A "one hit wonder" for Vestron! Great soundtrack as well!

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2015)

It launched a small studio (Vestron) that never had another hit movie or hit TV show! In spite of it's unusual (yes, semi-biographical) story, It succeeds entirely on it's music, dancing, and the strong animal chemistry between Patrick and Jennifer. "Baby's" dancing is slightly amateurish on purpose. She is not supposed to be a pro. The sub-plots are both inane and accurate. There was such a summer-hotel in the Catskills, and it was a Jewish Resort because Jews were forbidden in many places, even hotels. Nobody cares about Patrick's original partner being "knocked-up" except it was the reason for the movie! Jack Weston is totally annoying as the owner-operator of the place. The cynicism of the whole set-up rings true. There is only "Dirty Dancing" in one scene at a dance party. You can see Jennifers' undies in the "simulated sex" scene. What a wonderful title for a relatively "tame" movie by today's standards! As portrayed, the staff was certainly underpaid, lived in tents or cheap housing, and thought the guests were pompous and "Rubes". The movie only takes-off during the dancing, so it was always like "Grease" in the mis-guided critic's minds. Even the "cheap sets" work, and the old hotel used was real; slightly run-down and in decline. So ABC is going to remake it? Why? It's a great movie, in spite of itself. A lot of humor. The talentless older sister. The senior citizen pickpockets. It's one-of-a-kind and I dare to put it in the same class as "The Music Man" and the original versions of "Footloose" and "Grease". The 2017 remake was a great disappointment.