Dirty Dancing—the 1987 film, as if that even needs to be said—is truly a gift that keeps giving. Those of us who were around to experience the film's release never imagined it would become such a cultural giant. But the proof is evident in the fact that one man recently landed in the hospital with a broken leg while trying to recreate the famous last dance scene with a woman, and hundreds of other couples are probably attempting, and failing, to copy it as I type this.
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey make their dramatic, elegant lift at the film's end—the one where she runs across the ballroom, into his arms and over his head like a swan—look like a piece of cake. Sigh. Remember this moment?
But, you guys, we're all forgetting those two crazy kids worked their cute, tight, dancer butts off to get to the finale and they totally sucked during rehearsals.
Remember the lake? Mess:
Or the scene in the field?
Even Swayze, a dance god among men, twisted his ankle in that last scene and, as a result, vowed never to dance again on screen. Still, mere mortals keep attempting this—it's madness!
So, when Gary Mackay found himself dancing in a bar in Scotland with a woman and she tried to lift herself into his arms, ala "Baby" Houseman, he should have run for the hills. Instead, the 28-year-old went for it, fell, and broke his leg in two places. He'll have to miss work for three months AND they didn't even manage to make the Great Jump happen. It was all for nothing.
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For some insane reason, nearly three decades after the film's debut, a lot of folks seem to believe their lives will not be complete unless they've mastered this dance move. And they're right. We absolutely ALL must try this, just once, just to see whether it's as impossible as it looks. We must try it at the gym, weddings, parties, and basically anywhere alcohol is present.
But we shouldn't be surprised if we fail miserably.
Even with two men spotting us, we're going to collapse on our faces:
Drew Barrymore tried it with Jimmy Fallon, but made sure he was flat on his back, which is totally cheating:
Some people do it with their cats, so as not to hurt another actual human:
And your good looks aren't going to help you. When Chris Hemsworth hosted Saturday Night Live, he didn't make all of Kate McKinnon's dreams come true by proving he is the worst Dirty Dancing partner of all time:
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Even Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, both of whom can do anything, admitted defeat in Crazy, Stupid, Love and had body doubles hired to perform the most difficult lift in the history of dancing. Eh, who cares? They still look hot and we can use our imaginations:
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Have you ever tried to copy the Dirty Dancing finale? Did you succeed?
Image via Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images