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I watched 'Dirty Dancing' for the first time and I have more questions than answers

The movie is BAD, why is it considered a classic? Is it a camp classic? The plot has the maturity and depth of a 3rd grader, the dialogues are atrocious, the acting from Grey, Swayze and Rhodes are AWFUL and, while the final dancing number with the lift is good, the moment when Swayze comes down from the stage to dance in the audience is laugh out loud comical. Swayze's delivery of the ridiculous line "Nobody puts baby in a corner" is unintencionally hilarious.

Why is this movie so loved?

by Anonymousreply 246October 6, 2020 7:05 AM

[quote]Why is this movie so loved?

Only reason I can think of:

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by Anonymousreply 1August 12, 2017 2:53 PM

An in his prime Patrick Swayze could sell ice to the eskimos, that's why. Plus huge soundtrack.

by Anonymousreply 2August 12, 2017 2:55 PM

It is a jewish girl's fairy tale. Good jewish girl gets fucked by good looking goyim. Daddy does not approve. Goyim gets an abortion. Daddy fixes goyim. Jewish girl loses goyim and has clandestine affair. Goyim dances for jewish family and wins the heart of daddy. Jewish girl is happy. END

by Anonymousreply 3August 12, 2017 2:56 PM

See Blow Monkeys "you don't own me".

by Anonymousreply 4August 12, 2017 2:56 PM

Swayze died of AIDS and they covered it up.

by Anonymousreply 5August 12, 2017 3:00 PM

And this answers the OPs questions how R5?

by Anonymousreply 6August 12, 2017 3:02 PM

R5 is a retarded fuckhead. Swayze was straight, married. Had well documented cancer.

by Anonymousreply 7August 12, 2017 3:08 PM

[quote]the ridiculous line "Nobody puts baby in a corner"

Are you new to being gay?

by Anonymousreply 8August 12, 2017 3:39 PM

OP, you forgot the conspiracy theory that this movie actually takes place in the 80s.

by Anonymousreply 9August 12, 2017 4:02 PM

OP is anti-Semite

by Anonymousreply 10August 12, 2017 4:04 PM

My memory is that even back in the 80s we recognized that the movie was silly, but fun. I think the fact that pre-nose job Jennifer Grey was relatable helped a lot. But at this time, if I think about the movie, the only thing I remember is the lift in the last dance.

by Anonymousreply 11August 12, 2017 5:10 PM

You're so right, OP. The remake was far superior.

by Anonymousreply 12August 12, 2017 5:33 PM

This movie was huge in the 80s, the only one my sister went to see multiple times. It was all they talked about at my high school and the seniors even had a Dirty Dancing themed prom.

My mother was enraged that my sister watched it as the priest at her church said it was pornographic. My mother watched the movie 20 years later and was gobsmacked that there was nothing dirty about it.

by Anonymousreply 13August 12, 2017 6:48 PM

The art direction was horrible - very anachronistic clothes and hair.

by Anonymousreply 14August 12, 2017 8:55 PM

Very proud to say I've never seen it and never will.

by Anonymousreply 15August 12, 2017 9:16 PM

I've never seen it either. I do however remember how all the girls in my class cooed over it when I was about 10 in the late 80s. I think it's ultimately successful because it plays into female romantic fantasies. Titanic is similar in this regard.

by Anonymousreply 16August 12, 2017 9:28 PM

Come on . Straight girls loved it. A normal looking girl got to bang a sexy guy and he fell in love with her. Plus it had a pretty good soundtrack .

by Anonymousreply 17August 12, 2017 9:39 PM

The soundtrack's really good. Plus, it's like a giant music video, and those always sell well.

by Anonymousreply 18August 12, 2017 9:46 PM

The movie's any girl's fantasy, plus it's impossible not to tend towards Swayze in this movie.

by Anonymousreply 19August 12, 2017 9:48 PM

The movie was very popular in its day, and people who loved it back then still love it, but that's not exactly the same as it being considered a "classic."

by Anonymousreply 20August 12, 2017 9:53 PM

Flimsy movie, but it had Patrick Swayze and maybe two good songs. It really shouldn't be a classic, but there it is.

Have you seen the Dirty Dancing musical touring the country? If so, you'll sit there and wonder WTF? This is a so-called classic? It's bad, but the climatic dance scene seems to save the show.

by Anonymousreply 21August 12, 2017 9:59 PM

You can stay at the hotel where they filmed a lot of the movie somewhere in Virginia (some parts were filmed in NC). My partner is a big fan and we were going to stay there as a stop on a road trip a couple of years ago, but bad weather forced us to cancel - and I lost out on the $200 I'd paid for the room. Hmph. I don't think I've sat and watched the whole thing from beginning to end myself, which is odd because I saw virtually every movie released in 1987 since I was at a low point (pre-coming out) and escaping to the movies every weekend that year.

by Anonymousreply 22August 12, 2017 10:35 PM

I didn't see it until after the hullabaloo was all over, and I agree, it's a pretty flimsy movie. But it's pure fantasy-fulfilment for many a frau, so let them enjoy it.

by Anonymousreply 23August 12, 2017 10:41 PM

It was a typical bad eighties movie that did well because there was an audience for that kind of crap. "Flashdance" was the same way. Terrible movie, but a big hit nonetheless.

by Anonymousreply 24August 12, 2017 10:45 PM

[quote]I watched 'Dirty Dancing' for the first time and I have more questions than answers

This says so much more about you than it does about the movie OP.

by Anonymousreply 25August 12, 2017 10:55 PM

It was set in the early 60s but Patrick Swayze had a mullet and Jennifer Grey had a big frizzy 80s perm. They clearly had no interest in getting the period setting right.

The theme song "I've Had the Time of My Life" was a cutesy POS but it was an enormous hit - you heard it everywhere for a year or more.

by Anonymousreply 26August 12, 2017 10:59 PM

[quote] It's bad, but the climatic dance scene seems to save the show.

Was it a rain dance?

by Anonymousreply 27August 12, 2017 11:05 PM

"The theme song "I've Had the Time of My Life" was a cutesy POS but it was an enormous hit - you heard it everywhere for a year or more."

Oh, that reminds me....I HATED THAT SONG! And it got played to death. I think it's one of the worst songs of all time.

by Anonymousreply 28August 12, 2017 11:24 PM

Harmless fun.

by Anonymousreply 29August 12, 2017 11:26 PM

[quote]It was set in the early 60s but Patrick Swayze had a mullet and Jennifer Grey had a big frizzy 80s perm.

I first saw this movie in the (late) 90s and that also stood out to me. Did anyone (especially the females) in the movie sport a genuine hairstyle from the early 60s?

by Anonymousreply 30August 12, 2017 11:38 PM

[quote]I HATED THAT SONG! And it got played to death.

Just like with "My Heart Will Go On" in the aftermath of 'Titanic'.

by Anonymousreply 31August 12, 2017 11:40 PM

I thought the scene where they were trying on different wigs was funny cause the wigs looked more 1960's than their own hair.

by Anonymousreply 32August 13, 2017 12:03 AM

It was an ugly girl's wet dream - the hot blonde doesn't get the guy. But Jesus H, we're supposed to believe someone who looks like Patrick Swayze would give a second glance at someone who looks like Jennifer Grey and not have hungry eyes for someone who looks like Cynthia Rhodes?

by Anonymousreply 33August 13, 2017 12:11 AM

Jerry Orbach was good in this, considering what he had to work with.

by Anonymousreply 34August 13, 2017 12:11 AM

I don't think Patrick Swayze is that much hotter than Jennifer Grey. They are pretty equally matched.

