Films Of The 80's: Dirty Dancing

Rating: 10/10 (12 August 2007)

Dirty Dancing (1987): Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Kelly Bishop, Jack Weston, Jane Brucker, Lonny Price, Bruce Morrow, Max Cantor, Wayne Knight, Charles Honi Coles, Neal Jones,Paula Trueman, Alvin Myerovich, Miranda Garrison, Garry Goodrow, Thomas Cannold, Heather Lea Gerdes, Karen Getz, Dorian Sanchez, Tom Drake, John Gotz, Karen Kaster...Director Emile Ardolino...Screenplay Eleanor Bergstein.
What was the appeal in "Dirty Dancing" ? It was a popular and successful film when released in 1987, it made Patrick Swayze a star and the music for the film had young Americans doing their own "dirty dancing". The films of the mid to late 80's, much like TV programs, had "pop culture" written all over it. At first glance, Dirty Dancing appears to be like that. The soundtrack contains not only familiar and beloved oldies but 80's music, namely the theme song/duet "Now I've Had The Time Of My Life". But upon closer inspection of the film, one comes to realize it's a sort of American movie classic, a love story, a coming-of-age story and overall a terrific film the kind that just isn't made anymore. The film just turned 20 years old. Directed by Emile Ardolino and written by a woman (Eleanor Bergstein), "Dirty Dancing" is set in the summer of 1963. Born-to-money Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is the plain, timid daughter of a wealthy Doctor and his wife who are vacationing in the Catskill Mountains, New York. By chance, she comes upon a "forbidden" dance club where a new, bold style of dancing has been invented. It's lusty, provocative and strongly sexual (thrusting hips, sexual simulations). Before long, Baby is lured into the dance and rebels against her parents and her well-brought-up ways. Trained by star dancer Johnny Castle (Swayze) she becomes his dance partner and dives into the world of competitive dancing. This leads to a series of incidents that ultimately shapes Baby into an entirely different woman. At the start of the film, Baby is plain and lacks confidence. Much like in "Grease" (another film likened to this one and also this was said to be the "Saturday Night Fever" of the 1980's) she blossoms into a beauty and becomes more assertive. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze carry the film with their chemistry, not only on the dance floor, but as actors. We are swept away in their passionate romance. In those days, couples on screen had to wait for a prolonged amount of time in which build-up is made before sexual intercourse took place, unlike today's tawdry films that have the couples doing it five seconds after meeting. The others in the cast hold their own. Jerry Orbach, no stranger to dance and song himself as a Broadway actor (in 1991 he portrayed Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast) as Doctor Houseman is a strong performance, a perfect foil to Swayze. The doctor is bourgeois, stuck-up, elitist and old fashioned. Other elements that make this a fine movie is the gorgeous locations - the Virginia countryside, where within sedate communities, youth of the early 60's begin the counter-culture. This is only partly true to real life at that time. While dancing was a form of expression and certain dances were a little risqué, the extremities of the dancing in this film are more at home in the 1980's dance clubs and make this film seem very anachronistic. The hairstyles, clothing/costumes and attitudes are too 1980's to be convincingly set in the last "innocence" summer before J.F.K. was shot and the wildness of the 60's set in. The setting only served to enhance the coming-of-age story. Baby loses her innocence and is no longer "Baby" but a grown woman who can think for herself. Cinematography is by Jeff Lur and it is a wonderful-looking film, whether we are seeing a dance in progress or a lake in the moonlight. This movie put Patrick Swayze on the map. He had done many films by this time but his true celebrity came from this film. He is an expert dancer (and more so at the time of this film) having studied jazz dance, modern dance and even ballet (Mikhail Borishnakoff was a friend of his). A Hollywood hottie at the time, his fame has waned somewhat nowadays but his acting powers have proved to be versatile over the years. He would make a cameo for the sequel to this film "Dirty Dancing Havanah Nights" as a dance instructor. This film is a classic of American cinema, a look back at the 1980's dance scene, a love story and a feel-good movie. It may be too long for some people's tastes but that only adds a quality of seriousness to the film. Highly recommended as a date movie, a movie you can watch with a romantic partner or spouse.