I love comes from Spike Lee’s frustrating yet brilliant 1998 film, Summer of Sam. In this scene, a perpetually unfaithful husband (John Leguizamo) dances with his wife (Mira Sorvino). In this scene, Lee establishes the dynamic of Leguizamo and Sorvino’s troubled marriage. Leguizamo may be the man but Sorvino is definitely the star.
Last year’s Step Up Revolution is, in many ways, the epitome of guilty pleasure. On the one hand, it’s totally and complete ludicrous. And, then on the other hand — well, there is no other hand, to be honest. It’s a silly little film but the dancing is really good and how can you not love something that over-the-top? With it’s quick-cut editing, relentless beat, and hilarious attempts at being socially relevant, Step Up Revolution is the type of film that, in the future, our children will watch and laugh at even as we savor the nostalgia.
Case in point: the film’s opening dance sequence.
Through the Shattered Lens 