Top 10 Dance Scenes in Comedies That Came Out Of Nowhere

In this Coen Brothers crime comedy about 1950s Hollywood, Channing Tatum plays a Gene Kelly-esque character called Burt Gurney. In the movie-within-the-movie, he performs a song and dance number inspired by movies like “On The Town”' and the tap-dancing skills of Donald O’Connor. Initially, this scene was intended to be much shorter but turned into a six-minute sequence supported by real Broadway dancers. Tatum had never tapped before and had just three months to learn what most people learn in a decade. He’s a natural though and nails Christopher Gattelli’s choreographer. It’s one of the movie’s standout moments and a memorable surprise for audiences.

Nothing says 90s teen flick more than “She’s All That”. And what does a movie rife with teen rom-com clichés need? A choreographed prom dance routine to Fatboy Slim’s “The Rockafeller Skank”, guided by emcee Usher. Even the cast was surprised when they found out that they’d be dancing as it did not appear in the original script. However, they needed to flesh out the prom scene. So co-producer Jennifer Gibgot called her brother, Adam Shankman, now of “Hairspray” fame, to choreograph. In typical 90s teen-comedy fashion, this moment is super indulgent and completely unrealistic. In other words, the epitome of its genre.

Spike Lee’s opening credits have become a talking point of his movies over the years. However, it’s Rosie Perez dancing to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” that particularly stands out. According to Lee, this dance draws inspiration from the title number of the 1963 movie musical, “Bye Bye Birdie”. It provides exposition for both the film’s Brooklyn setting and themes of heightened racial tensions. Supposedly, Lee got Perez to repeat the dance until she was exhausted and pretty mad. She’s since joked that she still hasn’t forgiven him for pushing her so hard. However, together they created a piece of cinematic history.

After the movie’s villain Phoenix Buchanan is sentenced to ten years in prison, the judge advises him to use his time wisely. And there’s no better use of time for a thespian than putting on a show-stopping number with his fellow inmates. The uplifting, jazzy ending is just the cherry on top of a loveable movie. Given Hugh Grant’s previous on-screen dance experience, this performance comes as a delightful surprise. Especially when you know that he had just four weeks with choreographer Craig Revel Horwood to learn how to tap. This end-credits scene never fails to put a smile on our faces.

Young Olive’s risqué moves at the “Little Miss Sunshine” pageant took us all by surprise. Especially since she says that she learned her moves from her grandfather. Dancing to “Super Freak”, Olive easily outdances the competition thanks to her unrivaled enthusiasm - even if her performance does shock the pageant audience. In an interview with “Yahoo! Entertainment” Abigail Breslin, who was just 10 years old at the time, recalled having a great time while shooting this scene. The best part is when her family shows their support by dancing with her on stage. If it was up to us, she definitely would have won.

If you aren’t familiar with this movie, the title pretty much sums it up. The climax occurs right at the end when Andy, played by Steve Carrell, well, you know…. But just how do you express how it feels sleeping with the person you love for the first time? You sing about it, of course. It was actually Carrell who came up with the idea for his character to sing. We’re glad that they ran with it because it led to this awesome ensemble number with stellar performances from the whole cast. We might not have seen it coming, but it truly was the perfect ending.

This movie took all the rom-com tropes and turned them on their head, and this scene is a perfect example. The events of the night before are left to our imaginations, but the following morning, Tom is in a state of giddy bliss. Dancing to the Hall & Oates track, Tom finds himself in an elaborate and pretty full-on dance number, reminiscent of those you might see in a musical. He has backing dancers, a marching band, and even a Disney-esque cartoon bluebird. Tom’s happy dance is one of the movie’s major highlights. If we had to describe it we’d call it adorable and charming.

A movie that focuses on caricatured versions of its stars during an apocalypse needed an ending worthy of its bizarre premise. So, once they arrive in heaven, where all your wishes come true, Jay Baruchel, wishes for The Backstreet Boys. And really we couldn’t think of a more fitting ending for this film than seeing everyone dance to the boy band’s 1997 hit “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”. The cast had a very limited time to learn the iconic choreography but they still surprised us all with their unforgettable performance. It might be the end of the world but Backstreet’s Back, alright!

Every generation has that iconic dance that they memorized as kids. If like Jenna, you grew up in the 80s, then that was likely Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Jenna livens up Poise’s snoozefest party with an impromptu performance mirroring Jackson’s famous moves from the music video. And it gets everyone else on their feet too. Reportedly, Mark Ruffalo was as reluctant as Matty to perform the dance. And the director, Gary Winick was initially against including any dance number at all. It’s an entertaining and amusing scene that reminds us that we shouldn’t always take ourselves so seriously. We can’t imagine the movie without it.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Dancing in the Library, “The Breakfast Club” (1985)
What Else Are You Meant to Do During Detention?

The Prime Minister Jumps, “Love Actually” (2003)
Hugh Grant Dreaded Performing This Delightfully Cringey Scene

“Canned Heat”, “Napoleon Dynamite” (2004)
If You Don’t Support Your Buddies Through Dance, Are You Even Really Friends?

The Dance Off, “Girls Trip” (2017)
There’s No Battle Quite Like a Dance Battle

This is probably the last place you’d expect to find a Busby Berkeley-esque dance number yet here we are. In the movie’s second trippy dream sequence, The Dude stars in his own bowling-themed adult movie with Julianne Moore’s Maude playing the Gutterball Viking. Lebowski impressively struts his way down the stairs toward her and the ensemble of bowling pin-clad showgirls below. The Coen Brothers classically love to include moments that will surprise their audiences. However, even by their standards, this was surreal and unexpected. Nevertheless, you can’t even mention “The Big Lebowski” without immediately thinking of this surprise dance sequence.