I think she gets it from me!In the following video clip, Marjorie's remark occurs at 1:20.
Marjorie seems to imply that Baby inherited her apparent dancing talent from Marjorie. The movie audience has not seen, however, any evidence that Marjorie herself has any dancing talent. Marjorie has been seen in four dancing situations:
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1) Marjorie is participating in a class for beginning dancers conducted by Penny Johnson.
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| The Houseman family taking a class for beginning dancers. |
2) During their first evening at the resort, Marjorie and Jake are dancing to orchestra music. Marjorie's dancing is not remarkable.
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| Marjorie's unremarkable dancing with Jake in the ballroom |
3) During a later evening, some guests are dancing in the gazebo. Marjorie and Jake are not dancing, because they are waiting for an "a waltz" -- a simple and slow dance.
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| Marjorie: "We're waiting for a waltz" |
4) On the last evening, after Baby and Johnny have performed their dance, Marjorie is seen dancing with Neil Kellerman. Marjorie's dancing is a simple boogie -- not remarkable.
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| Marjorie boogie-dancing with Neil |
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Marjorie's remark makes a bad impression that she is ditzy and vain. At that point she has seen Baby performing her dance for only one minute, but that short time has sufficed to see that Baby is performing rather well. Marjorie's apparent conclusion that Baby's performance is due to Marjorie herself seems absurd.
It's possible that Eleanor Bergstein intended to make Marjorie look ditzy and vain. The Houseman family seems to comprise two contrasting groups:
1) Lisa and Marjorie are ditzy and vain.However, Marjorie's remark is said during the movie's happy ending. I think that Bergstein intended the remark to make a better impression about Marjorie, but Bergstein's intention went awry.
2) Baby and Jake are thoughtful and modest.
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Important context for Marjorie's remark was deleted from the movie. A few hours before the talent show, Marjorie and Baby had a serious conversation in which Marjorie compared herself to Baby. The conversation was filmed, but the scene was deleted when the film was edited. In the following video, the deleted conversation can be seen between 8:17 and 9:02.
Baby HousemanHere, Marjorie compares her own seventeen-year-old self with seventeen-year-old Baby. Marjorie too suffered a painful break-up with a boyfriend.
Ma, please, you don't understand.
Marjorie Houseman
No, Baby, you don't.
I know about this. I really know.
When I was your age, I was in love with someone else before your father. And when it ended, it hurt so bad I thought I'd die of it, but I didn't.
And I didn't wreck everyone else's lives in the process either.
Marjorie's remark she she didn't wreck everyone else's lives either is ambiguous. This remark might mean
* Marjorie did not wreck lives, but Baby is doing so.... or else it might mean ...
* Marjorie did not wreck lives, and Baby likewise is not wrecking lives.I think that the second meaning is the correct interpretation. Marjorie is reassuring Baby that Baby will get through this personal crisis and that the Houseman family too will survive this family crisis. However, Marjorie also is suggesting to Baby that Baby's crisis is affecting -- albeit not wrecking -- the family.
Marjorie is helping Baby to understand her crisis with a proper perspective.
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My key point here is that in this deleted scene Marjorie compared herself to Baby. Although the scene has been deleted, we should use it as important context for Marjorie's remark, just a few hours later, that I think she gets it from me!
In that sentence, Marjorie's word it does not refer mainly to Baby's dance skill, but rather to Baby's emotional strength.
Marjorie and Jake both are aware that Baby is suffering from her breakup with Johnny. Although Johnny has disrupted the talent show and has taken Baby up onto the stage, the breakup continues.
Johnny's speech gives Marjorie and Jake a new perspective on Baby's recent actions. Baby has not been "wrecking everyone else's lives". Rather, Baby has been standing up for other people and has been teaching Johnny to be a better person.
Then, despite the emotional pain that Baby has suffered -- and still is suffering -- from her breakup, Baby focuses on dancing well and keeps a smile on her face. Baby makes the whole Houseman family proud of her.
Baby privately has stood up for and taught other people, and now she publicly is displaying grit and courage. In that regard, Marjorie sees her own young self in Baby and feels proud that she has raised Baby to become such an admirable young adult.
That is why Marjorie -- a mother proud of her daughter -- exclaims I think she gets it from me!
True, but I think you need to take into account the fact that the actress was in the original cast of A Chorus Line as Sheila and can, in fact, really dance. It may not make much sense in the context of the movie, but may have been thrown in as a little aside for the people who know the actress' career.
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