Product: Dirty Dancing (1987)
Rating: 5.0
Sweetest love story of the century
There've been some great ones, but to me, nothing can surpass "Dirty Dancing" as the sweetest love story of the century. The theme is age-old, a depiction of a maturing college-bound young woman, Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey), who falls seriously in love with her dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). So, what makes this film so different?First released in the eighties, I loved it, but didn't fully appreciate what Grey had gone through to pull it off. Professional dancers, instructors, recently told me that at the start of film production, she was a good dancer --- but that's all. However, through intensive daily training and mind numbing determination, she became, in a matter of months, a world class dancer --- a near impossibility.It's Grey's personal attributes that come shining through as Baby depicts a beginner who has exactly one week to master the elusive Mambo. The scenes, some hilariously funny, others poignant and touching, are accurate and wonderfully portrayed. I mean, it's not just the script that makes a great film: where would Casablanca be without Bogart ---- or The African Queen without Hepburn?You can't help falling in love with Baby, she's so fresh, so vivacious, and, in the finale, dances so beautifully that your heart is captured forever. Everyone I've met who's seen the film loves it and all own both the DVD and the CD soundtracks.If you haven't seen it, do so now --- you won't regret it. It's a film you'll watch over and over, one love story that will never grow old. (DVD)