Swoony-eyed boy-girl stuff, aided by the musical uplift...

Rating: 6/10 (19 March 2008)

Although set in 1963, the popular, music-driven "Dirty Dancing" is betrayed by its false sense of nostalgia; rarely have I seen a movie which looked so unlike what it was allegedly about. However, anachronisms aside, the casting of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey pays off: these two definitely have the charisma the story requires, and their union is nearly credible. Plot has a gawky young woman vacationing in the Catskills with her parents, learning to loosen up with help from a slightly-older man who works as a professional dancer. Two silly subplots, one about an unwanted pregnancy and the other involving a stolen wallet, just about render the melodramatics inherent in the scenario utterly superfluous. Who cares about some guy's wallet? It just chews up time until the inevitable finale--an enthusiastic, celebratory climax--and that's where the picture cannot go wrong. **1/2 from ****