KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

cinephile-27690 I have a cousin who gave me a bunch of her VHS tapes and this was one. It wasn't bad but I didn't really love it either. I plan to re-watch it to see it sometime, so I may re-write a review. I think you should also know that Roger Ebert gave it 1 star(out of 4). So, maybe it's not really a guy's movie. I recommend it to girls more than to boys.

thejcowboy22 !963 The height of the Borscht Belt, the Catskills . A mountain range in upstate New York when Hotels, motels and bungalow colonies sprung up up like dandy lions in an abandoned field. Some say the Idea or origins of the Catskills region was the location and natural setting just a couple of hours away from New York and Philadelphia areas where Jewish families could relax for a couple of weeks at affordable prices. In the 1930's and 40's Jews were denied vacancies in other hotels do to anti antisemitism. Jewish oriented luxury hotels, Motels, Bungalow colonies and Sleep-away camps of every description accommodated Jewish clientele in every price range. This made for a quick fix to rejuvenate the senses before the fall season/ school commences. Enough with the History lesson. On with the review. It's 1963 The Kennedy's lived in the White House and Rock and Roll filled the air waves with the sounds of WABC and Bruce Morrow at the mic, known as a DJ (Disc Jockey), who talked between songs . Song artists the likes of Jan & Dean, The Four Seasons, The Beach Boys and Lesley Gore performing as the teenage multitude tried to master the latest dance steps such as the FREDDIE or the FRUG or maybe the MASH POTATO or the SHIMMY? This brings us full circle to our story of loyalty, trust and for a lack of a better word, judgement. Dr. Houseman (Jerry Orhbach) and his Family arrive at Kellerman's resort in the heart of the Catskill Mountains . Along with Mrs. Houseman (Kelly Bishop) and their two Teenage daughters Lisa (Jane Brucker) and our centerpiece of this story Frances ,AKA," Baby" Houseman. The family settles in on this country setting at Kellerman's Resort run by the chubby, lispy Max Kellerman played by character actor deluxe Jack Weston. Max Boasts about his Danish being pure protein as he assembles the patrons for the daily routine of dancing lessons during the day light hours. The help or dance instructors are basically teenagers or of college years. One stand out is the tall auburn haired, beady eyed Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is curious about the crowd beyond the main bungalows and is taken by Johnny Castle. Although Johnny comes from a humble background Baby is taken by his charm and elegance as Johnny regular partner Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) is pregnant and to complicate things further has an abortion. that renders her bed ridden and infected. Baby takes her place and practices as Johnny and Baby become a dance team working side performances at competing Hotels unbeknownst to her doting Father. Johnny and Baby are trying to master the famous swan catch. Diversions of infidelity and false accusations thicken as Dr. Houseman and Max Kellerman accuse Johnny of wrong doing. Fine performances by the obnoxious full of himself Neil Kellerman (Lonny Price),the Bosses son and the insidious, philandering Robbie the bus boy, (Max Cantor) add to this piece of Borscht Belt nostalgia. This Movie strikes a distant cord with me as I fall into a trance of past experiences going to the mountains with my parents. Homowack Lodge and Davos ski resort bring back a ton of wonderful memories. Just a bygone era captured on film. The success of this film is how the story captures the atmosphere of bungalow life. Moreover,what it was like to experience a day in the.: as my BUBY would say: "Day in the mountains!" And to quote our proprietor Max Kellerman, "So lets join in in one last chorus, visitors, staff and guests. What we've shared won't be forgotten, old friends are the best!