DD is one of the few 80s classics I'm comfortable showing to younger females of my acquaintance (nieces etc) as it has such a positive message. Pro-choice, standing up for friends outside your socioeconomic/ethnic group, pro-female sexuality etc. Yes it's definitely camp and anachronistic (which is part of the fun) but it's a powerful film and subversive in many ways.

by Anonymousreply 35August 13, 2017 12:19 AM

Patrick was definitely a dreamboat in those days and Jennifer was an average girl. They were very well cast.

by Anonymousreply 36August 13, 2017 12:21 AM

It was a big hit in the same way the more recent My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a hit.

It wasn't loved by the critics and it wasn't considered 'art,' but it still struck a chord with the public en masse. Cheesy, inoffensive escapism.

by Anonymousreply 37August 13, 2017 12:24 AM

A lot of 80s movies were quite stupid.

by Anonymousreply 38August 13, 2017 12:26 AM

I think Jennifer was pretty. Not in a Barbie doll way, of course.

by Anonymousreply 39August 13, 2017 12:32 AM

[quote] It was a typical bad eighties movie that did well because there was an audience for that kind of crap. "Flashdance" was the same way. Terrible movie, but a big hit nonetheless.

Aughhh the 80s

What can really you say . . .

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by Anonymousreply 40August 13, 2017 12:47 AM

Come to think of it, you're right. It really wasn't very good. But I remember those places up in the Catskills. The colonies and resorts. They captured most of that quite well.

by Anonymousreply 41August 13, 2017 1:06 AM

A nice companion to this film is The Flamingo Kid with still gorgeous Matt Dillon.

by Anonymousreply 42August 13, 2017 2:00 AM

[quote]A lot of 80s movies were quite stupid.

The 80s were quite stupid.

by Anonymousreply 43August 13, 2017 2:07 AM

[quote] the hot blonde doesn't get the guy

I thought she was with some other guy, and not pursuing Patrick Swayze? I saw this movie once (in the actual 80s) so my memory may be flawed.

by Anonymousreply 44August 13, 2017 2:10 AM

I love how this movie is set in 1963 and then the big dance number at the end is right out of 1987!

by Anonymousreply 45August 13, 2017 2:12 AM

[quote]the dialogues are atrocious,

As atrocious as that sentence?

by Anonymousreply 46August 13, 2017 2:12 AM

Was it obvious that Grey and Swayze hated each other?

by Anonymousreply 47August 13, 2017 2:14 AM

[quote]As atrocious as that sentence?

I think I'm doing pretty well, considering I'm an ESL speaker.

by Anonymousreply 48August 13, 2017 5:02 AM

R47, Never heard Grey and Swayze hated each other. Thought they had fab chemistry together.

There was a series of movies in the 80's that took advantage of the fact many of the audience wanted to see someone on screen who was relatable and not your stereotypical blond always portrayed as a bimbo in a bikini. Not speaking only of fat girls but everyone who didn't see themselves as fitting the stereotype even if they were blond and looked fab in anything. The gorgeous blonds knew they'd eventually age out of that super, super narrow ideal so often seen onscreen. Minority women no matter what the ethnicity also welcomed to the changing image of a Hollywood starlet.

When it came time for the TV remake trying to capitalize on the movie's success casting made the crucial mistake of casting a very bland looking WASP with not much of a personality or obvious inner strength for Jennifer Grey's role. The howls from critics and audience alike showed how generally clueless Hollywood was at the time. Jennifer Grey's character in the movie may have had to say silly lines but she didn't come across as a generic secondary character just playing "the girlfriend"role.

by Anonymousreply 49August 13, 2017 6:23 AM

I loved this movie when I was a little girl in the 80s. I've never watched it since.

by Anonymousreply 50August 13, 2017 6:25 AM

SCREW YOU, R28! Each of us got a MANSION out of that song! Ah, HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

by Anonymousreply 51August 13, 2017 6:36 AM

I love Dirty Dancing. I still think it's very entertaining. For a lot of people who saw it in 1987, it conjures up a lot of feel-good nostalgia when they think back to the movie and the soundtrack.

When the film came out in the summer of 1987, it came out at the perfect time. Near the end of summer (just like the film) and it was a surprise hit (especially for Vestron Pictures).

I disagree the acting is bad. I think Grey, Swayze and Rhodes are all very good. Grey is particularly strong and relatable and carries the movie. Swayze's dancing is fantastic, and I'm even more impressed watching him now. When I saw Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land, their dancing was laughable. You could see them counting the steps in their head. Swayze was effortless. And he was sexy. Rhodes was also a dynamic dancer (with a promising acting career before she retired and married Richard Marx and is now divorced).

The opening credits accompanied by The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" are some of my favourite opening credits ever. Whenever I hear the opening bars of Be My Baby, I always think of this movie. In fact, all the music is terrific. Whoever picked the music did a great job because you have everything from Otis Redding to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to The Drifters. The '80s songs blended in seamlessly.

The chemistry between Swayze and Grey was palpable and is one of the reasons why this movie works so well and why it remains popular.

by Anonymousreply 52August 13, 2017 6:36 AM

I saw this movie in the theater when it came out in 1987. Even then I thought Jennifer Grey's frizzy hairstyle looked ridiculously out of place for the early 1960's. I couldn't believe the producers allowed her to keep it for this role. And no matter how hard you may try, there's no way "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (the big song that came from this flick and the song used for the big dance finale at the end) sounds like anything contemporary to the period the movie is set in.

Besides that, I thought the movie was swell.

by Anonymousreply 53August 13, 2017 12:46 PM

R53 agreed. Not every film has to be high art. Enjoyable trifle of a film with a great soundtrack and a nude Swayze getting out of bed. What's not to love?

by Anonymousreply 54August 13, 2017 1:04 PM

Lea Thompson is on record saying that Swayze and Grey HATED each other when they all did Red Dawn, which was two or three years before Dirty Dancing.

by Anonymousreply 55August 13, 2017 1:31 PM

Basically a remake of Marjorie Morningstar from the 50s. Came in the heels of Footloose and Flashdance.

by Anonymousreply 56August 13, 2017 1:39 PM

🎵Just a fool to believe I have anything she needs🎵

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by Anonymousreply 57August 13, 2017 1:41 PM

[quote]The opening credits accompanied by The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" are some of my favourite opening credits ever.

Same here.

[quote]Whenever I hear the opening bars of Be My Baby, I always think of this movie.

Then you've watched it too many times. Or you're young. "Be My Baby" reminds me of itself. I played it constantly in the late summer and fall of 1963, when it came out. My mother eventually forbade me to play it in her presence, as it reminded her too much of the Kennedy assassination.

by Anonymousreply 58August 13, 2017 1:54 PM

Willing suspension of disbelief abounds in this movie. The hardest for me was that Baby was supposed to be 15 or 16 at the time and Jennifer Grey looked to be 30.

by Anonymousreply 59August 13, 2017 2:05 PM

R35 is right, the movie had some sharp social commentary sandwiched in between the cheesy dance numbers, specifically pertaining to class prejudice and the secrecy/shame that used to surround abortion.

A woman in Penny's position, knocked up by an upper-middle-class sleaze bag like Robbie, had NO CHOICE but to go to a 'butcher with a dirty knife' (the movie's words) - that is if she could scrape together the money in the first place.

by Anonymousreply 60August 13, 2017 2:06 PM

R58, people born before 1953 (assuming you were ten when the hit was released) are not necessarily young. They're younger than 64, sure, but that doesn't make someone "young".

by Anonymousreply 61August 13, 2017 2:12 PM

Also, the bit at the end where the camp guests are all singing the 'Kellermans' song and the owner comes on stage singing with his chest puffed out, really gets me for some reason. Such a poignant depiction of a dying tradition in the midst of a culture undergoing complete upheaval.

