The Goldbergs – “The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance” Recap. Let’s Dance.

Season 3, Episode 17

Air Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 8/7c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“A little thing called the angry dance.” – Barry

Dancing the night away.

Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) helps Erica (Hayley Orrantia) plan a school dance inspired by the movie Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. That is, until Beverly realizes the “dirty” in dirty dancing might actually mean dirty, and I’m not talking about actual soil. Will Beverly be able to stop the dance or will the students spend the night grinding and gyrating?

I admit, I never got into Dirty Dancing or Barry’s (Troy Gentile) favorite movie, the 1984 classic Footloose starring Kevin Bacon. Back then, I was more into Police Academy, The Karate Kid, and Spaceballs. That’s not to say Dirty Dancing and Footloose haven’t left their cultural marks on cinema history. Recently, ABC announced a remake of Dirty Dancing is in the works as a three-hour TV event starring Abigail Breslin as Frances “Baby” Houseman, and Colt Prattes playing Johnny Castle, originally portrayed by Swayze.

“The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance” is one of my favorite episodes this season involving Barry. From his karate dance moves to his hilarious recreation of the infamous dance scene from Footloose, he is a riot. And, may I just ask, who in their right mind let Barry have a confetti cannon? I couldn’t stop laughing during the final scene when Barry finds various places to set off the cannon.

Barry isn’t the only one who get laughs. Perhaps the funniest scene in “The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance” involves Erica taking a page from Beverly’s playbook by trying to strong-arm Principal Ball (Stephen Tobolowsky) into allowing the dance to go on. Things don’t go Erica’s way until Ball sees someone, prompting him to have a change of heart.

Dancing or dirty dancing?

Poor Geoff (Sam Lerner); no matter how hard he tries, Erica keeps shooting him down. Despite the rejections, Geoff tries to persuade Erica to be his date at the movie themed dance. “C’mon! I know every single move that Swayze does in that movie…Actually, I’ve never seen it. But I will now and I will dedicate my life to becoming your own personal Swayze.” Gotta give the man his due; I admire him for going after what he wants. As “The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance” progressed, I kept wondering if Geoff would ever get the girl. I’m very happy the writers have found ways to give Lerner more screen time.

Despite initially refusing Beverly’s request to do some dirty dancing of their own, Murray (Jeff Garlin), at Pop’s (George Segal) urging, decides not to miss out on the fun after all. Murray provides some entertaining, albeit disturbing, moments as he tries to break out of his shell and embrace dancing. Garlin appears to have a blast as Murray lets loose by shaking not only his booty, but other parts as well. It’s a side of Murray we rarely see and was well worth the wait.

In my last few reviews of The Goldbergs, I’ve expressed concerns that the show, at times, is too predictable and often has a familiar feel to it. Thankfully, “The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance” mixes things up. I was pleasantly surprised by how many times I didn’t see a twist coming, especially when Beverly makes a surprising confession to Principal Ball. The biggest surprise of all, however, comes when we see who Erica’s dance partner is; could this be the start of a beautiful relationship?

Having already done wildly successful episodes inspired by such movies as Goonies and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Goldbergs creator, Adam Goldberg, and the writers do a wonderful job resisting the urge to do themed episodes on a regular basis. But when they do one, it is done in a manner that doesn’t feel forced down your throat. Sure, there’s a checklist of moments from the iconic movies they honor that you know will be recreated during the various episodes. In this instance, even if you didn’t see Dirty Dancing, “The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance” is still enjoyable for all.

The first thing my editor Linda said upon learning about the Dirty Dancing themed episode was, ”It’s my all-time favorite movie. They better not screw it up.” While I’m not the biggest fan of either Dirty Dancing or Footloose, I think The Goldbergs nailed it. And guess what? She agrees!

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “The ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dance.”

Tune in to The Goldbergs Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, only on ABC.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.