drednm This nostalgic look at a time that never was has mousy Jewish girl (Jennifer Grey) about to go off to college but going off with her family to vacation at a Catskills resort and finding love with a sleazy and vapid dancer (Patrick Swayze).Nothing rings true in this story. The mix of vintage music with new music doesn't work. The resort staff that does "dirty dancing" in their private quarters is moronic. The acting is horrid.The narrator waxes nostalgic in the opening, telling of that time before the Kennedy murder and before the Beatles. We then get shown people who also would not have been employed by a Jewish resort. People didn't talk this way in 1963 and they didn't act this way in 1963.Grey plays "Baby" Houseman, a nice Jewish girl without a Jewish name. She's taken with Johnny ... they're always named Johnny ... a street kid who can dance as well as he can mince. Swayze has the sex appeal of cold mashed potatoes.His preening and posturing is supposed to pass for machismo but he's less butch than Grey is. The dancing that wows the fans would get the boot on any local talent show.Caught up in this mush are Jack Weston as the resort owner, Jerry Orbach as the Jewish daddy, Kelly Bishop as the vacant mother, Jane Brucker as the apparently retarded older daughter. Cynthia Rhodes as the knocked-up dancer, Wayne Knight as a comic, Paula Trueman as a geriatric kleptomaniac, Max Cantor as Robbie the seducer, Lonny Price as the smarmy grandson of the owner, and Charles "Honi" Coles as the bandleader.Most of the cars are too old, the hair styles are wrong, and the Catskills resort was actually filmed in Virginia and North Carolina and looks nothing like Upstate New York.The dance ending is ridiculous with Swayze leaping offstage into the audience and gyrating in a group dance, and they all know the steps! Apparently Baby lands her Johnny ... a relationship that should last all of two weeks.

oOoBarracuda Add this to the file of films I didn't think I would like nearly as much as I did. Wow, I couldn't have been more wrong Dirty Dancing. Emile Ardolino directed the 1987 classic starring Jennifer Grey and the late Patrick Swayze. The film centered around a sheltered daughter and the life-changing summer her family spends at the Catskills resort in 1963. What I had written off as "just another '80's romance" was actually a wonderful coming-of-age story of a girl discovering how the world exists outside of her privileged upbringing.Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) a daddy's girl from a privileged family has already surprised her family by announcing that she is to join the Peace Corps at the end of the summer. She had been expected to go college and marry a doctor, the same profession as her father and establish a financially secure life for herself. One night, however, a chance meeting changes her destiny. All baby thought she was doing was carrying a watermelon to a staff dance party when she first lays eyes on Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) the chiseled dance instructor of the resort. Johny knows no privilege, and unlike Baby, has had to struggle his whole life. His life is nearing a downward spiral since his dance partner has become pregnant and unable to get the money or the healthcare access to an abortion. Wanting to help a distressed woman and find a way into Johnny's heart, Baby lies to her father about the purpose and is given the money Johnny's dance partner uses to obtain her abortion. She then fills in as Johnny's dance partner in order to save his spot on the roster. As the two spend more and more hours together they fall in love and Baby is stuck between her family's expectations and her own romantic interests. As her father begins to find out what Baby has been up to and how he has been used in the scheme, her relationships with everyone are tested and she must decide how to mend them, and which to attempt to save first.Dirty Dancing begins with an opening narration, and I am an absolute sucker for a well-executed narration. The narration was used well and effective in providing a bit of background info into the background Baby had enjoyed all of her life. Throughout the film, it felt a bit like I was watching Double Indemnity with all the Baby's, so I only wish Baby had earned a different nickname; although, I suppose the iconic line "Nobody puts sweetie in a corner" would have had the same effect. The dancing was engaging, and not as annoying of a storyline as I presumed it would be. I thought it was going to be a tired "spends a lot of time together so they fall in love" kind of romances, but the added layers of the upbringing struggles was an engaging aspect. Patrick Swayze's performance was riveting, I haven't seen much, if any, of his acting roles so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with both his acting and dancing skills. Jennifer Grey nailed the dancing angle but came off a bit wooden throughout her non-dancing scenes. The supporting cast was wonderful, as well; I mean, has Jerry Orbach ever been less than stellar in a role he has taken on? Dirty Dancing proved my expectation of "just another 80's romance" wrong, I can assure you of that as I stand in line at Target waiting to buy a copy of the film.