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by Anonymousreply 62August 13, 2017 2:14 PM

r61, I doubt anyone whose primary "Be My Baby" association is "Dirty Dancing" was born anytime in the 1950s.

by Anonymousreply 63August 13, 2017 2:18 PM

"Be My Baby" always reminds me of the scene in Moonlighting when David and Maddie finally hook up.

by Anonymousreply 64August 13, 2017 2:21 PM

WTF is wrong with you? How can you possibly not enjoy this movie? "It just isn't believable." WTF? Never watch a movie again. You need to restrict your entertainment to events with a live orchestra. You are clearly too sophisticated for cinema.

by Anonymousreply 65August 13, 2017 2:21 PM

LOL only on DL could somebody be called "young" if they don't remember 1963! You could be fucking retired and not even have been born yet!

by Anonymousreply 66August 13, 2017 3:06 PM

I remember seeing the movie American graffiti years after it was released and saying, "Really? That's the movie that was so critically acclaimed and nominated for oscars? Huh?"

Just the fact that it as a nostalgia film gave it extra points for moviegoers who were in the target demographic. Their fondness for a bygone era they lived through was a big part of its success. Other generations don't get that.

by Anonymousreply 67August 13, 2017 3:30 PM

I always hated Baby's ugly cunt sister.

by Anonymousreply 68August 13, 2017 11:25 PM

Article about why this film is important

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by Anonymousreply 69August 13, 2017 11:27 PM

"SCREW YOU, [R28]! Each of us got a MANSION out of that song!SCREW YOU, [R28]! Each of us got a MANSION out of that song! Ah, HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

So what? It's still an incredibly shitty song. One of the shittiest songs of all time. Ah, HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

by Anonymousreply 70August 13, 2017 11:50 PM

I guess this belongs in the misunderstood lyrics thread, but for a while I thought the lyrics was "With my body in sauce, I want you more than you'll ever know." I know it didn't any sense, but this was the 80s. I can't tell you how many lyrics I've misunderstood. I still can't live down "Angus cookin' in the city heat" from Patti LaBelle's "Stir It Up"

by Anonymousreply 71August 14, 2017 1:38 AM

Another steaming turd of a song from that soundtrack was "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen, which was also played incessantly for months and months.

Patrick Swayze's "She's like the Wind" wasn't a great song, but it sounded pretty good compared to the other two.

by Anonymousreply 72August 14, 2017 1:53 AM

I have owned this film in every format: VHS, laserdisc, DVD, Blu-ray.

Plus the soundtracks on cassette and CD. Originally there were two soundtrack on cassette, but they were combined for the "Ultimate Dirty Dancing" soundtrack.

by Anonymousreply 73August 14, 2017 2:16 AM

I was on the fucking soundtrack too!

by Anonymousreply 74August 14, 2017 2:55 AM

r74 Yes is such a bop! Definitely deserved to chart as high as Hungry Eyes and She's Like the Wind.

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by Anonymousreply 75August 14, 2017 3:01 AM

Exactly, R55. They hated each other. Even when Grey talks about Swayze and their chemistry she says things like:

[quote]Jennifer: I did Red Dawn with him before, but no, I didn't (know we had chemistry) I was cast before he was. He came in [to test] along with a bunch of other guys. I didn't think we had chemistry. But you either do or you don't. It's a weird thing, though. It doesn't have to do with whether you like someone or not. It's just you either have it or you don't.

She's basically being subtle in saying she didn't like him.

by Anonymousreply 76August 14, 2017 3:07 AM

Yikes! Merry was in a car accident a few years ago and had both her legs amputated at the knee.

by Anonymousreply 77August 14, 2017 3:08 AM

I've never seen this movie, but I kind of want to see it now. All this trash talk makes me think it's probably a fun movie. A lot of DLERS don't like anything that isn't pretentious are house crap

by Anonymousreply 78August 14, 2017 3:29 AM

r78, the movie really is a piece of shit, we're not lying about that.

by Anonymousreply 79August 14, 2017 3:36 AM

OP, it was ALWAYS a very corny, shitty, eye-roll of a film.

I was in my early 20s and thought it sucked, then right on cue it becomes a cultural touchstone!

Doesn't mean it isn't still laughably bad!

by Anonymousreply 80August 14, 2017 4:18 AM

r78, it can be a fun movie but it's also very campy.

Some of the dialogue lol

by Anonymousreply 81August 14, 2017 4:21 AM

I loved it back then,but being young and still believing in love probably had a lot to do with it. Saw it a few years ago and couldnt believe I ever thought it was all that. Why did places like Kellermans die off ? A lovely resort in the Catskills should still be viable today,sounds like conservatives dream.

by Anonymousreply 82August 14, 2017 4:34 AM

[quote]My mother was enraged that my sister watched it as the priest at her church said it was pornographic. My mother watched the movie 20 years later and was gobsmacked that there was nothing dirty about it.

The priest didn't disapprove because it was porn. The church no doubt denounced the film because of the abortion sub-plot.

by Anonymousreply 83August 14, 2017 8:50 AM

Or even the title, R83 "Dirty Dancing" - I remember that sticking out. It wasn't like today with "fuck" and The Game of Thrones on TV and the internet.

by Anonymousreply 84August 14, 2017 11:05 AM

r7 A website, the A-list, which had credible gossip, wrote of Swayze he is an FOD and a scientologist, for legal reasons they used that term, which means Friend of Dorothy. But of course the truth about celebs destroys your media stories.

by Anonymousreply 85August 14, 2017 11:50 AM

The director did other entertaining movies like Bette's Gypsy, Sister Act, and Three Men and a Baby. I believe he died of AIDS after Gypsy.

by Anonymousreply 86August 14, 2017 12:42 PM

R86 Three Men And A Baby was directed by Leonard Nimoy.

by Anonymousreply 87August 14, 2017 12:45 PM

Older sister Lisa had the best song in the whole movie...

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by Anonymousreply 88August 14, 2017 12:58 PM

Oops. You are right Emile did the sequel.

by Anonymousreply 89August 14, 2017 1:07 PM

Whoever said Swayze died of AIDS is an idiot. Swayze was a chain-smoking alcoholic who died from pancreatic cancer.

by Anonymousreply 90August 14, 2017 2:05 PM

I wonder what drove him to alcoholism

by Anonymousreply 91August 14, 2017 3:00 PM

His wife?

by Anonymousreply 92August 14, 2017 4:36 PM

Dancing dirty?

by Anonymousreply 93August 14, 2017 4:38 PM

Pauline Kael summed it up best: "Great title".

She actually liked it and she's right. It doesn't pretend to be about more than it is. The original "Hairspray" was far more cool but made far less money. "DD" was made for the masses (and then its distributor inexplicably went out of business soon after).

by Anonymousreply 94August 14, 2017 4:40 PM

It was as if Baby's dream/fantasy came to life.

From Johnny 'needing' her to dance with while Penny recovered to the end where Johnny lifts her up in the air to her father apologizing to Johnny, Baby lived out a fantasy that summer.

That's why the film was a hit.

by Anonymousreply 95August 14, 2017 4:44 PM

A No Dick Chick Flick.

by Anonymousreply 96August 14, 2017 4:50 PM

I read that while Grey and Swayze did not get along when they did "Red Dawn", when they were cast as the leads in "Dirty Dancing", they got together and decided to put aside their differences because they both wanted the movie to work.

I did read that the film clips of Swayze trying to teach Grey "the lift" while they were standing in the lake were real failed attempts that were then added to the film. Swayze's frustration, particularly when Grey laughs, in those scenes was supposedly real.

by Anonymousreply 97August 14, 2017 5:08 PM

"The director did other entertaining movies like Bette's Gypsy, Sister Act, and Three Men and a Baby. I believe he died of AIDS after Gypsy."

