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Spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice lie ahead, so be sure to read on at your own risk.
By now, a number of TV viewers are likely familiar with the viral dance Jenna Ortega performed for the first season of Wednesday. The moves, which were choreographed by Ortega herself, caused quite a stir and now remain firmly planted in the cultural lexicon. The actress also had the opportunity to show off more of her moves in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which features a wickedly fun dance sequence of its own. Now, Ortega is explaining why cutting loose in the film was different from shaking a leg on the small screen.
The third act of the Tim Burton-directed horror comedy sees Michael Keaton’s eponymous spectre once again trying to marry Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). While professing his love for Lydia once more, the “Ghost with the Most” begins singing Richard Harris’ version of “MacArthur Park.” Others in the vicinity, including Jenna Ortega’s Astrid and Catherine O’Hara’s Delia, join in as well. They even begin dancing to the tune as well. As a whole, the sequence serves as a sweet counterpart to the “Day-O” scene from the film’s 1988 predecessor.
For most stars, the prospect of such a big musical number may have been daunting, but imagine being Jenna Ortega and seeing that in the script following the Wednesday hype. She was recently interviewed alongside co-star Catherine O’Hara by MTV News and was asked about how she reacted when reading that portion of the film in the screenplay. And her response to it is what you’d probably imagine:
I think I just read it and went, ‘Oh shit.’ What do you even do? And that last time it was just so thrown together and so unexpected, I didn’t even know what I was doing on set. It was so embarrassing the first time doing that. Yeah, and then this one it was equally more embarrassing, but I was glad that other people were being dragged into it with me.
Jenna Ortega was certainly placed in a unique position when she performed that Wednesday dance (which was even recreated by Lady Gaga). It’s not often that many actors are asked to act out such a dance, let alone essentially come up with the bulk of it on their own. Ortega even admitted during this interview that she occasionally asks crew members to look away if possible when she has embarrassing scenes.
It would seem that with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s musical number, though, the actress found comfort in knowing that she wouldn’t be dancing by herself. There was also another element that put her at ease:
Last time it was just a couple hundred extras all standing in a circle watching me. Whereas at least this time, everyone looked pretty stupid.
While she may not have looked cool performing the young Addams family member’s dance on set, Netflix subscription holders surely enjoyed seeing it play out on the show. Also a fan of that moment is Catherine O’Hara, who has a piece of praise:
Yeah, but again, so cool in Wednesday.
I’d agree, and I’d also say that Jenna Ortega’s dance work in the box office hit Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is sensational as well. One has to wonder if Ortega might be called upon to cut a rug in a future project or two, considering her experience. Chances are she’d be game for the challenge, but I wouldn’t expect her to actually relish the experience all that much based on her comments.
Take in the laughs, scares and music that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – which is one of the big 2024 movie releases – has to offer by heading to a theater near you. You can also stream the original film with the use of a Max subscription.