Jimmy Fallon took a trip back to 1985 on last night’s Tonight Show, recreating an iconic ‘80s movie scene made famous by his guest, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote her SAG Award-nominated role in The Last Showgirl, Curtis recalled her role in Perfect, the 1985 film in which she plays an aerobics instructor opposite John Travolta. Perfect famously features an extensive (and very ‘80s) five-plus minute scene of the two dancing in an aerobics class, which Fallon showed a clip from.
Anyone who has ever wished that scene could be longer are now in luck… sort of.
“There’s actually more footage that’s never been seen before,” Fallon told Curtis.
“Let’s watch the never-before-seen extended version of Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta’s dance scene from Perfect,” the Tonight Show host announced as he tossed to the skit. In the video, a modern-day Curtis is back in her workout wear from the film, leading an aerobics class and intensely staring at Fallon, who steps into Travolta’s role.
In this so-called extended version of the scene, the duo begin performing other tasks as their workout continues, from Curtis getting pizza delivered and pouring a champagne tower to Fallon releasing a dove from his shorts. The grand finale? Curtis using defibrillator paddles to reanimate a body, which ultimately joins the aerobics class.
Recreating popular scenes and videos from pop culture past—some more random than others—has become something of a staple for Fallon’s Tonight Show. Fallon’s most recent recreation came just last month, when he and Jon Hamm went full 1999 for a remake of the music video for Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open.”
Curtis’ appearance on The Tonight Show last night came amid devastating fires in her home neighborhood of California’s Pacific Palisades, which she addressed at the start of her interview. “As you know, where I live is on fire right now,” Curtis told the audience.
“It’s f*cking gnarly, you guys,” she added before encouraging support for the American Red Cross.
Curtis recounted filming the Perfect parody with Fallon in an Instagram post this morning. “I suited up and showed up for work here in the city, complete with the recreation of the hip, thrusting meme from the movie, PERFECT, and was greeted by such warmth from @fallontonight @jimmyfallon and @questlove and their team,” she shared alongside behind-the-scenes photos of the shoot. “It was complicated to feel like we were making comedy in the midst of such a profound tragedy across the country, but we did.”
