By Jessica Herndon
We all have moments from movies that we love to rewatch. Some of the most unforgettable and adored scenes in indie movies are the ones we least suspect. Michael Madsen dancing around to Stealers Wheel in Reservoir Dogs. Jeff Bridges doing the mashed potato dance in The Big Lebowski. Come to think of it, many of these favorite moments rely on a surprise musical moment presenting itself to spice things up.
In this storied tradition, the lip-synch scene from The Skeleton Twins — a touching, bittersweet comedy-drama starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as estranged siblings — is high on this writer’s list and always worth another play.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the hidden gem film’s theatrical release. The Skeleton Twins premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and revealed another side of the Saturday Night Live alums. Even now, a decade later, I still get the same sense of elation as I groove along with Maggie (Wiig) and Milo (Hader) as they pretend to belt out to Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”
This dance break is a sweet shock to the system within a film that focuses on deep issues and emotional trauma. The story is set in motion when Milo, an actor who’s struggled to find success in Los Angeles, comes to stay with his twin, Maggie, in Nyack, New York, after he attempts suicide. Reunited after being estranged for 10 years, the two reckon with the past and what it means to move forward despite neither feeling like they deserve to be alive.
The pivotal lip-synch session, which Milo initiates to break the tension between him and his sister after they start arguing, captures the delicate balance of comedy and hardships that defines the movie, using humor as a vehicle to navigate complex feelings. It serves as a reminder that among all the confusion, self-hatred, regret, longing, and loneliness these characters — and many of us in the audience — feel daily, doses of joy can offset that weight.
The Skeleton Twins is among great company of other Sundance Film Festival titles where characters break out into deeply resonant and impromptu performances to epic earworms. To celebrate a decade of The Skeleton Twins, we’ve compiled a dopamine rush of film clips from heartwarming, hilarious, and vivid musical moments from past Fest favorites.
Spoiler alert! There are plot reveals ahead.
Reality Bites (1994 Sundance Film Festival)
Known as one of the quintessential Gen X movies, Reality Bites stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn in Ben Stiller’s film about a group of young adults freshly out of college as they navigate life in the 1990s. Here, as Lelaina (Ryder) and her friends stock up on food at the gas station with the gas card her dad gave her, The Knack’s “My Sharona” comes on the radio. After Vickie (Garofalo) asks the gas attendant to turn up the volume, they break out into a dance party. All except the grungy, indifferent Troy (Hawke), who won’t dance, but flashes a reluctant grin at the bewildered, middle-aged attendant who watches the 20-somethings jam out. Check here for viewing options.
Party Girl (1995 Sundance Film Festival)
Set in the ’90s underground club scene in New York, Party Girl follows Parker Posey as Mary, a sharp and sassy Club Kid — and she is irresistible. Her style, her attitude, her spacious loft, her crew of equally idiosyncratic 20-somethings (Guillermo Diaz among them), and the parties she throws to earn money to pay back her grandmother for bailing her out of jail make this film a cult classic. In this scene, Mary vogues at one of her soirées to Cajmere’s “U Got Me Up (Underground Goodie Mix ’93) [feat. Dajae]” with real-life downtown party figure Natasha Twist, who makes a cameo in the film. It’s an infectious moment that screams, “You had to be there!” Check here for viewing options.
American Psycho (2000 Sundance Film Festival)
Christian Bale, as disturbed, achievement-obsessed murderer Patrick Bateman in the neo-noir American Psycho, loves breaking down the brilliance of contemporary artists before he kills. Here, he turns up Huey Lewis and the News’ “Hip to Be Square” — the film is set in the late 1980s, after all — and gives a speech about the band’s pop progression before he takes the life of fellow businessman Paul Allen (Jared Leto), whom he envies. Patrick doesn’t do much dancing in the scene, except for a little hip shake before he slams an axe down on Paul’s head. But the tempo of his crime has a rhythm all its own. Check here for viewing options.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004 Sundance Film Festival)
When Napoleon (Jon Heder) and his best friend, who is running for class president — Vote for Pedro! — learn that Pedro (Efren Ramirez) is supposed to perform a skit after his campaign speech, Napoleon steps up and dances to Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat” in front of the entire student body. Don’t we all wish we had a friend who would get on stage and dance on our behalf? That’s loyalty! This scene and the wacky and endearing uniqueness of each character in this film, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, helped make it a cult classic. Check here for viewing options.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006 Sundance Film Festival)
This is the performance we were waiting for! The quirky, Oscar-winning comedy culminates in this wild, heartfelt moment backed by Rick James’ “Super Freak” at the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant after Olive (Abigail Breslin) and her dysfunctional family, including mom Sheryl (Toni Collette), dad Richard (Greg Kinnear), brother Dwayne (Paul Dano), uncle Frank (Steve Carell), and grandpa Edwin (Alan Arkin), take a road trip from Albuquerque to California in an old Volkswagen so Olive can compete. Check here for viewing options.
(500) Days of Summer (2009 Sundance Film Festival)
Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) feels like the man when he exits his bathroom and finds Summer (Zooey Deschanel) waiting for him on his bed. As he approaches his dream girl, we transition to a fantasy sequence where Tom’s elation plays out in the form of a campy, heavily choreographed number to Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “You Make My Dreams.” Strangers join Tom flash dance–style, praise him with handshakes and applause, and hoist him up on their shoulders after he’s handed a bat and mimes hitting a home run. If only he could have made this feeling last. Check here for viewing options.
After Yang (2022 Sundance Film Festival)
A couple (Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith) adopt a girl (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) and buy her a robot named Yang (Justin H. Min) as a companion in this futuristic story about loss, identity, and what constitutes family. We’re immediately placed in this new, semi-familiar sci-fi society through the opening credits dance competition. Aska Matsumiya’s “Welcome to Family of 4” soundtracks the community’s nightly ritual where these dances are performed by the family — Yang included! — and others. Check here for viewing options.
