Dirty Dancing

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2017)

Add this to the file of films I didn't think I would like nearly as much as I did. Wow, I couldn't have been more wrong Dirty Dancing. Emile Ardolino directed the 1987 classic starring Jennifer Grey and the late Patrick Swayze. The film centered around a sheltered daughter and the life-changing summer her family spends at the Catskills resort in 1963. What I had written off as "just another '80's romance" was actually a wonderful coming-of-age story of a girl discovering how the world exists outside of her privileged upbringing.
Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) a daddy's girl from a privileged family has already surprised her family by announcing that she is to join the Peace Corps at the end of the summer. She had been expected to go college and marry a doctor, the same profession as her father and establish a financially secure life for herself. One night, however, a chance meeting changes her destiny. All baby thought she was doing was carrying a watermelon to a staff dance party when she first lays eyes on Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) the chiseled dance instructor of the resort. Johny knows no privilege, and unlike Baby, has had to struggle his whole life. His life is nearing a downward spiral since his dance partner has become pregnant and unable to get the money or the healthcare access to an abortion. Wanting to help a distressed woman and find a way into Johnny's heart, Baby lies to her father about the purpose and is given the money Johnny's dance partner uses to obtain her abortion. She then fills in as Johnny's dance partner in order to save his spot on the roster. As the two spend more and more hours together they fall in love and Baby is stuck between her family's expectations and her own romantic interests. As her father begins to find out what Baby has been up to and how he has been used in the scheme, her relationships with everyone are tested and she must decide how to mend them, and which to attempt to save first.
Dirty Dancing begins with an opening narration, and I am an absolute sucker for a well-executed narration. The narration was used well and effective in providing a bit of background info into the background Baby had enjoyed all of her life. Throughout the film, it felt a bit like I was watching Double Indemnity with all the Baby's, so I only wish Baby had earned a different nickname; although, I suppose the iconic line "Nobody puts sweetie in a corner" would have had the same effect. The dancing was engaging, and not as annoying of a storyline as I presumed it would be. I thought it was going to be a tired "spends a lot of time together so they fall in love" kind of romances, but the added layers of the upbringing struggles was an engaging aspect. Patrick Swayze's performance was riveting, I haven't seen much, if any, of his acting roles so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with both his acting and dancing skills. Jennifer Grey nailed the dancing angle but came off a bit wooden throughout her non-dancing scenes. The supporting cast was wonderful, as well; I mean, has Jerry Orbach ever been less than stellar in a role he has taken on? Dirty Dancing proved my expectation of "just another 80's romance" wrong, I can assure you of that as I stand in line at Target waiting to buy a copy of the film.