ADULT ADAM: For as long as I can remember,
Beverly Goldberg loved to dance.
Sure, her fearless mom moves were embarrassing,
but you had to admire her pure passion.
You can't blame the lady.
This was the '80s,
the golden age of the cheesy dance movie,
most notably, Flashdance,
the tale of a working-class girl
who wanted to boogie with the best.
I don't think she's ever gonna get into this dance school.
Even the lady judge isn't supporting her.
This movie is insane.
She's so graceful and yet from Pittsburgh?
Shh! Screw you!
Some people! Jerk!
ADULT ADAM: But, as fate would have it, that year,
flashdancing made its way to Jenkintown.
Break out your hottest leg warmers, ladies!
It's time to flashdance.
"Bring your boogie-woogie and a towel"? Ehh.
Come on. It's our chance to live the very realistic story
of a steelworker turned modern dancer.
Please! No one wants to see four moms
shake their tushes at the JCC.
Our entire lives revolve around our kids.
But I have learned something very important
from the Bevolution.
Is that still a thing? The biggest.
And it's taught me that unless we make time for ourselves,
our wonderful families will leech us dry
of our youth and spirit.
I guess I do have a little time between school drop off
and school pick up, and sports drop off and sports pick up.
Well, it sounds like a small window, but I'll take it.
How about you gals? Maybe it wouldn't hurt
to stay in the back of the class and pick up a few moves.
ADULT ADAM: While they didn't stay in the back of the class,
they did pick up a few moves...
Or whatever this is.
INSTRUCTOR: And pose!
Not bad, ladies.
Not bad? Uh, we have taken our passion and made it happen!
Whoo-hoo!
♪♪
ANDY: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, fellas.
Dance class just let out.
Now, this is why we come to the Jenkintown JCC.
Aw, yeah.
Wait, I take it back! That's my mom!
And she's with my mom!
Hey, Bar. Don't hug Mama, she's aglow with dance.
Why is your shoulder exposed?
Mama's just flashdancing.
Well, you're flashing too much!
Don't listen to him, hot moms.
Johnny Atkins is a shoulder man.
They all look encouraged by his creepy words.
Barry, do something! What?
Cover your shoulder with my sweat towel! Right now!
Please.
Okay, stop it. Just stop.Get off of me.
Get out of here. Just get out of here.
♪ I'm twisted up inside
♪ But nonetheless I feel the need to say
♪ I don't know the future
♪ But the past keeps getting clearer every day ♪
ADULT ADAM: It was April 11, 1980-something,
a typical Saturday night
for me and my best friend, Emmy Mirsky.
God, I love Blades of Steel.I call Penguins!
Why do you always choose the stupid Penguins?
'Cause they're my favorite animal. Also, they do this.
ADAM: And I'm down.
You just make it easy by sucking.
ADULT ADAM: It was more than a friendship. Emmy was like my sister.
Ever since we were kids, we did everything together,
from Nintendo marathons to treehouse slumber parties.
Brian McMahon made it pretty darn clear.
Do you like him, yes or no?
You know what? I'm marking yes.
And best of all, our traditions continued through high school.
I don't know, Muscles. Your mom is super against
getting your ears pierced. Just do it, nerd!
Okay.
Three, two, one, and...
All right, welcome to pickleball!
Do not be fooled by its comically delightful name.
Pickleball is a serious sport.
It combines the greatest elements
of tennis, badminton, and Ping-Pong.
Time to pick your pickleball partner.
Just make sure your partner for pickleball
doesn't already have a pickleball partner picked!
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
You wanna play forehand or backhand? I'm super bad at both.
Uh, actually, Brian McMahon
already asked me to play with him.
ADULT ADAM: This was Brian, one of the most popular kids in school.
The dude was painfully shy, but he made it look cool.
Wow, Shy Bri actually talked to you?
See ya at lunch!
No partner, huh, Goldfarb?
Eh, it's all right. No shame in that.
At least that's what the school instructs me to say.
Maybe I can just do a related assignment like eat a pickle?
Don't worry, Coach has got your back.
Now engage your core! Let's go!