You call those "entertaining movies?" They were all schlock. Bad movies that did well, because some people just like bad movies. That tv version of Gypsy with Bette Midler sucked. Bette MIdler as the mother of Cynthia Gibb? That made it a science fiction movie. And Midler's version of Mama Rose was pitiful, because not for one moment did she seem like anything but Bette Midler. Bette Midler, not Mama Rose.

by Anonymousreply 98August 14, 2017 5:59 PM

As others have said, Dirty Dancing was a hit because it was a wish-fulfillment movie for plain girls. The homely girl with a big nose and horrible hair gets the hot, gorgeous man (a guy who would never look at her twice in real life). That's why it was such a huge movie.

by Anonymousreply 99August 14, 2017 7:18 PM

[quote]That made it a science fiction movie.

LMFAO

The water scenes were filmed in Lure Lake, NC. It's beautiful there. Thought I'd move there until other friends who live in Asheville told me Lure Lake is a redneck paradise.

by Anonymousreply 100August 14, 2017 7:46 PM

[quote]As others have said, Dirty Dancing was a hit because it was a wish-fulfillment movie for plain girls. The homely girl with a big nose and horrible hair gets the hot, gorgeous man (a guy who would never look at her twice in real life). That's why it was such a huge movie.

Yup, and I am the 2.O version of the same ridiculous fantasy on steroids.

by Anonymousreply 101August 14, 2017 9:18 PM

There is no accounting for taste..the movie was awful, not even campy enough to be a camp classic. Patrick Swayze looked good...that was about it to see it once, no more

by Anonymousreply 102August 14, 2017 9:24 PM

Swayze always looked like he smelled some foul odor to me. Especially in this film. (Jen's old nose maybe?)

by Anonymousreply 103August 14, 2017 10:31 PM

People who don't "get" this movie are clueless and snobby and don't really understand movie magic.

Sometimes the whole is bigger than the parts.

Dirty Dancing had: *blazing chemistry in its leads

*some excellent dancing

*kick ass soundtrack

*a specific, non-generic, beautiful setting with colorful details

*terrific supporting characters (and actors to play them)--from the Dad, to the owner's nebbishy son to the other guests.

*a sexy (yes, fantasy-filled) love story

*drama through social and socioeconomic issues

*story arcs for several characters that include real changes in their life or point of view

*a happy ending

And, yes, it also had some crazy, corny dialogue (do I even need to give the biggest example?) a bunch of anachronisms, some wtf? acting (the sister?!) and a central-casting villain...but it overcomes it all and adds up to a thoroughly charming, engrossing movie that stands the test of time.

by Anonymousreply 104August 14, 2017 11:17 PM

1/24. Patrick Swayze had to convince Jennifer Grey to be in this film, because she had disliked him so much while filming Red Dawn (1984).

2/24. The very famous scene where Johnny and Baby crawl towards each other wasn't supposed to be part of the film. They were just messing around, but the director liked it so much he kept it in the film.

3/24. In the scene where Johnny and Baby are practicing dancing, and she keeps laughing when he runs his arm down hers, it was not part of the scene; she was actually laughing. His frustration was genuine.

4/24. During the iconic "lake scene", there are no close ups. It was so cold, the actors' lips turned blue.

5/24. Patrick Swayze was offered six million dollars to reprise his role as Johnny for a Dirty Dancing sequel. Swayze wasn't a fan of sequels and turned it down.

6/24. Jennifer Grey, at 27, was 10 years older than the character of Baby. During her audition, she had 5 minutes to prove she could play younger.

7/24. The dancing that Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey do during the love scene was actually the same dance that they did for the screen tests. It was not originally supposed to be in the film.

8/24. During the scene where Baby and Johnny are dancing in the woods and later in the water - since that part of the movie was shot in October, all the leaves on the trees had started changing colors - the trees all around the lake and for that scene were spray-painted green due to make it look like summer. If you look closely during that scene in the woods, you can see leaves falling off the trees.

"Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you." -Baby, Dirty Dancing

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by Anonymousreply 105August 15, 2017 12:59 AM

9/24. According to a December 2008 interview with Dirty Dancing (1987) screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, the characters of Baby and Johnny were both influenced by Bergstein's own biography.

10/24. In 1975, Jennifer Grey's father, Joel Grey, starred in a very short-lived Broadway musical, Goodtime Charley, about the son of Charlemegne. One of the ensemble dancers? Patrick Swayze.

11/24. Throughout the film, Johnny and Baby always wear contrasting colors: Baby wears very light colors, and Johnny wears black or something very dark.

12/24. The song "She's Like The Wind" was co-written by Patrick Swayze with Stacy Widelitzand, sung by Patrick Swayze.

13/24. Lynn Lipton, the actress originally cast as Marjorie Houseman (Baby's mother) was replaced with Kelly Bishop, who had originally been cast as Vivian Pressman (the "Bungalow Bunny"). Left without an actress to play Vivian, the producers cast Miranda Garrison, the film's assistant choreographer, in that role.

14/24. The film was re-released in 1997 due to a petition led by Conan O'Brien in which he asked viewers to send letters calling for the film's re-release. O'Brien later joked that he actually didn't like the movie that much.

15/24. The book that Robbie tries to lend to Baby as an explanation for his refusal to help Penny is 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. Rand was the creator of a philosophy called Objectivism, which holds (among other beliefs) that it is more important for a person to be concerned with his or her own well-being rather than to try to help others. Some of her adherents (including, apparently, Robbie) interpret her books as justification for selfish and self-serving behavior and the disavowal of responsibility to others.

16/24. At the beginning of the film, it is said that Baby will attend Mount Holyoke College in the fall. Her namesake, Frances Perkins, was a graduate of Mount Holyoke, Class of 1902.

"Oh, come on, ladies. God wouldn't have given you maracas if He didn't want you to shake 'em!"

by Anonymousreply 106August 15, 2017 1:01 AM

17/24. Val Kilmer was initially offered the lead but declined.

18/24. The love scene between Johnny and Baby during the "Cry to Me" sequence that was cut from the film is featured on the 20th anniversary DVD release in 2007.

19/24. Max Cantor played the role of Robbie Gould in the film. Max was the son of Broadway producer Arthur Cantor. They lived in the Dakota Apartments on West 72nd in NYC with John Lennon and other residents. Max attended Harvard University and died of a heroin overdose at the age of 32.

20/24. The "Cry to Me" love scene was voted "One of the sexiest movie moments in cinematic history".

21/24. Patrick Swayze insisted on doing his own stunts for "Dirty Dancing". During the log scene he kept on falling off of the log and injured his knee so badly he had to have fluid drained from the swelling.

22/24. When Patrick Swayze's character, Johnny Castle is dancing with Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), she is wearing a custom made red dress that crisscrossed in the back. Patrick kept getting his fingers stuck.

23/24. Billy Zane told TMZ that he and Sarah Jessica Parker had auditioned for the leads.

24. Jane Brucker who played Baby's older sister Lisa co-wrote the song "Hula Hana", but she didn't receive credit for writing the song until March 18, 2002.

by Anonymousreply 107August 15, 2017 1:02 AM

Who's this hula hana, of Kamana Whala Hula Bay?

