Dirty Dancing (1987) Review

Title: Dirty Dancing

Year: 1987

Director: Emile Ardelino

Country: US

Language: English

The Rev (Rev. Rachel Twigg) wrote about her recent rewatch of Dirty Dancing (1987) in her latest blog post (click HERE to read the post) comparing Baby's uncertainty to being a minister during the pandemic. Upon deciding which film to review next my spouse realized, "Hey! You haven't reviewed Dirty Dancing yet!" So therefore this is my official review of the 80's classic. 

Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze)

The Rev begins her post by mentioning the taboo nature of the film; "we didn’t want anyone to know we were watching it." When I was an adolescent Dirty Dancing was forbidden to view in the house. The dirtiest VHS I could find was Titanic (1997) I had to wait until my late teens to watch it and, well, even though men aren't supposed to admit they liked this film (we are programmed to say "Footloose is better ya know!") I actually liked it a lot!  It's a marvelous blend of the, perhaps unintentionally, corny & the serious. 

"I've had the time of my liiiiife" Dirty Dancing, thanks to the remarkable casting of Grey and Swayze, oozes of charm & chemistry. I've had to fan myself down a few times. Phew! The soundtrack, which sold 32 million copies and is one of the best selling soundtracks of all time, contains both original music made for the film ("I've had the time of my life") & some previously composed ("Love is strange") It is a great mix of 60's rock & 80's ballads.  

Beautifully filmed and excellently choreographed, Dirty Dancing is an enjoyable film that men should appreciate more. Though some of the film is fairly dated in 2020 (I could do with better dialogue) & can come off as a little cheesy, it is hard to deny the cultural impact this film had on North American cinema. More musicals like this please! *glares at Cats (2019)