♪♪
Yah!
Mine! Mine! Mine! Ah!
There's the beef! All me! All me!
I got it! I got it! I got it!
Eat my shorts!
Get out of the way!
Yah!
That's game! 21-zip!
Learn from it.
I learned that this game sucks.
Ha! He's mocking what you care about.
Laps! Now!
Both of you, let's go!
And as for you, if we're gonna pair up again tomorrow.
I need you to run some drills after school.
Bring six gallons of water.
Thanks, but I'll be back with Emmy next class.
Yo, we're grabbing some Gino's for lunch.Rad! I love Gino's!
If I'm not back for study hall, cover for me.
Oof! That was tough to watch.
Well, Coach is here for you.
Except during lunch.
That's when I have my 67-vegetable smoothie.
But I'm happy to talk again on my jog home.
Emmy's been my best friend since second grade.
Dating Brian won't change anything.
All right, listen up.
Part of growing up is growing apart.
You and Emmy are always gonna be friends,
even if you don't hang out or talk
or she can't recall your name immediately.
How am I doing? You feeling any better?
Not at all! Yeah, this one got away from me.
ADULT ADAM: As I panicked about my future with my best friend,
Barry couldn't get past our mom's new hobby.
The JCC All Ages Dance Recital?
It is a celebration of the sweet moves
we learned from 4:00 to 6:00 on Tuesdays. And you're going.
Adam, come in here and get my back!
This is gonna traumatize you, too.
Unlikely. There's nothing worse
than losing your oldest and dearest friend
to the popular crowd.
Uck, I literally just fell asleep.
Dad! Kill her dance dreams now!
Just go to her damn show and let me know how it went.
Oh, no, you're going, too.
Can't. I got a work thing. You don't even know when it is!
And I have a work thing, too.
You don't even have a job! That checks out.
You are gonna support your loving mother
because she has supported everything
her precious babies have ever done.
Dammit! I am so jealous Erica escaped this house
and made it to college.
ERICA: Where are they? My life is over!
Where are the pictures of my boyfriend
making out with that skank Bridget Greenley?
Surprise!
Geoff's not cheating on you.
I just lied to get you here. Isn't that fun?
I drove home from D.C. at 90 miles an hour
with tears in my eyes!
Well, the good news is, your love is still intact
and your mother has a dance recital tomorrow!
Ha! You have to sit through Mom's gyrating garbage with us.
All right, I can tell from the hateful language
that I have doubters here,
which is why I'm going to give you
a little preview of what's in store.
♪ First when there's nothing♪
ADULT ADAM: And with that, my mom took her six weeks
of rigorous JCC training
and put her heart and soul on the line.
♪ That your fear seems to hide♪
Much like the toe-tapping Jennifer Beals' audition
inFlashdance,
Beverly Goldberg would win over her condescending critics
using the soaring magic of dance.
♪ All alone, I have cried♪
♪ Silent tears full of pride♪
♪ In a world made of steel♪
♪ Made of stone♪
♪♪
♪ What a feeling♪
♪ Being's believin'♪
♪ I can have it all♪
♪ Now I'm dancing for my life♪
You've been flashdanced!
Thank you for bringing me home from college to see this!
I can't breathe!
It hurts! It's so funny it hurts!
Seriously?
You're laughing at me after I just danced my heart out?
Thanks, Mom! I needed a good laugh.
It hurts! Aah! Oh.
Are you okay, Dad?
No, he's not okay!
He literally injured himself laughing at me!
Enough!
All you people do is call me a smother and beg me to change.
And then when I finally try to do it,
you mock me with your mean spirits!
Thank you. This is the most fun
that we've had as a family in a long time.
Ha! So funny!
Ohh! I popped something else!
Gotta go back. Aaah! Aah!
Great-grandpa's balls!
Jackie, huge news!
We're gonna double date with Emmy and her new beau!
Oh, my God, Emmy has a boyfriend?
Not yet. But she will
once I play a little yenta matchmaker.
Aw, you're gonna set her up?
Yep, I'm the best.
Now time to find Emmy a sweet, kind dude
who isn't popular or threatening to me in any way.
