May 18, 2011

10 of my favourite musical moments in non-musical movies

I haven't made a list in a half a century! Or in other words, five months! Gee! It's about time to make another one. I know I usually specialize in Top Fives, but again, five turned out to be nearly not enough. Ten is not enough either, put I wisely drew the line there. I will now present to you ten of my favourite musical moments in non-musical movies. 'Musical moment' in thise case can mean either singing or dancing. Or lip-syncing.

Enjoy, if you please!

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10. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You in Ten Things I Hate About You (1999)

 This first one is kind of a black sheep... The others are strictly my own personal favourites, and while I think 10 Things I Hate About You is an okay movie, it's not one of those I watch again and againa and whose lines I know by heart. However, I HAD to include this, even if only for number ten, because this particular scene is just wonderful. Thanks to Heath Ledger and his disarming awesomeness.




9. Thriller in 13 Going on 30 (2004)

(The option here was Jingle Bell Rock from Mean Girls. Yeah. And I do feel kind of saddened for having to let it go. Seriously!) 13 Going on 30 has been one of my favourite romcoms for a long time. Sure, I haven't felt like watching it for a looooong time, but I know one of these days I'll pick it up once again. Jennifer Garner's Jenna and Mark Ruffalo's Matt dance the Thriller to spice up a company party, and it's pretty catchy, isn't it? The highlight is of course when Gollum aka Andy Serkis steps up to show some of his sweet moves.






8. You Make My Dreams in (500) Days of Summer (2009)

In a film that in many ways likes to bend the traditional ways of storytelling, it makes more than enough sense for a character, in the height of falling in love, to suddenly break into a gleeful, Disney-ish dance number, joined by the by-passers and even an animated little bird. And Han Solo.




7. Pop! Goes My Heart in Music and Lyrics (2007)

Hugh Grant is hilarious, and he has some awesome hips, that man. I've gotten so many laughs out of this clip, I can't even begin to tell you. The best part is when they once or twice almost lose their poker face. And who can blame them! That's one pretty ridiculous music video.




6. I Need A Hero in Shrek 2 (2004)

The second Shrek is my favourite of the bunch (though the first one is good, too), not least because of its awesome music. This is a fun, catchy scene, where Shrek tries to outrun time to save Fiona from Prince Charming.




5. Hoist the Colors in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

The guaranteed goosebumps in the opening sequence of the third PotC movie guarantee Hoist the Colors the middle spot on the list.




4. Jump in Love Actually (2003)

More Hugh Grant's hips! Sorry! This is legendary. The shortest moment of the bunch, but maybe, just maybe, the most viewed one (by me). It never gets old.

 (No embedding available, click here.)


3. Titina in Modern Times (1936)

This marks the occasion when we hear the Tramp talk for the first time. Or not talk, to be exact. Sing. In gibberish. Yet the point and the story come across, because he acts it out simutaniously. It's one more proof of the genius of Charlie Chaplin. As if we needed any more of those.




2. Super Freak in Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

The brilliant awkwardness of the scene, Abigail Breslin's dance moves, the general context and how well it fits in the whole movie make this moment almost worthy the top spot. It's really quite an anti-climactic climax, but that's the awesome thing about it. The film keeps it real at all times, always avoiding melodrama and cliches, and yet this sequence ends up being quite rousing. And awesome. Just awesome.






1. Twist And Shout in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

My newest favourite of all of these ended up snatching the number one spot. Why? Because this is actually the scene that inspired me to make this list in the first place. Because in the film, this is when Ferris finally won me over, too. Because - don't argue - this embodies everyone's ultimate fantasy. Because everyone deserves a rockstar moment.

(The Twist and Shout part begins at about 2:00.)




I'm eagerly waiting for your comments, protests and additions!

5 comments:

Reta said...

Oh, Thriller ja kolmetoista ja risat! Se oli niin hieno kohtaus! Muistan nähneeni elokuvan ensimmäistä kertaa sen verran nuorena, ettei Thriller ollut minulle vielä niin super tuttu. Tietenkin tiesin sen olevan Michael Jacksonia, mutta en kovin monesti ollut sitä kuullut.
Eikä Jingle Bell Rockissa olisi ollut mitään pahaa, se on hieno esitys. Mean Girls on yksi ainoista teini high school elokuvista joista on hyväksyttävää pitää ilman että saa leimoja. Kaikkihan ovat sen nähneet! :D

June said...

Oi, love these, thanks for sharing! (mulla on joku itsepintainen taipumus kommentoida englanniksi, jos teksti on englanniksi, vaikka kai sitä voisi äidinkieltäänkin käyttää :D) I've done these kind of lists ages ago, two of them actually, but they've never seen daylight. Yet :D I dunno if they're gonna be exactly like this though. There are so many good soundtracks and pure musicals out there! And do movies about music get included in musical movies? Hm.

Eeva said...

Reta: Juu, Mean Girls on teinivuosieni suosikki ja pitäisi ehkä katsoa se taas joskus joku päivä. Koska onhan se oikeasti ihan hyvä. Parhainta 2000-luvun high school -komedioita ehdottomasti!

bubble: English is fine, more than fine. ;) Ooh, I hope we'll get to see those lists one of these days! I don't know where the line between a movie musical and a movie about music is... Tricky question! But anyways, I've already started working on another similar list, this time stricly about movie musicals... ^^

Marja said...

I love that scene in Ferris Bueller! I love the whole movie, but that scene makes me wanna shake it up baby now!

Eeva said...

That scene rocks so hard.