The Recipe For How To Make "Dirty Dancing!"

Rating: Null/10 (26 August 2007)

Admittedly, there is a finite number of truly original plot concepts. After awhile, active filmgoers may begin to have the feeling that they have seen what they are watching before.
That feeling is not misplaced. "Dirty Dancing" is a good example of the "quilt" principle of storytelling in film. If you borrow enough good ideas from various sources and repackage them cleverly and slightly, some---perhaps many---people may be seduced by the sheer entertainment value of what they are taking in to ignore the fact that it's been done before-----usually better.
"Dirty Dancing" is a "quilt" film. It incorporates varying quantities of ingredients from such primary film sources as "Pygmalion," "Saturday Night Fever," "Forty Second Street," and even a little bit of "Abie's Irish Rose" (in reverse). As for all the misundertandings that help to propel the plot-----go no further than the inspired Astaire-Rogers RKO series of the 1930s. For adults who are out of touch with the younger generation, add a generous dash of "Rebel Without a Cause." And for the big "let's put on a show" finale, throw in a few shakes from the Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland films at M-G-M in the 1940s.
Altogether, "Dirty Dancing" is a film about which it can be said that everything may appear to be new----but nothing is really new.
For those who enjoy it-----sorry to rain on your parade. A quilt works better on a bed.