Muscles Mirsky!
What if I told you there's three eligible bachelors
just waiting to become your boyfriend?
Mr. Goldberg, this is study hall, not The Dating Game.
This'll only take a minute.
Let's meet bachelor number one!
He's exotic. He's mysterious. He's Sergei!
Good hello, sturdy woman.
This joker? You can't be serious.
Sergei still happy he got out there.
Okay, rough start.
Bachelor number two is a tall glass of water
who plays clarinet in marching band...
It's me, Dan! I couldn't wait for him to finish speaking!
Keep walkin', Dan-O. Thank you for the opportunity to compete.
Saving the best for last! Bachelor number three!
It better not be Dave Kim.
What? I would never!
Look, I appreciate the crappy effort.
But... I kinda spent lunch making out with Brian McMahon.
What do you even see in that guy?
He's handsome and athletic and cool.
Name one cool guy who doesn't talk.
Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe.
Name one more. Teller from Penn and Teller.
Name another. Snoopy.
He's the best. Oddjob from James Bond,
Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers.
All right, stop dancing in the end zone!
I couldn't wait any longer! Have you chosen your suitor?
ADULT ADAM: While my matchmaking blew up in my face,
my mom was about to drop a bomb.
Bev, where are your dance clothes and your leg warmers?
Class is about to start.
These legs will never be warmed again.
Why are you talking so dramatically about dance wear?
I shared my gift of dance with my family.
And they laughed.
So much so that Murray cracked a bone in his middle body.
Don't listen to your family!
Mine said we're gonna be awesome!
Same here. Mine, too.
That's 'cause they're kind, stupid liars.
I mean, no offense, but anyone who's seen Linda dance
knows she's got no boogie from the waist down.
Excuse me? Admit it,
you jacked up your back
carrying around your kid for far too long.
Geoff's 11-year-old legs got tired easily.
And don't get me started on Essie's jazz hands.
What's wrong with my jazz hands?They are crooked
and calloused from years of scrubbing greasy pans and wiping tushies.
I was gonna cover them with sparkly gloves for the show.
And, Ginzy, all those years of stress
raising four rowdy boys
has given you such a nervous mom-tummy
that you make poots all through this class.
You know about my poots?
Yes. So intense.
You know, truth is, I'm still worse off than you.
My family told me I'll never be anything but a lame-butt mom.
No use fighting it.
♪♪
Not okay, Ginzy! Go outside!
The stress activates it.
Stress activates it!
ADULT ADAM: I was losing Emmy to the cool kids,
so I turned to the coolest dude I knew.
Pops! Stop it with the hamantaschen!
I have an emergency!
I was so close, but fine. What do you got?
Emmy has a super-popular boyfriend!Good for her.
No! She's gonna leave me in the dust,
which means I gotta become super cool super fast.
You want cool lessons, huh?
Well, you've come to the right place.
I don't have time to learn stuff!
I need an expensive shortcut and I need it now!
ADULT ADAM: It was red, it was leather, it was in the "Beat It" video.
He who wore it was a god amongst men.
It's a fact. Anyone who wears this jacket
is automatically the coolest badass in the room.
'Cause of all the zippers?
'Cause of MJ.
And no kid on earth has one 'cause it costs $463.
Whoa! You don't need this farkaktespaceman jacket.
Fine. I'm just gonna call Emmy
and tell her Shy Bri is no good for her.
No, that is the least cool thing to do.
Hello? Hi, Mrs. Mirsky, it's Adam. Is Emmy there?
No. She said she was studying with you tonight.
Emmy used me as her nerd cover story.
Oh, no! How sad for you but smart of her.
She's not there, is she?
Of course! I just forgot!
She's making popcorn in the popcorn room.
Uh-huh. Can I talk to her?
Of course you can.
Hey, Emmy! Your mom's on the phone!
Here she comes.
She's walking to the phone with the popcorn in her hand.
Oh, no, she just tripped and fell!
Ohh, the popcorn is everywhere!
Oh! Oh! Now, I just fell! Gotta go!
She has nev...
I'm gonna buy you the red jacket.
