You have to admire when a questionable dance move is whipped out on the big screen. A top tier actor with his/her career on the line decides to go for it and show off that little nugget that used back at the high school prom. Take a look at some quirky, quasi-embarrassing, but nevertheless admirable moves in the gallery below!
Dance has always been a cornerstone of popular culture, much in the same way as cinema; when you combine these two things, the sky is the limit. That being said, a good dance move can be immortalized on the screen…and so can a bad one (subjectively). These types of movement can bring a film to life in unexpected ways—especially in the case of musicals and pictures that use dance often. Other films, ones that aren’t even remotely in the same genre as a musical or dance obsessed feature (Footloose, Step Up, etc.), incorporate dance in a very tongue in cheek, organic, sometimes even moving way.
When one feels a good beat coursing through their body, they move in weird ways; ways that are unique to that particular individual and moment: arms flail, hips gyrate and kicks seemingly come out of nowhere. Other characters watch in awe of whoever it is that has just taken center stage. As these characters come up with moves that are uniquely their own, they appear ridiculous and free. The word “bad” is about to be used here; however, that in no way reflects a lack of creative appreciation—here’s a collection of some memorably (bad) dance moves that have been used on the silver screen over the years…and will probably never be used again.
Dance Moves That Will Never Be Used Again
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Super Freak, Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A movie that is ultimately about coming to terms with dysfunction is appropriately capped off with a ridiculous and endearing dance number. The Hoover family supports Olive in her admirable attempt to win a beauty pageant by joining her on stage and not giving a fuck.
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Canned Heat, Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Unconventional, brilliant, and arguably "bad." Napoleon Dynamite's spontaneous dance number saves his friend Pedro's campaign for class president and cements the former as a true hero.
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Evil Peter Parker, Spider-Man 3 (2007)
The least satirically endearing set of dance moves on this list. When most people bared witness to the finger gunning, electric sliding, aimlessly gyrating Peter Parker, they were tempted to leave the theater.
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Feeling Good Today, Kickboxer (1989)
The second least endearing dance number on this list...what are you doing Van Damme? Never will these moves be used again.
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Les Grossman, Tropic Thunder (2008)
Tom Cruise's turn as the loud-mouthed, overweight, Les Grossman was something no critic nor movie buff saw coming. Even more surprising was his impromptu jam session to Ludacris' "Get Back"' upon the film's conclusion.
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Hammer Tech Dance, Iron Man 2 (2010)
In a blink and you'll miss it moment, Sam Rockwell, as Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer, comes on stage at the Stark Expo courtesy of some sort of reeved-up two-step.
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The Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading (2008)
As the dim-witted personal trainer, Chad Feldheimer, Brad Pitt was hilarious in the Coen Brother's Burn After Reading. Even more hilarious, a triumphant finger-snapping dance move that will stand the test of time, but never be used again.
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A Psychopathic Kind of Walk, Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Mr. Blonde's tortuous dance number took shocked a lot of people in 92. Michael Madsen's improved moves to Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You," remains one of the most memorable and gory scenes from that particular decade.
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Golden Years, A Knight's Tale (2001)
William Thatcher's choreographed dance to David Bowie's "Golden Years" remains one of Heath Ledger's most endearing on-screen moments—a quirky reminder of a tragic loss.
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The Leo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Perhaps the king of cinema at the moment, and most certainly the king of freestyle dance—it looks like a snake in heat. Whatever Leo is doing in the wedding reception scene has been confirmed as a dance move patented by Dicaprio himself. In fact, rumor has it, this is what the man occasionally whips out at his favorite night clubs...picture that.