She will hula when you have a lovely gift she wants, you'll hear her say,

Bring me a pineapple that doesn't sting a bird that swims a fish that sings,

I wanna, I really wanna,

Bring me a volcano that blows up all the molten jama and a blue banana,

I canna canna,

Bring me a pineapple that doesn't sting a bird that swims a fish that sings,

I wanna, I really wanna,

Bring me a volcano that blows up all the molten jama and a blue banana,

I canna canna,

And you can wackle all you wanna, while I hula all the day away,

And you can wackle all you wanna, while I hula all the day away,

All the boys of Okakokanoka island, gather all the gifts that hula hana asks,

They have combed their island home, fulfilling each one,

And its worth it when they watch her shake her grass, three, four, five...

Bring me a gentle breeze that I can keep, an ocean that's oh so deep,

I wanna, I really wanna,

She will hula when you have a lovely gift she wants, you'll hear her say,

Bring me a pineapple that doesn't sting a bird that swims a fish that sings,

I wanna, I really wanna,

Bring me a volcano that blows up all the molten jama and a blue banana,

I canna canna

And you can wackle all you wanna, you can wackle while I walk away,

And you can wackle all you wanna, you can wackle while I walk away, away, away, away!

by Anonymousreply 108August 15, 2017 1:05 AM

I follow this guy's blog. He visited the resort where most of the film was shot. They have a stone tributed to Swayze. Oh, and the lake has dried up.

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by Anonymousreply 109August 15, 2017 1:33 AM

Overrated movie with horrid Jewish stereotypes...No we all didn't spend summers in the Borsch Belt and our dads weren't all Drs. Soundtrack, meh.....

by Anonymousreply 110August 15, 2017 2:02 AM

I liked that song Overload that plays when Johnny locks the keys out of his car.

by Anonymousreply 111August 15, 2017 12:28 PM

As bad as the original "Dirty Dancing" was, it was much better than the "Havana Nights" sequel(?) with Diego Luna.

by Anonymousreply 112August 15, 2017 1:58 PM

Couldn't bring myself to watch the sequel.

by Anonymousreply 113August 16, 2017 1:18 PM

How about the remake? Has it aired yet? (Also shot in Asheville).

by Anonymousreply 114August 16, 2017 2:24 PM

It was on in May I think

by Anonymousreply 115August 17, 2017 11:28 AM

They are having tryouts for Dirty Dancing The Musical is Miami, Philly and Atlanta if any of you want to try out.

by Anonymousreply 116August 18, 2017 11:03 AM

Happy 30th Birthday to Dirty Dancing!!

by Anonymousreply 117August 21, 2017 5:37 AM

R108, thanks for the lyrics. Apparently the actress who played bitchy older sis Lisa wrote the song herself. Very trippy.

by Anonymousreply 118October 12, 2017 11:53 PM

A great big plot hole that always bothered me is this: there are like 30 kids dirty-dancing in the beginning of the film, you know, when Baby carries the watermelon.

So, how could it possibly be that when Cynthia Rhodes had to bail out, there was no one capable of subbing for her, and Johnny had to train Baby?

by Anonymousreply 119October 12, 2017 11:54 PM

The song "She's Like The Wind' is cringe-inducing.

The line "She's Outta My League!"used to make me want to pull my FM radio out of my car.

by Anonymousreply 120October 12, 2017 11:56 PM

And the ultimate irony....Jennifer G's career was never the same once she had the rhinoplasty.

Why? Her nose fit her face! She wasn't gorgeous, but she was attractive!

With her new nose, she still wasn't gorgeous, and she no longer looked Jewish!

by Anonymousreply 121October 13, 2017 12:00 AM

[quote] My mother was enraged that my sister watched it as the priest at her church said it was pornographic. My mother watched the movie 20 years later and was gobsmacked that there was nothing dirty about it.

Your mother sounds like a stupid cunt.

by Anonymousreply 122October 13, 2017 12:12 AM

Hi everyone. Baby's mom, Marjorie Houseman, was played by Carole Bishop from the original A Chorus Line!

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by Anonymousreply 123October 13, 2017 12:18 AM

R62, thanks for the vid.

I spy a pre-Seinfeld Wayne Knight!

by Anonymousreply 124October 13, 2017 12:20 AM

I can't bring myself to watch this in its entirety . Same with Titanic. I think its some kind of rebel thing in me because they were so hugely popular. Insanity around these movies.

by Anonymousreply 125October 13, 2017 12:53 AM

Well, I mean, R125, it's really NOT a great film.

It was made on a shoestring budget, and it shows!

by Anonymousreply 126October 13, 2017 1:28 AM

Siskel and Ebert's take on DD: Thumbs up from Gene, and thumbs down from Roger.

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by Anonymousreply 127October 13, 2017 1:45 AM

R3, "goyim" is plural and "goy" is singular.

by Anonymousreply 128October 13, 2017 1:48 AM

"Dirty Square Dancing" on SNL....

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by Anonymousreply 129October 13, 2017 1:50 AM

SNL's' Chippendales sketch...

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by Anonymousreply 130October 13, 2017 1:52 AM

A better version of it:

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by Anonymousreply 131October 13, 2017 1:56 AM

Never seen it. Not interested. I ought to start a thread on movies we gays supposedly love but which I've never seen, stopped watching because they were so bad, or which I thought were terrible.

by Anonymousreply 132October 13, 2017 2:00 AM

R98, and R99 make a lot of sense.

by Anonymousreply 133October 13, 2017 2:56 AM

R128 Like anyone cares, cunt.

by Anonymousreply 134October 13, 2017 3:36 AM

It was to tween girls in the 80s what Titanic was to tween girls in the late 90s

by Anonymousreply 135October 13, 2017 2:02 PM

The 80s were notorious for really bad movies having great hit laden soundtracks that saved the day. Starting with Xanadu...

Flashdance....Footloose...St. Elmos Fire

by Anonymousreply 136October 13, 2017 2:13 PM

Finally saw the remake and i don't know they they bothered, the ending was a downer. They should have focused on Lisa instead.

by Anonymousreply 137October 13, 2017 2:29 PM

I didn't watch the remake but read about the ending. Even in the original, I never thought Baby and Johnny would end up together in the long run, so it's a fit ending.

by Anonymousreply 138October 14, 2017 1:33 AM

I thought the sequel was gonna be about the mom and Neil. They had heat when they were dancing together at the end.

by Anonymousreply 139October 14, 2017 2:25 AM

LMAO love the Frau fantasy schtick... lmao. Lets not talk about the GAY fantasies you fruits have... lol. Female haters.

by Anonymousreply 140October 14, 2017 2:28 AM

[Quote] I didn't watch the remake but read about the ending. Even in the original, I never thought Baby and Johnny would end up together in the long run, so it's a fit ending.

I agree but that doesn't mean we have to actually [italic]see[/italic] it.

by Anonymousreply 141October 14, 2017 1:00 PM

Recently rewatched this over the weekend. My first time since 1993, when I first viewed it at age 13. I didn't care for it then. Now, I think it's pretty good. It's fun. Those who can't or won't bring themselves to watch it or like it must be some of the unhappiest people on earth. I know 'cause I was a film snob like that. I was a nerdy movie buff as a kid/teen, who turned my nose up to anything that I didn't consider art. Therefore, EVERYTHING from Hollywood was shit, IMO. I mainly stuck to indies and world cinema. In my late twenties, though, I realized that life is too short to hate things inexplicably. It's such a waste of energy. Now, I'm pretty much open to watching anything. Not that I like everything now. But I can allow myself to enjoy the simple things, even if it's a romantic dramedy.

by Anonymousreply 142October 18, 2017 9:11 PM

It was the 80s and the Reagan area. Lot's of things were bad during that time.

The title and the word dirty in it made people think they could legitimately go see something exiting that wasn't frowned upon during that time.

by Anonymousreply 143October 18, 2017 9:18 PM

It's a camp classic, OP.

