THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sometimes, you got to dance to find your soulmate.
PLOT
Dirty Dancing takes place in the summer of 1963 and follows Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman visiting 'Mountain House', an upscale resort in the Catskill mountains with her family: Her father Doctor Jake, mother Marjorie (Kelly Bishop) and older sister Lisa (Jane Brucker). On the first night, she sees dance instructor Johnny Castle, who is not liked by resort owner Max Kellerman (Jack Weston). A night later, she avoids boredom with her family's activities and gets the chance to dance with Johnny at the staff's quarters, discovering the style of 'dirty dancing' that is more sensuous than the dances they're the dances he's getting paid. It was possible for her to get invited because his cousin Billy (Neal Jones) needed help carrying watermelons to the private party. The next evening, she has a night stroll with Max's grandson Neil. She ignores his advances when noticing womanizing waiter Robbie with Lisa near the golf course. When they later grab dessert at a closed kitchen, she then spots dance instructor Penny Johnson crying. Once she ditches Neil, she reaches Johnny and Billy and tells them where she is. When they return her to her bungalow, they reveal that she is pregnant with Robbie's baby and needs $250 to pay for an abortion. By morning, Baby asks Robbie for the money, but he refuses to take responsibility (as he intends to take advantage of Lisa). So she then convinces Jake for the loan, not explaining why she needs it. She does deliver the money, but Penny is now disappointed that her scheduled abortion will not allow her to dance with Johnny as scheduled at the Sheldrake hotel. If they don't dance, they'll lose a payment worth an entire season. Although she has minimal dancing experience, she agrees to fill in for her, much to Johnny's doubts that they could pull it off in time. After a long week of training, the dance goes well enough. When they return to Mountain House, they find out that Penny's abortion got botched, resulting in her being in agonizing pain. Baby ultimately decides to get Jake involved to stabilize her. After saving her life, he chooses to dislike Johnny when he takes the blame for her condition and forbids Baby to see him again. She quickly disobeys and visits him by sunrise. She apologizes for her father's attitude towards him, but he believes he deserved it. She then tells him that is not the case and admits that she's grown to love him. Her confession results in the two having sex for the first time. The day after this, Penny realizes the affair between the two and thinks it is a bad idea for staff to get involved with guests. And the day after that, Neil informs Johnny that he will have to do another traditional dance instead of one of his own. While this might disappoint Baby that he chooses not to speak up, he accepts it because he still needs the job for the following summer. Later on, when Robbie discovers their affair as well, Johnny assaults him for abandoning Penny. He then gets caught having an affair with the adulterous guest Vivian Pressman (Miranda Garrison) by Lisa. When she catches them in the act, it disappoints her because she thought he loved her and wanted to lose her virginity to him. The morning after this, Johnny is accused of nightly theft. Baby quickly admits that it wouldn't be possible because she was with him all night. After confessing her secret, she calls out her dad for acting classist. While the actual thieves are proven to be the elderly couple known as the Schumachers, Johnny is still fired off of his affair with Baby. The season is reaching its end and the Housemans tend to celebrate by watching Lisa perform a number she's been practicing. Jake almost gives Robbie a check for medical studies, but quickly changes his mind when the latter accidentally admits he got Penny pregnant. Johnny then appears to interrupt the show with Baby and perform their own dance which sparks up the energy the guests were missing. After they pull off doing a lift that they couldn't do at Sheldrake, the film ends with Jake apologizing for his criticism as everyone in the room dances to the music. For those who know me personally, I am honestly very picky with the films I watch and that includes the romance genre.
THOUGHTS
With little expectations, I was generally surprised of how much I enjoyed seeing this film for the first time. This one impressed me because Writer Eleanor Bernstein and Director Emile Ardolino were able to craft a story with such meaning. Between the upbeat soundtrack and impressive choreography, you get the message that as long as you have the confidence, no one should stop you from being yourself and trust your instincts no matter what. It truly kicks in whenever you focus on the two leads who have such surreal chemistry throughout. Jennifer Grey makes Baby a memorable character because she always stuck with her gut and never expected the worst, was always hopeful for the good. Even though she doesn’t always know what she’s talking about, what matters is that her heart is in the right place throughout. She fell for Johnny because she saw right through him, the gentleness he was hiding whereas everyone thought little of him. Enter Patrick Swayze, who made a good impression out of the male lead because he was a charming guy who made dancing a superpower. He ended up falling for Baby she allowed him to express his vulnerability, he is his true self around her. Had he not called her out on how she looks at things too simple, she likely would’ve not called out her dad on his attitude towards him. It warms my heart when he says ‘Nobody puts Baby in the corner’ because to me, it means that no one should be stopped from expressing their talent. I got chills seeing their last dance because the lift symbolizes how much they trust each other from then on. Every time I hear “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, I am smiling because it translates how both leads appreciate each other for bringing out the best parts of themselves. Although both leads make this film immortal, I personally believe that the supporting cast got to shine as well. Jerry Orbach easily makes an interesting performance out of Jake because while his attitude towards Johnny is hurtful to see, he has nothing but good intentions, which is who Baby gets it from. It’s in his point of view where we realize that we should not judge people before you know them. Once he realized Johnny was never in the wrong, he knew that apologizing to him was the only way he could forgive himself for the mistake he made. Now that everyone got on the same page at the end, I’m pretty sure that the happily ever after will continue for them all. In between the romance, Cynthia Rhodes quietly gave us a powerful performance out of Penny. She may dance with grace like Johnny, but her smile disappears when making the biggest decision of her life; that is aborting a baby she never planned to have. It is not an easy decision since the topic leads to an endless debate. Nevertheless, she did what she thought was right because she didn’t believe she was capable of taking care of a child when she can barely take care of herself. Despite going through such trauma, it won’t stop her from being a good friend to Johnny. She was against him dating Baby because she didn’t want him to go through the heartbreak she went through. The most memorable douchebags to appear onscreen were in the 80s and boy did this film have a big one. While Lonny Price made an annoying prick out of Neil, you’re gonna love hating Robbie. Every second he’s onscreen, Max Cantor makes the character so easy to dislike for being the most selfish of characters this movie shows. It goes without saying that he deserved every shed of comeuppance that came his way. If there is anything he reaches us, it is to make sure you have sex with someone you love rather than someone who doesn’t respect you. And lastly, I don’t want to exaggerate, but man was I bawling in laughter whenever Wayne Knight spoke as the eccentric Stan. His puns are supposed to sound terrible, yet it works in his deliveries. Despite naturally enjoying this film, it doesn't really excuse the flaws that I caught. To get it out of the way, I know we need some kind of meet cute for Baby and Johnny, but it is so dumb that of all things for Baby to meet him was because Billy couldn't carry the watermelons. All of a sudden, it's hard for him to carry watermelons that he'd cave to get help. It is good for Baby anyway that her family is oblivious of her dancing lessons with Johnny, but how come Jake's suspicion of the loan never came about during that week? I mean she was living off of luck that none of them asked what she does in her spare time. And why the hell didn't Robbie lock the door when he was sleeping with another woman? He knew Lisa was interested, so he should've been prepared incase she randomly wanted to come over. I don't want to root for this guy, but he's an idiot. Other than that, this movie is fine. In short, Dirty Dancing is a neat romance film for feeling the most tender, making the worth the time for couples around the world.
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