Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)

Taglines: Getting into trouble is easy but getting out of it is all the fun!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun movie storyline. Janey is new in town, and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general, and “Dance TV” in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, Janey and Lynne are determined to audition. The only problem is that Janey’s father doesn’t approve of that kind of thing.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun is a 1985 American romantic comedy dance film directed by Alan Metter and starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt. For many years, Comedy Central, Lifetime, USA Network, Lifetime Movie Network and ABC Family have aired the film. As of 2007, ABC Family’s sister network, Disney Channel, owns the rights to the film.

About the Story

Janey Glenn is an army brat who is thrilled when her father, Robert, is transferred to Chicago, the home of her favorite dance show Dance TV. At her Catholic girls school, she quickly makes a new friend in Lynne Stone due to their shared love of dance and Dance TV. When Robert nixes the idea of her traveling to downtown Chicago to try out, Janey accompanies Lynne to the auditions.

At the auditions, an enemy is made of spoiled rich girl Natalie Sands when she rudely parks her car where Lynne is walking. The auditions are going well until Lynne’s partner gets her cut (it is later found out that Natalie paid him to have her kicked out). Janey and a dreamboat named Jeff both shine, albeit partnered with others at first. They are later paired once the final cut is made. Jeff loves to dance although his father is drilling him to go to trade school and is following his heart instead of his father’s wishes.

The two butt heads initially due to their disparate upbringings. Despite Jeff’s natural ability to dance, he has never taken a class. Janey has been taking both gymnastics and dance classes for ten years. Helping them to get off on the wrong foot is also Janey’s inability to practice when it’s convenient for Jeff. Things are further complicated by Natalie’s meddling (she finds out that Janey skipped choir practice to meet Jeff and calls her father to tell, posing as “Sister Natalie”).

An excellent opportunity for both girls to get back at Natalie presents itself when Jeff is invited to her coming out party. They make copies of her invitation (provided by Jeff’s best friend Drew) and pass them out to strangers all over town. Jeff and Drew attend the party and watch the chaos ensue when all of the extra invited people show up (as do Lynne, Janey and Jeff’s sister Maggie, watching from the window).

Janey and Jeff have become close through their rehearsals. One night, he tells her to meet him not at the rehearsal studio but at a club. While they are enjoying some unstructured dance time, Jeff is taken away by a girl who locked her keys in her car. Meanwhile, a large admirer moves in on her. On Jeff’s return, a fight ensues and after Jeff sucker punches the much larger man they run out of the club together. Once at Janey’s house, she is aglow over what her life has become: she’s in the running to become a Dance TV regular, has a great best friend, as well as a boyfriend. They finally kiss before she excitedly runs inside.