Each Dance is The Time of My Life

Rating: 10/10 (6 February 2011)

Despite my high rating (5/5 Stars) for Dirty Dancing, I admit: it's a guilty pleasure.
Sure it's not perfect. Sure, some lines could be considered "clichéd" and the movie's not that unpredictable. But, it's my life. Literally.
No, no one calls me baby, or puts me in a corner – I do that very well on my own. But, I grew up on this flick after my sister, who was the world to me growing up, introduced it to me. Since then, I've probably seen this roughly 34 times. And each timeit gets me.
The songs – oh, God, the fantastic soundtrack, the love – proved very well by the wonderful acting of Jennifer Grey as Baby, and the comedy – I still laugh at the jokes, comedic scenes and the silliness portrayed by the boss's son, Neil (Lonny Price) and Baby's sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker.)
In my traveled opinion, this movie is an absolute timeless classic. No copy, including the (still unseen by me prequel) can touch it or move me like this movie does. And even the by-a-mile foreseen finale lifts me each time. Yeah, even with what some (not me) would consider the corny line to get Baby onto the stage and away from the judgmental father, Jake (Jerry Orbach.)
Setting the movie back in the 1960s was clever. For one, it was a good way to make this movie timeless to avoid the typical 80s haircuts, outfits and attitudes. Also, it got to introduce black-jacketed Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a (fairly decent) character. A new "Fonzi" (Henry Winkler in Happy Days) or "Danny Zuko" (John Travolta in Grease), if you will.
Daddy's little girl (Baby) gets a little too curious at a summer retreat when she gets bored and meets the dance crew of the resort. All but immediately, "Miss Fixit" gets involved in trying to help Johnny's (the dreamboat of her affection) dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), with getting an abortion. With a little hesitation, Penny accepts the help (cash from big daddy's wallet) but this sets off a chain of events.
Number one: inexperienced dancer Baby must replace Penny in a gig at a local hotel – enter in dance-instructor Johnny and let the sparks fly. Number two: the abortion from the backdoor doc nearly kills Penny and Daddy must intervene when he originally didn't know where his money went. And number three: Though Baby did nothing officially wrong, Daddy's trust in his #1 child (shhh, don't tell the idiot sister) has been waned.
Will Baby set things right with Daddy? Will Baby grow up to be with Johnny? You'll just have to tune inas if you haven't seen this movie before. If you ever wanted to, you have, at least a dozen times. Or if you're the football lovin', macho male who despises "chick-flicks" you really should put down your guard and see this one of a kind film.
One of a kind is right. Aside from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the more recent Dancing with the Stars, you can only really enjoy Jennifer Grey here. Her acting was spot on. Her subtle glances have me rolling, but deeper, they're very true to her character. It's what a lot of us go through.
And too bad for two of the leads who are no longer with us. The extremely kind-hearted Patrick Swayze was very good for his roll, not to mention danced awesome (with a little help from the equally impressive Cynthia Rhodes.) Also, Jerry Orbach was perfect for what he needed to be as Baby's daddy.
While the rest of the cast was great for comic relief or additional (and superb) dancing, the cinematography was wonderful, the editing great and as already mentioned: it had one of my favorite soundtracks. One song in particular – She's Like the Wind was sung (and (co-)written!) professionally and beautifully by none other than Mr. Swayze, himself. The music was so abundant and fantastic, they needed to add a "More Dirty Dancing" soundtrack. Though, not as great as the original, it's a certainly necessary addition to any fan's collection.
This movie should also be featured on the AMC's Movies That Shook the World collection/TV series. For, it had its share of controversy – Ooohhhthey really are DIRTY dancingPER SHAME! and check out Baby's age in comparison to Johnny's. Also, it spawned a completely unnecessary prequel – again, I haven't seen, so I will try to keep my judgment out of it. However that turns out, this is a heartwarming and complete story. No need to go expand or see what happened beforehand. And finally, it should be labeled as influential for the spinoffs (as most movies don't get that far): the short-lived TV series and the stage version. If I remember correctly, they once toured here, in Phoenix, for the AZ State Fair in the 1980s.
Dirty Dancing is a must see. Period. It won't change the Earth, it won't cure cancer and it's certainly a "leave your brain at the door"/guilty-pleasure film. But for film lovers, true movie connoisseurs, you have to watch all types of films and this 1980s classic absolutely should be on your list.