Snob Top Ten: Best Dance Scenes in Non-Dance Films

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Are you ever in the middle of watching a movie and then out of nowhere a beautiful, wonderful spontaneous dance scene happens. Yeah, it’s a great feeling a cool song starts playing and suddenly the characters on screen begin dancing. Only thing is you didn’t see THAT coming.
We’ve decided to take the crème de la crème of these according to our criteria. What is that criteria you ask? Well as the title suggets we’re exclude films such as musicals and dance films because you know the moves are totally coming (Sorry You Got Served). We’ve also excluded post credit scenes meaning the greatest that ended both This is the End and The 40 Year Old Virgin are sadly disqualified.
So without further ado as Kevin Bacon once famously said “Let’s Dance!”

 
10. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986): Getting towards the end of his titular day off Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane arrive at the Von Steuben Day Parade which they decide to effectively crash. Clad in a leopard vest Ferris then begins a rendition of Danke Schoen dedicated to his dear friend Cameron. It isn’t until Ferris busts out The Beatles song Twist and Shout that the party really gets going and we have everyone from construction workers to random crowds of people dancing in the streets. There’s even a flash mob before that was a thing.
9. King of New York (1990): Frank White is a modern day Robin Hood stealing and eliminating his rich competition and redistributing that wealth among New York’s poor. The scene in question sees Christopher Walken portraying Frank White who has just gotten out of jail after serving a lengthy sentence. After seeing his old crew arrive including his right hand man Jimmy Jump. White’s excitement can no longer be contained, and he decides to bust a move or two.

8. Reservoir Dogs (1992): Mr. Blonde has captured a young police officer believing he’ll offer up some information whether it’s voluntarily or not. Mr. Blonder asks the officer if he’s familiar with the 70’s station and we can hear the song Stuck in the Middle by Stealers Wheel, Mr. Blonde begins to dance, and slice off the poor guys ears. All this after telling the cop that it didn’t matter if he spilled the info or not he was going to get got. I think it goes without saying that this is going to be graphic

7. Risky Business (1983): Joel Goodsen’s parents have given him the keys to the castle while they are on vacation. Upon the folks leaving Joel decides its time to “make” some dinner, and crank up the tunes and on comes Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seger. This is one of the most iconic scenes in 80’s cinema and has been countlessly parodied including the marketing campaign for Guitar Hero: World Tour  and some of their other games. It’s also the film that launched Tom Cruise in to stardom take that as you will depending on your feelings about him and his career.

6. The Breakfast Club (1985): Yeah this one is so 80’s, and you know what that’s also what makes it awesome. We Are Not Alone by Karla DeVito begins and so do the spastatic dance moves especially from Allison who looks like a girl possessed. Rumor has it that Allison was not suppose to dance with Claire during the iconic shuffle shot, however Molly Ringwald didn’t want to do it alone. And so now we have this awesome lasting image of their simpatico feet, and Bender’s headbanging ala Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball.


5. Pulp Fiction (1994): Marsellus Wallace has asked his trusted hitman Vincent Vega to entertain his wife Mia for an evening. They decide to hit up 50’s themed diner Jackrabbit Slim’s it is here that Mia tells Vincent she wants to dance, to win the trophy. And as C’est La Vie by Jerry Lee Lewis begins we see the two start busting out their best twist in order to win the contect. Along the way we get an iconic scene that’s once again been parodied over and over. Luckily for Vincent he and Mia DID end up winning that trophy.

4. Beetle Juice (1988): As the Deetz’ prepare for dinner the subject of their daughter Lydia’s paranormal run in becomes the topic of conversation thanks to dinner guest Otho. And as if on cue the bio-exorcist decides to have a little fun at the expense of the humans now inhabiting the house of the people (well not people anymore, ghosts) that set Beetle Juice (Betelgeuse) free. Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat Song (Day Oh!) takes over the bodies and a calypso party has started, and apparently there’s alotta bananas involved.
3. Napoleon Dynamite (2004): When his best bud Pedro doesn’t have much of anything prepared for his campaign speech Napoleon (who has been practicing some sweet dance moves) goes on out there and pretty much kills it. With a little Canned Heat from our friend Jamiroquai Napoleon may have single handedly helped Pedro defeat the popular Summer Wheatly. Try not wanting to grab your own pair of moon boots and trying to copy these vicious moves on your own!
 
   

2. (500) Days of Summer (2009): So Tom Hanson just bedded the girl of his dreams, at least in his own twisted reality she is. It’s safe to say that Hall and Oates were quoting Tom when they wrote You Make My Dreams (come true) which just happens to be the song that plays during Tom’s walk of absolutely no shame out of his own apartment. As the realization sets in so does the song and suddenly we have a flash mob dancing up a storm with Tom who seems to be on his way back to work.

1. Big (1988): When 12 year old Josh makes a wish to be bigger at the local carnivals Zoltar machine he wakes up in a grown up body, but still has the mentality of a 12 year old. When walking through the toy store with MacMillan, Josh notices a giant piano on the floor, whose keys in true 80’s fashion light up like it’s a Billie Jean video. Well now they HAVE to play it! The duo starts out with one classic Heart and Soul before finishing with a piano favorite Chopsticks. When you talk about iconic dance scenes there is none more so then this one. With it’s youthful exuberance, familiar songs, and eye-catching visual this is a dance scene whose heart and soul (pun intended, and I’m not ashamed!) put it in the upper echelon of not just dance scenes but film scenes.

What did you guys think what’d we get wrong? What’d we get right? Let us know! You make this list just as much as we do! Any scenes we left out? Use that comment section, or go yell at us on Twitter! Share this with your friends do whatever you want to with it just enjoy it!

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