Sophia Michaels
We all know that Jennifer Garner has got the moves. In one of her best movies,13 Going on 30, we saw she and the cast of the 2003 rom-com bust out those ‘80s dance moves with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” While watching Garner dance to “Thriller” was an entertaining sight, I couldn’t stop laughing watching her dance ballet.
There’s nothing like dedicating some free time to dancing your heart out. Instead of dancing for a new movie or cardio dancing during “very hard” moments, Jennifer Garner took to Instagram to post a video of her attempting to dance ballet alongside a professional ballerina. You can watch this hilarious video for yourself, and I dare you not to laugh.
You couldn’t help but laugh, could you? Not that I’d be any coordinated myself if I tried. At the New York City Ballet, we first see professional ballerina Unity Phelan gracefully dance while holding a barre. On the other side of the barre, Jennifer Garner tried to do the same thing, but with more grit than grace. While Phelan was as light as a feather with each of her movements, the Elektra actress had more brute force as she swiftly swung her leg onto the barre and then grimaced while trying to stretch to the floor, and then everyone had a good laugh after that. While Garner may be no Black Swan dancer, I do give her credit for doing those moves in jeans and boots!
When I watch Jennifer Garner putting herself out there with her dancing, it brings me back to 13 Going on 30. In one of the best friends-to-lovers movies, 13-year-old Jenna Rink, who fast-forwards to her 30-year-old self, brings life to a party by having everyone dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” It’s the type of scene that teaches you that anyone can learn the moves of The King of Pop and it’ll stay with you for decades.
Believe it or not, Mark Ruffalo “almost quit” the nostalgic rom-com because the choreography didn’t come easily for him as it did his female lead. He claimed that the nervous awkwardness his character Matt had dancing in front of everyone was not acting. Luckily with a sequence like this, it was all about everyone just having a good time. If you need to refresh your memory, you can watch the memorable dance sequence from 13 Going on 30 down below.
Other than the infamous dance sequence, 13 Going on 30 is so memorable playing into the themes of being happy with who you are right now and being careful about the choices you make. Jennifer Garner said her 2004 comedy still holds up today because it’s very relatable for a 13-year-old to want to grow up faster and be an adult. The same can ring true when you’re an adult and you wish you could go back to your teen self. It looks like that wish will come true for Garner yet again in the upcoming comedy movie Family Switch, where a brother and sister swap bodies with their parents. Think of it like Freaky Friday, but the father and son swap bodies, as well as the mother and daughter. Something tells me we’ll see more teens and adults realizing no one has it easier than the other.
Jennifer Garner made us smile dancing in 13 Going on 30 and laugh super hard watching her ballet dance. Now, I wonder if Garner wishes she could go back to being a teenager so she could master ballet more flawlessly. On the other hand, ballet dancing doesn’t come easily for everyone, no matter what age, but it’s sure fun to try. You can watch 13 Going on 30 right now with your Netflix subscription.