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by Anonymousreply 144October 18, 2017 9:20 PM

[quote] Recently rewatched this over the weekend. My first time since 1993, when I first viewed it at age 13. I didn't care for it then. Now, I think it's pretty good. It's fun. Those who can't or won't bring themselves to watch it or like it must be some of the unhappiest people on earth. I know 'cause I was a film snob like that. I was a nerdy movie buff as a kid/teen, who turned my nose up to anything that I didn't consider art. Therefore, EVERYTHING from Hollywood was shit, IMO. I mainly stuck to indies and world cinema. In my late twenties, though, I realized that life is too short to hate things inexplicably. It's such a waste of energy. Now, I'm pretty much open to watching anything. Not that I like everything now. But I can allow myself to enjoy the simple things, even if it's a romantic dramedy.

Your pussy still stinks.

by Anonymousreply 145October 18, 2017 9:26 PM

R145 okay, that made me genuinely LOL. So random.

by Anonymousreply 146October 18, 2017 9:32 PM

I don't think that was a happy period for Jennifer Grey. She and Matt Broderick were in that fatal car crash that killed the Irish mother/daughter in early August. Two weeks later, the movie opened and was a huge hit. Needless to say, she and Broderick broke up shortly thereafter, and Grey said that she was feeling survivor's guilt during that time. That must've been quite anticlimactic for her. She finally gets the big break of her career -- an enormously popular film and a Golden Globe nod -- but she can't enjoy it.

by Anonymousreply 147October 18, 2017 9:37 PM

I don't know why I always think it was Helen Hunt in the car with him and not Jennifer Grey. Jeez, for a milquetoast little fuck, that Broderick sure got around.

by Anonymousreply 148October 18, 2017 9:55 PM

R37 both films were well-received by critics.

by Anonymousreply 149October 19, 2017 7:08 PM

R44 you're referring to Robbie, the waiter and aspiring doctor. He knocked up Penny, while he was also dating Baby's sister, Lisa. He also sleeps with the Bungalow Bunny, Vivian.

Incidentally, the actor, Max Cantor, died of a heroin overdose in the early '90s.

by Anonymousreply 150October 19, 2017 7:13 PM

I've Had the Time of My Life is one of the whitest songs ever.

by Anonymousreply 151November 10, 2017 12:25 PM

The part where Baby overhears the whole exchange of the husband giving Johnny more money for dance lessons and Johnny refusing the dough, to the slutty wife's disappointment......it was so incredibly lame! Baby is painting scenery while she overhears that whole exchange from folks who are playing cards....and the stupid lame sister is doing that weird song and dance....I mean how small is this darn Bungalow Colony?!

by Anonymousreply 152November 26, 2017 8:02 PM

R152 here again. This is my question: how on earth could it be that there was no one to substitute for Penny when, in the early Baby-carrying-a-watermelon-dirty-dancing scene, there were over a dozen female dancers dirty-dancing away???

I mean, .....!!!! Btw, the Ava Gardner version of "Showboat" has the same plot hole.

by Anonymousreply 153November 26, 2017 8:04 PM

R152 I don't think Baby heard what they were saying, but it was evident even from afar that he'd turned down that woman and her husband. Baby was aware of his 'sessions' with Viv, the wife.

by Anonymousreply 154November 26, 2017 8:37 PM

OP? I’ve actually wept watching this movie.

by Anonymousreply 155November 26, 2017 8:41 PM

r155, MARY!!!!!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 156November 27, 2017 12:22 AM

Fruits R140? How old are you? Isn't it time for the jello to be served at the home?

by Anonymousreply 157November 27, 2017 1:17 AM

[quote]She and Matt Broderick were in that fatal car crash that killed the Irish mother/daughter in early August.

Well, maybe she shouldn't have been blowing him while he was driving, so he got distracted and crossed over the line and killed those poor women.

by Anonymousreply 158November 27, 2017 5:16 PM

R147 O fuck off and put your violin straight up your cunt. No one gives a fuck about Grey's personal life you fucking asshole. Her career was over after the nosejob.

by Anonymousreply 159December 24, 2017 10:13 AM

We had to pull the cancer sniffing dogs off him. Sad, but we felt he should have his moment.

It was the time of our lives.

by Anonymousreply 160December 24, 2017 10:25 AM

R52, THIS is the best scene with "Be My Baby":

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by Anonymousreply 161December 24, 2017 10:35 AM

Classic begets classic:

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by Anonymousreply 162December 24, 2017 10:42 AM

Sorry, r130; I'd skipped ahead.

by Anonymousreply 163December 24, 2017 10:48 AM

It was purely entertainment. You didn't have to think too much; it had a good setting, romance and great music. It reruns on multiple channels constantly. Maybe because I'm a child of the 80s, but I love many movies from the decade.

by Anonymousreply 164December 24, 2017 11:05 AM

R159 I'm being the 'fucking asshole'? That was uncalled for. I was just contributing to the thread and giving some context to what was happening around the time of DD's release, because not too many people know about the car crash in Ireland and its aftermath. Furthermore, Grey's nosejob didn't happen until the late '90s and was very noticeable and commented upon when she tried to revive her career with IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW where she played a fictional version of herself. Lots of jokes about her new nose. It was a pretty terrible show, IMO. At any rate, her career was over by the '90s. I was merely speculating that it might have had something to do with her not capitalizing on DD's success when she had the chance.

by Anonymousreply 165December 24, 2017 2:41 PM

R162, Loved that SNL sketch.

Also loved "Dirty Square Dancing" which was the cold-opening of the show.

by Anonymousreply 166December 24, 2017 4:59 PM

Siskel liked this film; Ebert did not.

by Anonymousreply 167December 25, 2017 4:36 AM

R162, the sketch works because Patrick played it as if Adrian really thought Barney had a shot at winning.

by Anonymousreply 168December 25, 2017 4:46 AM

R168, yes, totally.

And Kevin Nealon and Jan Hooks are great in the sketch too as the judges.

It's only at the very end of the sketch that Kevin points out that Barney has a "flabby" physique. Until then, you almost thought he didn't notice.

And Chris Farley was incredibly light on his feet for a heavy guy!

by Anonymousreply 169December 25, 2017 5:50 PM

I always hated that SNL: sketch, found it cruel and always figured it was part of why Farley killed himself. It sounds histrionic, I know, but even his buddy David Spade said that sketch really affected his self esteem (and I am pretty sure he binged big time after). I always tell actors to NEVER take roles where they are the punchline physically -- and it started when I saw that sketch.

by Anonymousreply 170December 25, 2017 9:00 PM

R170, this is going to sound cruel, but I've also been overweight my whole life - though not to the point where Farley was.

I have had periods of time when I was skinny; the most significant one was where I took it off and kept it off over four years.

Cardio. A portion controlled food plan (Jenny Craig to be specific.)

Anyway, my point is it's up to all of us to chart our futures and take control of them. Or they take control of us.

by Anonymousreply 171December 25, 2017 9:10 PM

Chris Farley didn't commit suicide. He was a junkie and died of an accidental overdose of cocaine and morphine.

by Anonymousreply 172December 25, 2017 9:16 PM

I was never able to sit through it.

by Anonymousreply 173December 25, 2017 10:55 PM

"Dirty Dancing" and "All That Jazz" are two movies that I thoroughly enjoyed, but that I do not regard as good movies!

by Anonymousreply 174December 28, 2017 10:37 PM

What R11 said about the lift in the last dance.

