Dirty Dancing - A Movie Review

Anyone can dance. Dancing is important. Dance your heart out.

Dancing its way into theaters in 1987, Dirty Dancing is a romantic drama. Frances, or nicknamed as ‘Baby’, falls in love with the dance instructor at her resort. Competing in a dance competition, dancing brings the couple closer together.

Up until now, I have only seen Dirty Dancing in snippets. Once I saw the whole movie, I was mesmerized by the beautiful dance sequences. Dirty Dancing is a fun film about the importance of the dance world encouraging audiences to keep dancing.

Having little to no dancing experience, Baby Houseman works hard to become a dancer. Jennifer Grey was wonderful in her performance growing out of a young reserved woman into a confident person. She brought great depth to her character along with emotion. Her transformation is beautiful subconsciously helping young women who feel stuck.

The late Patrick Swayze could not have explained the meaning behind the film any better. He believed that Dirty Dancing is a film about finding yourself. Swayze was excellent. He was an incredible dancer who saw talent in everybody. I am sure a lot of you have memorized one of his famous lines (which he actually didn’t like!) from the film.

Despite how they reportedly could not stand working together, Grey and Swayze did an outstanding job in all of their dance sequences. Like their characters, they learned how to trust. I liked how they wore contrasting colors to signify their differing personalities.

A number of incredible dancers brought their talents to the making of this film. Other credits include Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston, Jane Bruckner, Kelly Bishop, Lonny Price, and many more. This was also the first major film role for Newman, my mistake, Wayne Knight who was popular in Seinfeld.

Dirty Dancing filmed on a very tight schedule. Each and every actor committed to their roles, exuberantly dancing onscreen. Filming was delayed for some time forcing the crew to make the set resemble summer when fall came. I did not notice that at all because the fun atmosphere makes this film what it is.

I want to join in with all the cast members who were having the time of their lives dancing. They make the film come alive because of their energy and commitment. The costumes are stunning. The music is phenomenal. Everything about Dirty Dancing is superb. “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” is one of the most beautiful sequences in the film.

The late Emile Ardolino gave his actors permission to improvise whenever they pleased. To think we may not have some of the most famous sequences. That famous sequences where Baby and Johnny crawled towards each other was just the actors messing around. Ardolino made an incredible ‘feel good’ film for all to share a dance.

Right from the beginning, I was entranced. The magic of this film is a well-balanced story that connects to audiences. Dirty Dancing is an engaging film that will never lose its luster. It immediately captures you into its soulful world. Every aspect of this film is enjoyable expressing a vital moral.

To make anything work, we have to believe in ourselves. Getting up onstage takes guts. Challenge yourself. Many people think that you have to be talented to be a dancer, a singer, or anything. We can do anything if we set our minds to it. Make a connection.

For all you dancers out there, I recommend that you watch Dirty Dancing. Don’t skip out on this film. It is a timeless classic. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.