This was schmaltzy but decent and could have been a lot worse. Normally I run from this sort of film like the plague but Patrick Swayze's recent death and me greatly enjoying 'Point Break' recently made me want to check out another one of his finest roles ('Ghost' and 'Road House' will have to wait, methinks.). When I got my first DJ-ing job, working the night shift at the now-defunct K-102 FM in Woodstock as a teenager, I often received calls asking for any of the three hit songs from its stellar and nostalgia-wringing soundtrack: Eric Carmen's 'Hungry Eyes', Swayze's own 'She's Like the Wind' or the Oscar-winning 'The Time of My Life' by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. It was interesting now, almost three decades later, finally seeing the music I had played on the airwaves eon before now shown in some sort of cinematic context.

It was OK to see as a tribute to Swayze's craft (he was trained in classic ballet as well as in acting) but I'm left with no interest whatsoever in either the sequel or remake, unless as a special gift for my lady, Tammy.

Entertaining hit with lush Appalachian locations, but the writing doesn't respect the intelligence of the viewer

RELEASED IN 1987 and directed by Emile Ardolino, "Dirty Dancing" stars Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle, a working-class dance instructor at a mountain resort in the Catskills in 1963. Jennifer Grey costars as "Baby," the 17-year-old daughter of an affluent Jewish doctor vacationing at the resort. She takes the place of Johnny's dance partner after his partner gets pregnant, albeit not by Johnny. Baby naturally develops a crush.

This was the hit romantic drama of 1987, but it actually didn’t make as much at the domestic box office compared to the other two dance flicks of the 80s: “Flashdance” (1983) made $95 million and “Footloose” (1984) $80 million while “Dirty Dancing” brought it $64 million. The two main cast members are a highlight. Swayze was in his prime and Jennifer Grey cute & nimble, like a fawn. In reality Grey was 26 years-old during filming, although she passes for late teens pretty well. Swayze, however, was 34 and looked it, albeit trim and fit.

The lush Appalachian locations are outstanding and the story keeps your attention but you'll roll your eyes at the idiotic misunderstanding where Baby's father assumes Johnny's the one who got his partner pregnant and, for some strange reason, no one sets him straight. Not to mention, the characters always say the wrong thing at the wrong time, which perpetuates the misunderstanding. Also, the sexual union of Johnny & Baby is both premature and unbelievable in light of the time period, Baby's age (17 years-old) and her upbringing. Frankie Avalon was once asked about his early 60’s "Beach" movies if the male-female relationships were as "squeaky clean" as portrayed and he answered (paraphrasing): "As a teen back then 'going all the way' wasn't even considered an option." The obvious exception would be disreputable kids from the "other side of the tracks."

Moreover, the fact that Johnny is having sex with the doctor's daughter, a minor at that, can't win any points in his favor. Hence, even without the misunderstanding there's little reason for the father to warm up to Johnny. So why does the doctor show respect for Johnny at the end, a dude who's fornicating with his under-aged daughter and is clearly much older than her as well, although it could be argued that he’s naïve and doesn’t necessarily know they’re having sex already. Flaws like these smack of lazy writing and are offensive to anyone with an ounce of intelligence.

If you can look past these problems, however, the film is entertaining. The dance sequences shown in the staff area are akin to vertical sex with clothes on. I guess that's why it's called "Dirty Dancing," huh? Yet this is another flaw of the movie: these scenes are so amped-up and choreographed they shout to the viewer via megaphone: "This is A MOVIE; it's NOT REAL." Nonetheless, Grey's a cutie, Swayze's The Man and the beautiful Appalachian locations are a highlight, filmed at Mountain Lake Resort, Pembroke, Virginia, and Lake Lure, NC.

THE FILM RUNS 1 hour, 45 minutes. WRITER: Eleanor Bergstein.

GRADE: B-/C+

this is a nice romantic movie and quite a radical movie if you think about it…

1) an illegal abortion, and help to do so without question of if Penny was making the right decision/who/why. Controversial now but even more so at the time

2) when Baby finds out Penny was with Johnny previously, she doesn’t question this or get jealous. she trusts their friendship. Unlike most tropes, there’s no rivalry between the two, she is able to take Penny's criticism and grow, and Penny was able to lean on Baby.

3) Baby likes Johnny and the movie does not criticize this. She is the first to make moves towards him. After they sleep together, she gains more confidence in herself and he respects her as a woman asking what her real name is.


4) When Johnny compliments Baby he talks about her traits, rather than her physical beauty. They both think another is better than the other person seeing traits in each other that the other didn't see, ultimately bringing out their own strengths.
The love story between Baby and Johnny has equal growth between their characters as they help each other. And at the end it's not a "love above everything else for no reason happy ending" story...before the final dance scene, they said goodbye as tho they learned what they did from another when the characters had to part ways with the end of the trip/Johnny being fired.

5) Healthy masculine character traits. Aside from what’s mentioned above, Johnny was there for Penny platonically with no romantic agenda and had respect for both Penny and Baby. The movie showcases Johnny coming into his own. It also shows men crying, when Johnny is sharing with Baby he is seen as less than from the staff and guests, Being nothing but the entertainment both on the dance floor and in the bedroom and taken advantage of. Another scene of Babys father crying when Babys confronts him (and ultimately him admitting he was wrong at the end shaking hands with Johnny).

6) Baby gains confidence through dancing and liking another man other than her father. She also moves from sympathy to empathy when she realizes money class differences and steps up to take Penny's place in the dance number and learn the steps. She stands up for the truth that Jonny didn't steal, which her character wouldn't have done at the beginning of the movie.

Ultimately a coming-of-age story with transformation of Baby’s character, with other background themes

A pretty simplistic film with a plot that's more of an excuse to show dance scenes and an extremely surface level handling of the issues of gender and class that it raises, but it's pretty cute and also I'm bisexual so I like it anyway.

An ok movie. A lot of cheesy parts that I didn't like. I did like the dancing and the love story. I guess it was better at that time.