R3=Matthew the Jewish/Zionist troll who hates anything and everyone that is NOT Jewish and who refuses to admit that even extreme Orthodox Jews/Hasidim Jews are extremely homophobic and biphobic bigoted people.

by Anonymousreply 175December 28, 2017 10:42 PM

R153. My head cannon explanation is that all the other proficient women dancers had jobs at the resort and they could not miss their shifts.

by Anonymousreply 176December 28, 2017 11:10 PM

R176 I think you're right. Penny and Johnny were the dance couple and probably had something arranged with the resort regarding their performances off the premises. When Penny understandably dropped out, I don't think it was as easy as, "Let's ask if one of you can replace her." The resort already treated them like less than. Not likely they would bend over backwards for 'the help,' especially when they have a resort to run and Jews with money to impress. They needed all the help they could get, especially with Penny out. So that would make THREE staff absent. Unacceptable.

by Anonymousreply 177December 29, 2017 1:43 AM

R177, yes, it's possible.

However, Dirty Dancing was a big hit, but was not a big budget film by any means. So, I think that explains (at least partly) why there are tons of dancers in the early scene that don't appear in the movie again.

Also, isn't it the corniest thing in the world when Patrick Swayze calls the guy with Baby (when she is carrying the watermelon) "CUZ!"

by Anonymousreply 178December 29, 2017 11:58 AM

I'm watching it now and Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey both have perfect bodies. Stunningly perfect.

by Anonymousreply 179December 30, 2017 2:19 AM

Love this

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by Anonymousreply 180September 1, 2018 7:18 PM

Why did they delete this scene? It was hot!

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by Anonymousreply 181September 2, 2018 2:32 AM

I loved the soundtrack. They released a special edition containing all of the songs in the order they appeared in the film. Whenever I burn a copy, I always make sure to substitute that God-awful Blow Monkeys cover of "You Don't Own Me" with the original by Lesley Gore. If only Hairspray 88's soundtrack had all of the songs in the order they were played in the movie. I had to make my own CD for that one.

by Anonymousreply 182September 2, 2018 2:46 AM

O good grief. The writer was a jewish girl and she considers DD to be a jewish american girl's fairytale. A good virgin jewish girl falls for a hot feminine dancing goyim. Daddy is displeased. Good jewish girl gets her sacred hymen broken by bad boy goyim. It is basically a fairytale that resonated with a lot of straight frau goyim who also wanted to be deflowered by Swayze. His femininine nature made them feel safe.

by Anonymousreply 183September 2, 2018 3:07 AM

*feminine

by Anonymousreply 184September 2, 2018 3:09 AM

The sequel, TV series and remake were all terrible.

by Anonymousreply 185September 2, 2018 3:17 AM

It was cheesy and formulaic, but worked as a feel-good popcorn flick. The soundtrack and word of mouth took it to another level of box office success.

by Anonymousreply 186September 2, 2018 3:26 AM

I remember wondering if parts of Herman Wouk's novel "Marjorie Morningstar" had inspired "Dirty Dancing's" screenplay. The Natalie Wood movie of "Morningstar" is terrible. but the novel offers a much darker and more complicated look than "Dirty Dancing" at the relationship between a young Jewish girl and the older choreographer at a resort. Marjorie doesn't quite have the time of her life.

by Anonymousreply 187September 2, 2018 3:40 AM

Sorry....you must be destroyed now

by Anonymousreply 188September 2, 2018 3:52 AM

The vid at R181 is embarrassing.

It's not a love scene, it's a weird underwear dance.

by Anonymousreply 189September 2, 2018 8:10 AM

Yesterday, I watched "Urban Cowboy", since it's been years since I've seen it. It has the dumbest plot, Travolta and Winger are very annoying and immature. It was a huge hit in the 70s. The Charlie Daniels Band was the best part.

by Anonymousreply 190September 2, 2018 2:26 PM

Oops.. That comment should be for another thread, about hit movies and being disappointed.. ^^^^

by Anonymousreply 191September 2, 2018 2:29 PM

alternative ending, in french (subtitle available).

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by Anonymousreply 192September 2, 2018 4:21 PM

I always liked Gene Siskel's critique of this movie. Will try to find a link.

He was not impressed.

by Anonymousreply 193September 3, 2018 5:09 PM

[Quote] The sequel, TV series and remake were all terrible.

There was a tv series?

by Anonymousreply 194September 3, 2018 5:15 PM

My bad. It was R. Ebert who called this movie out on its "idiot plot."

Siskel and Ebert really were great back in the day.

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by Anonymousreply 195September 3, 2018 5:22 PM

It was supposed to be the early 60s, but Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze both looked SO 80s. Him with the mullet and her with the big frizzy perm.

by Anonymousreply 196September 3, 2018 5:25 PM

They mirrored the soundtrack ,R196 that was all over the place too.

by Anonymousreply 197September 3, 2018 5:35 PM

R196 I could accept his mullet, but her terrible perm was such an odd choice.

by Anonymousreply 198September 3, 2018 5:52 PM

Those big spiral perms were everywhere in the 80s, they were possibly the ugliest tackiest hairstyle of all time.

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by Anonymousreply 199September 3, 2018 6:00 PM

This is the first movie I remember watching that actually made me angry because it was so fucking stupid with such a stupid shitty soundtrack. I was living overseas, moved back to North America, and my friends were raving about this movie and how good it was. I saw it and actually wanted to destroy every copy of the movie and soundtrack in existence. That is how much I hate this stupid fucking, badly written, badly acted, shitty crappy music in its soundtrack, piece of shit. It should be made illegal by federal statute. It should be used to torture prisoners in GTMO.

by Anonymousreply 200September 3, 2018 6:26 PM

For a really good hot-guy-dancer-falls-for-mousy-girl film, see Strictly Ballroom.

by Anonymousreply 201September 3, 2018 6:38 PM

I watch this movie every Labor Day as part of my unwinding of the summer.

by Anonymousreply 202September 3, 2018 6:41 PM

R200. DD is an example of a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed in the theater, but could never recommend it as a good movie.

Hey, that would make a good DL thread.

by Anonymousreply 203September 3, 2018 6:44 PM

DD was made when the 1960s were still in living memory of non-elderly people. It appealed to the baby boomers. An equivalent film made today would be set in the 1992 grunge era for the Gen X set.

by Anonymousreply 204September 3, 2018 6:56 PM

I was in middle school when Dirty Dancing came out and all the girls were obsessed with it.

by Anonymousreply 205September 3, 2018 6:58 PM

Siskel & Ebert were so great. I'm now watching a bunch on Youtube because during their run, i lived in a couple cities that aired the show at 1 am or some ridiculous time.

by Anonymousreply 206September 3, 2018 7:25 PM

The thing that really annoyed me about the movie was early 60’s virgin has sex multiple times , no birth control (dispite Penny’s example) and than is pretty chill about saying goodbye to Johnny. That’s so unrealistic for the time period- it bugged me.

by Anonymousreply 207September 3, 2018 7:34 PM

Don’t know if it’s been said yet but this film had tremendous cross-generational appeal. As posters keep saying, it was very ‘80s but took place before the Kennedy assassination. It was a current take on a nostalgic time. That’s why it was such a big hit.

The budget was $5M., btw.

by Anonymousreply 208September 3, 2018 7:54 PM

Yeah, bad acting mostly. Loved the moment when mother Kelly Bishop could have gotten up to dance, did not. ...

by Anonymousreply 209September 3, 2018 8:06 PM

For a long time I swore Jonathan Silverman was in this as the asshole waiter who got Penny knocked up. The guys looks a lot like him.

by Anonymousreply 210September 4, 2018 1:44 AM

Baby carried the watermelon!

by Anonymousreply 211September 4, 2018 2:59 AM

R208, that would be another interesting thread: how you can tell that DD was made on a shoestring budget.

by Anonymousreply 212September 4, 2018 3:05 AM

OP, I was tricked into going to see it by my bf at that time. It was terrible and I cringed most of the movie. What a waste of 2 hours.

by Anonymousreply 213September 4, 2018 4:25 AM

It's true this movie sucked r213, but you sound like an ass for belittling you bf in that manner.

by Anonymousreply 214September 4, 2018 5:10 AM

I'm sure a ton of babies were born in summer '88 due to this film and fraus wanting to get down and dirty themselves for a bit before going back to not caring about sex

by Anonymousreply 215September 4, 2018 11:58 AM

[quote] the acting from Grey, Swayze and Rhodes are AWFUL and..

