Product: Dirty Dancing (1987)
Rating: 5.0
Fascinating snapshot of people and times on verge of change
I can watch this movie again and again, and not only because the dancing is wonderful and sexy, but because it bravely tackles many difficult issues, from family relations to abortion to class differences to (unspoken) racial and religious issues. I watched this movie with a friend who vacationed in the Catskills (those were the only resorts that allowed Jews) when she was little. She said the movie brought back many memories for her--it caught the atmosphere of that time very well. There are unspoken racial issues, too, as the band leader was black (and the music, Cuban and black).I even watched it with my boyfriend, who attended Cornell University and instantly picked up on the guy who attended Cornell's hotel school! ("We used to look down on those guys," he said.) So, so much in this movie. The relationship between the father and daughters alone has more to it than most films. The elder, obnoxious daughter is usually overlooked, but she is so well acted.I am thrilled that the DVD has extras. This movie has much to teach us, still.