ADULT ADAM: Once again, Pops bailed me out.
And thanks to the ridicule, my mom bailed on dancing.
Baby, I love you! You make everything so much better!
You shamed your mom into quitting,
who shamed my mom into quitting, and then everyone else quit
and now the whole thing's canceled.
Well, you're welcome, handsome.
Wait. Bevy and all her friends quit that thing?
Thanks to your amazing and cruel daughter.
I was awful, too.
BEVERLY: Dinner's served.
If you need me, I'll be upstairs in bed
staring at the ceiling, thinking about what could've been.
Cool.
Um, what's the deal with this sad lasagna?
Mom's never made anything in a casserole dish
with less than eight layers. What's going on?
Clearly you morons hurt the lady and you're gonna apologize.
Write one of your annoying keyboard songs
where you rap and jump around.
You know, the annoying crap you do every week.
Why just us? You were laughing, too.
Please, I'm her husband. I never have to say I'm sorry.
That's how marriage works.
Okay, I'll get my Casio.
And I'll get my crazy mad flow.
ADULT ADAM: As they strolled off to make amends,
I was desperately hoping my new red jacket would make me cool.
Hey! Beat it!
Oh, yeah, sorry, right. I'll get out of here.
Nah, bro. Your jacket. It's from "Beat It."
This kid rules, 'cause look, look, he's got the jacket!
No biggie. I've had it forever.
Some say MJ got the idea from me.Gnarly.
Oh, so you're a bad, gnarly boy now
I have a girlfriend.
That's part of it for me.
You making moves on my girl, small fry?
You're so dead, but sweet jacket, so we're friends now.
Okay, cool, man. I'll catch you later.
Adam?
Dude, you suck, 'cause you ditched me to hang here.
Ain't that right, that guy?
Beat It!
Are you kidding me? I finally find someone I like
and you can't even be happy for me?
Happy? We're best friends!
It's supposed to be just you and me!
We grow up together and live next door to each other
and raise our kids side by side!
No matter who we were with, it was supposed to be us!
You are such a hypocrite.
Did I ever complain when I got shoved into the background
while you were with Dana or Jackie?
That's different and you know it.
How? I've been the third wheel forever.
Uh, this is all super weird,
and it's making me feel like the third wheel.
Why is he suddenly talking?
See you in gym class or whatever.
Guess Shy Bri really opens up on the weekends, huh?
Don't talk to me. Ever again.
Beat it! Yeah, yeah, the jacket.
No. Actually beat it. You're a bad friend. Not cool.
ADULT ADAM: He was right. I really did lose Emmy.
Meanwhile, my mom was about to get
the most elaborate apology in history.
There she is! Our flashy little flashdancer!
What is all this?
You're about to witness
the greatest apology ever.
Behold! A three-act hip-hopera
so powerful you'll forgive anything.
JTP! BOYS: JTP!
Drop a respectful apology beat!
♪ Mom... ♪ Stop! It worked.
I forgive you. I can't stay mad at my babies.
But, there's two hours left, plus intermission.
I'm fine. Just go be kids.
So we're good here?
The kids are sorry, you're back to dancing.
Not yet.
What about you? Anything you want to say?
Ha! You do have to apologize!
I do not! Do I?
Okay. You don't get it, do you?
I expect my kids to only think of me as a mom,
but you're my husband.
You're supposed to think of me as something more.
♪♪
Marriage is hard.
Get out of my house!
ADULT ADAM: Even though my stubborn dad hated apologizing,
this time he'd have to face the music.
Oh, whatever this is, I'm not in the mood.
I'm just getting ready for the big dance show
at the Jenkintown JCC.
Stop. Thanks to you, Murray, I'm never dancing again.
Oh, I get it.
But there's gonna be a Goldberg on stage tonight,
no matter what.
What are you doing?
The kids gave you an apology opera.
I'm giving you an "I'm-sorry" dance.
Well, dancing requires movement,
which is what you hate the most.
I think you'll find me shockingly agile.
♪ Well, I hear the music♪
Please stop. Can't stop.
Got flashdance fever.
I just ate.