Oy DEAR, OP.

by Anonymousreply 216September 4, 2018 12:39 PM

[quote]and her with the big frizzy perm.

And people thought Emma Stone's hair was anachronistic in THE HELP.

by Anonymousreply 217September 4, 2018 1:08 PM

R200 you sound deranged! All that anger over a movie? Also, you've got to be kidding calling the music crap? DD has a collection of some of the best oldies!

by Anonymousreply 218September 4, 2018 1:10 PM

It's a mystery!

Or it's Swayze at his peak, a real ballet dancer and it shows, spending a whole movie (that's set in a nostalgic, summer lodge) in various stages of undress, pursuing an every-girl instead of her stacked, beauty queen older sister.

by Anonymousreply 219September 4, 2018 2:09 PM

R214, he didn't go to the movie, he tricked me into going. We were going to the movies with another couple and since I thought all 4 of us were going, I decided to keep my mouth shut and go along. But it turns out he and one of the friends went to another movie that started at the same time at the same cinema (they had gone to the booth and bought movie tickets for the 4 of us....two for them, two for me and the other friend), so I went with the other friend, who really wanted to see the movie and was happy he did. My bf cackled about this for months. And that was when I began to realize we were not going to be long-term.

by Anonymousreply 220September 8, 2018 3:21 AM

Pauline Kael nailed it as usual: "Great title".

by Anonymousreply 221September 8, 2018 3:25 AM

I agree. It is abysmal. Just dreadful.

by Anonymousreply 222September 8, 2018 3:31 AM

I think "Dirty Dancing" qualifies as one of those "guilty pleasures." You know it's not very good, but you're drawn to it because of the cute romance, the dancing, the soundtrack, and the nostalgia factor. It was escapist fare. It's like "Grease," a flimsy plot with dumb songs and actors who were far older than the characters they played, but it had attractive romantic leads, recognizable actors from yesteryear, singing and dancing, and, once again, nostalgia factor that harkened back to innocent times, especially after Vietnam, Watergate, Deep Throat, etc.

by Anonymousreply 223September 8, 2018 3:42 AM

R223 nails it

by Anonymousreply 224September 8, 2018 3:44 AM

[quote]a real ballet dancer and it shows

Yes. Nice pirouette in the final dance routine. His moves are beautiful.

by Anonymousreply 225September 8, 2018 4:08 AM

"It is a jewish girl's fairy tale. Good jewish girl gets fucked by good looking goyim. Daddy does not approve. Goyim gets an abortion. Daddy fixes goyim. Jewish girl loses goyim and has clandestine affair. Goyim dances for jewish family and wins the heart of daddy. Jewish girl is happy. END"

I'm a fan of the movie (as I am of Flashdance) for as they say, all the wrong reasons. It is camp. It's really stupid. I think all of the acting is terrible. But it has great songs, a lot of effort from the cast to make it better than it is, and it looks good on screen. Not as good as Flashdance did, but that was actually made to be a full-length film version of a theatrical film. I think it's a toss-up as to which one is better or worse. I prefer Flashdance, but still watch Dirty Dancing whenever I flip by it on TV.

I didn't realize, however, that Dirty Dancing was religion-bating propaganda. Your retelling of the story is extremely odd. The way you chose to massage the order of what happened in the movie is quite telling. It made it seem like Baby wanted Cynthia Rhodes (can't remember the character's name) to get knocked up and have to have an abortion, As if was something that Jewish girls throughout the world would celebrate, bringing those Gentile girls down a peg. That's pretty fucked up, whoever you are. There's much more anti-"Goyim" sentiment that I'm just going to let it drop. The hatred on your part is rather apparent.

by Anonymousreply 226September 8, 2018 4:30 AM

Meant to say: "Not as good as Flashdance did, but that was actually made to be a full-length film version of a music video." My apologies.

by Anonymousreply 227September 8, 2018 4:32 AM

Soundtrack may have been good, but the song "She's Like The Wind" sucked eggs.

I remember chuckling to myself each time I heard it on my car radio when Patrick would sing "She's Outta My League!"

by Anonymousreply 228September 8, 2018 5:02 AM

Here's a Baba Wawa interview Swayze did in early 1988, after DIRTY DANCING had become a phenomenon!

(On a side note, this is the first time I noticed how pronounced Walters' lisp is.)

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 229September 8, 2018 2:01 PM

R226 Kill yourself, cuntfrau.

by Anonymousreply 230September 8, 2018 5:41 PM

R225 Sure, "Dirty dancing" is like the cheesecake of movies -- empty calories but satisfying -- but it's worth a viewing just to see Swayze's genuinely high quality dancing.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 231September 8, 2018 6:08 PM

I'm a gay man, R230. I may be a cunt, but not a cuntfrau. I didn't say I didn't enjoy watching the movie. I just never thought of it as a Jewish v. Gentiles movie musical. Is that how they pitched it?

by Anonymousreply 232September 8, 2018 6:13 PM

I got more of an upstairs/downstairs vibe from the film.

by Anonymousreply 233September 8, 2018 6:15 PM

Lisps refer to mispronunciation of the letter S, r229. She doesn't have a lisp.

by Anonymousreply 234September 8, 2018 6:19 PM

FYI, R229, the term is "rhotacism."

by Anonymousreply 235September 8, 2018 6:25 PM

R232 You're a cuntfrau pretending to be a gay man.

by Anonymousreply 236September 8, 2018 6:28 PM

Is that pronounced wotacism, r235?

by Anonymousreply 237September 8, 2018 6:29 PM

R234/R235 thanks for the clarification!

by Anonymousreply 238September 8, 2018 7:52 PM

Thanks Mindy C. (R236).

by Anonymousreply 239September 8, 2018 8:42 PM

Girls! Girls! Leave Natalie out of this!

by Anonymousreply 240September 8, 2018 10:36 PM

R234, re the speech impediment of Ms. Walter's I recommend looking at Youtube and comparing all of the SNL ladies who have parodied her from Gilda Radner to Cheri Oteri to Nesim Pedrad.

by Anonymousreply 241September 9, 2018 12:55 AM

It's a very accurate depiction of a straight teenage girl's developing sexuality.

by Anonymousreply 242November 25, 2018 6:16 PM

Damn, it's a godawful movie.

I was twenty-four when it came out and I was stunned that it was popular at all let alone a smash hit.

by Anonymousreply 243November 25, 2018 10:12 PM

LOL! It seems all of the hate on DL for this film comes from gays who are biased against 'straight films' but would think the movie was a masterpiece if Baby was a gay teen boy instead.

The movie is not art but it is fun with a kickass soundtrack and some great performances, especially from Jennifer Grey and Jerry Orbach.

by Anonymousreply 244October 6, 2020 4:47 AM

Nobody puts Baby in a corner!

by Anonymousreply 245October 6, 2020 6:54 AM

Darn, I was thinking of Flash Dance, another anomaly. I grew up in the Burgh, so enjoyed it. Wasn't it another film that wasn't supposed to be a hit? Yet almost everyone has seen it or remembers. I used to take Saturday art classes at the museum where the actual dance scene was filmed, so I would watch it any time.

by Anonymousreply 246October 6, 2020 7:05 AM
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