My classic choice for this week might not be everyone’s cup of tea. This is okay. We can agree to disagree. I have been in love with the film DIRTY DANCING since I first saw it on the big screen in 1986. Everyone was talking about it and saying how it was a must-see movie. I put it off for a while because I was a bit of a cynic at times (I know, hard to believe today). It became a runaway, underground hit film, gaining momentum through word of mouth. I had to experience the phenomenon for myself. Once I watched it, I was hooked forever. I even bought the VHS and, later, the DVD. I still have both copies today.
DIRTY DANCING has always been a great love story about finding your first love, but it also covered much more. It offered an inside viewpoint about coming of age and finding who you are and who you eventually want to be. It dabbled heavily in the possible consequences of pre-marital sex.
The story is built around the summer of 1963. The sexual revolution was just getting warmed up, as was the problem of unwanted pregnancies and backstreet abortions (History is still repeating itself). This was before the deaths of Martin Luther King, JFK, and RFK. Young people were more naive about their future. The Peace Corps was a huge draw.
I remember feeling like we could do it all. Standing up for what was right and making the world a better place was on everyone’s radar. Spending the summer in a Catskills’ Resort was normal for the “haves” and working all summer earning tips for the “have-nots.” It was an edgy time. Teenagers felt like they were on the verge of something bigger. (Or maybe it was just all that sexual tension.)
DIRTY DANCING entertained the masses. It made everyone dance… LIKE THE WIND. We could shout out our thoughts, feelings, and insecurities and accept each other’s perceptions of ourselves. The film evoked a rebellion to believe in the best parts of our personas. It was great to move and shake those hips, embrace our curly hair, touch the one we love, and go for the “lift.”
DIRTY DANCING was a box office hit, grossing over 200 million dollars from just a six-million-dollar budget. It took 44 days to film and received an Oscar for the title song, “I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE.” The song became a mantra sung at all joyous occasions, and everyone spouted the most memorable line: “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
Patrick Swayze was cast at 35 to play the role of Johnny Castle. No one cared that he was at least ten years too old, and he wore a girdle throughout each scene to make his body appear younger. It obviously worked. The man was a highly accomplished dancer. In fact, the choreographer had to create simpler steps to make him look not as professional. He oozed sexuality from that lick of hair always falling across his forehead to his open shirt and his grinding hips. Every woman, I am sure, wanted to be his dance partner (Myself included). He did all his footwork and even had a miserable log slip accident, which caused his knee to be drained of extra, swollen fluids. What a trooper.
Jennifer Gray was the perfect match for Johnny as Francis or Baby, even though they both had to be talked into working together after a previous bad movie experience. The director, Emile Ardolino, showed warm, loving screen tests to help them remember that they can act together. It worked, and Jennifer, in later interviews, said she had THE TIME OF HER LIFE doing all the dance moves in the film. Her beautiful smile and giggles were contagious. Her expressive eyes were able to convey her growth in becoming a woman. Baby and Johnny’s chemistry made couples run to dance studios to explore “dance frames and spaces”.
.”e costumes reflected the 1960s. Every outfit, from the baggy dresses Baby wore to the bare midriff tops, colorful dresses, and tight men’s pants with a silky, bright shirt, showcased the times. The Bermuda length, denim cutoffs, and collared shirt tied in front brought back oodles of memories. The cinematography was gorgeous. The resort had stunning pockets of lush greenery aching to be filmed.
DIRTY DANCING is the perfect dance-themed, love story classic film that can whisk both genders back over sixty years ago. It emulated the summer of growing up, finding love between a young couple and between a father/daughter and two sisters, and making real, lifelong friends. The film taught me that sometimes you just have to go dancing and let loose. Valuable lessons for any age. Oh, and always revel when you meet a man or a woman who can move their hips and catch you mid-air.
Happy V-Day.
DIRTY DANCING is available on AMC