Uh, okay, here comes the good stuff.
Ohh!
That was a stupid, stupid thing to do,
moving your body to music like that!
You were supposed to stop me and go to your dance recital.
Well, everyone's right. I am not a flashdancer.
I'm just a mom.
Not to me.
You're beautiful, you're brave, you're strong.
Now I see why the kids write their dumb songs.
This stuff is really hard to say.
Now go get your yenta friends and get back on the dance floor.
I made them all quit.
Well, get them to un-quit.
'Cause that's what my pushy, amazing wife would do.
♪♪
ADULT ADAM: With that, Beverly Goldberg forced her friends
back onto that stage.
But within moments,
my mom's harsh words came flooding back to all of them.
And so, they completely forgot their routine.
And then they rolled around in a panic.
Ginzy.
♪ ...nothing but a slow glowing dream♪
Can we start again?
Is she asking me? Is this my decision?
Look at me. We got this.
ADULT ADAM: And with one look, my mom reminded them all
why they signed up for that class in the first place.
They were moms, and that meant they were tough.
They were fearless.
They were dancers.
Kinda.
Sure, their moves weren't perfect, but it didn't matter.
That night, my mom didn't win over a panel of stuffy judges.
She won over her judgy family.
Lookin' good, Beverly!
I know her! That's my mom!
That's my wife! She puts up with me!
♪ ...for my life♪
It was a moment my mom and her friends would never forget,
and a night I wish never happened.
Oh, there he is. How'd the jacket work out?
♪♪
Hey, kiddo.
I thought Emmy and I would be best friends forever.
♪♪
You know the greatest thing about your best friend?
What?
Even if you drift apart, you always find a way back
and you pick up right where you left off.
You think? You'll always be friends.
Now go make this right with her.
ADULT ADAM: In that moment, I realized some cool jacket
wasn't gonna fix things with Emmy.
The answer was to just believe in our friendship.
And so I rode through the dark night
to get back my best friend in the world,
even though I knew in my heart
it would change things between us forever.
Hey, open up! We really gotta talk!
Uh...why are you at my window?
'Cause I screwed up. But you gotta let me fix this.
I'd do anything to make Emmy happy,
even if it means she won't be in my life as much. So go get her back.
I kinda never know what to say.
Lucky for you, her best friend knows everything about her.
♪♪
♪ Pictures come alive♪
♪ Now I'm dancing through my life♪
How'd you know I got a thing for penguins?
A friend told me.
♪ What a feeling♪
Wow. When you said you'd set up Emmy,
I didn't know you meant Hot Brian.
Easy.
Well, she really is lucky to have a best friend like you.
ADULT ADAM: Turns out Pops was right.
Even if your best friend sets off on a different path,
they never go too far.
For me and Emmy, we didn't end up
living next door to each other, or even in the same city.
But to this day, whenever we see each other,
we pick up right where we left off.
And it's not just the friendships in life that change.
Sometimes, those closest to you
can surprise you in ways you never imagined.
All my mom wanted was to prove to herself
that she could be more than just Beverly Goldberg.
But in the end, my dad made her realize
that there really was no one else in the world that she needed to be.
That's the thing about family.
There's no one better
to put your heart and soul on the line for
than the people who loved you from the start.
Okay, I'm here with the real Emmy Mirsky,
and I have a few questions for you.
So, how long have you known Adam?
Since we were six.
ADAM: You only cried a little.EMMY: Yes.
Oops. ADAM: You said... Do we have that on tape?
My favorite thing about Adam is just that he's so funny
and just being able to make everyone around him laugh.
You know, especially when I go back and he shows me
all these ridiculous videos that he took.
Like, we're just, we're insane.
We're complete lunatics.
And for us, it wasn't really like, oh, a boy and a girl,
it was just like we were just two crazy, bizarre kids
just wanting to, like, goof off all the time.
The audience asks every single time there's an Emmy episode
if, uh, if, uh, you and, uh, Adam
are secretly, madly, deeply in love with each other?
No.
ADAM: Rawr!
No. The answer is no.
He's gonna be very disappointed.
I doubt that.