‘Dirty Dancing’ just celebrated its 35th anniversary, and we’re still learning more about the film!
It’s hard to believe Dirty Dancing came out 35 years ago. It seems like only yesterday we couldn’t get enough of Baby carrying her watermelon or Patrick Swayze’s dreamy… well, everything. And while “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” may be the standout musical number from the show, it’s not the most iconic one — and actress Jane Brucker is sharing some behind-the-scenes details that prove it.
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One of the most iconic moments in the movie is when Lisa sings ‘Hula Hana.’
Lisa, Baby’s older sister, does a little dance number while singing a little hula song in the background of the scene, but it definitely steals the whole focus — her slightly off-key performance and very awkward dancing became a fan favorite moment from the whole film, and the actress Jane Bruckner has just told the story of how the whole moment came to be.
The original idea for the scene wasn’t going to include that song at all.
“They wanted ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ and it was too expensive,” Jane revealed . “They were going to cut it. Either [screenwriter] Eleanor [Bergstein] or Emile said, ‘Unless you wanna write something?’ So I’m like, ‘Yeah. I write stuff doing improv all the time. I’ll write something.'”
That’s when Jane ended up writing the absolutely iconic Hula Hana song we all know and love.
“I wrote it. I wrote the story of the spoiled brat living in the island,” she said.
“I wrote the story of the spoiled brat on an island, just during breaks — which there were plenty of for me because I didn’t have a huge part,” she went on. “Kenny [Ortega, the film’s choreographer] said, ‘Put ‘wacka wacka’ in it.’ I thought you couldn’t put ‘wacka’ in the song,” she joked. “‘You can wacka if you wanna?’ Really? But then I thought, ‘Wait a minute, the movie’s called Dirty Dancing . Maybe I’m just square.'”
“It’s a simple little tune,” Jane said.
It’s hard to believe one of the most beloved songs in the movie was written by the actress who sang it and was almost not included in the movie at all, but it just goes to show that Jane Brucker was DEFINITELY the right girl for the part.
h/t: EW
