This week, I watched the ABC remake of Dirty Dancing (judge me all you want). Overall I would call the viewing a painful experience but I endured it reasonably well. There was, however, one standout scene that physically pained me. Naturally, it involved a ukulele.
The made-for-TV version of the movie changes the storyline for several supporting characters, including my beloved Lisa Houseman (Baby's sister). In the original film, Lisa's sort of a buffoon— a beautiful, ignorant clown who I love for her unabashed self-assuredness. The new Lisa is more socially aware from the get-go, less self-involved, and more kind. I handled that all fairly well until the talent show scene near the end. Instead of staying true to the off-key delight of the original Lisa's hula, the new Lisa sits and plays the ukulele with Marco (a character new to the remake).
Oh, man. Sarah Hyland, the actress who plays the new Lisa, has a lovely voice, but I had to cover my eyes when I saw this:
Do you see how she's holding that uke? Let's take a closer look:
The video of this is even more painful. What bothers me most is that it would have taken approximately 10 minutes to teach her how to adequately fake this scene. And not all that long to learn how to play the actual song!
I have a friend who rolls her eyes at movies that include anything remotely unrealistic. And another who just doesn't like watching anything fictional. I can tolerate a lot, in comparison, but not this! What are your on-screen pet peeves?
