Ok gang summer is here and we are strolling to a place that was the place to go back in 1963, Catskills, New York. All you need is a pair of denim shorts rolled up to the knee and a pair of white sneakers and we're off and running or should I say dancing?
"DIRTY DANCING!"
(Even though the film was released in 1987, the year it took place was 1963 so I'm sticking with that)
I love, love, love this movie! It's one of the reasons I was excited to visit my first Catskill resort and have been back over the last two summers. There are a few of the old resorts still there and we stayed at one of them. Other than the fact that people don't dress as fancy for dinner as they did in the movie, it was like taking a trip back
to what it must have been like in the 60's.
One of a handful of crowd pleasing flicks that are seemingly impervious to criticism, 'Dirty Dancing' may well go down in film history as the little movie that could. Somehow this unassuming little story about a young girl's coming-of-age in the Catskills managed to not only become the sleeper smash of 1987, but it gave birth to a veritable cottage industry -- two soundtrack albums, a live touring production, an eventual TV spin-off series, and even annual 'Dirty Dancing' fan conventions.
Jennifer Grey won the breakout role of a lifetime as Frances "Baby" Houseman, a young ingenue vacationing with her dear papa Dr. Jake Houseman ( The late Jerry Orbach) and family at the upper-class Kellerman's lodge in the Catskills. On verge of her eighteenth birthday, Baby is frustrated by her family's continued attempts to fix her up with all manner of shallow, snooty rich boys. Those feelings come to a head after she stumbles upon on a late-night "dirty dancing" session held in secret by the lodge's staff, and first spies lead dancer Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Daddy isn't going to like what comes next!
On a side note here: Kelly Bishop played Baby's mother and later became well known for the role of Emily Gilmore on the "Gilmore Girls". I bet some of you Gilmore Girls fans didn't even know that!
We know where this story is going the minute Baby meets Johnny. In this case however, familiarity only seems to breed endearment. In fact, what's sweet about 'Dirty Dancing' is that it never aspires to be more than its simple story, yet insists on telling its tale well. . The film also argues against classism, asking us to root for Baby and Johnny over the objections of the stern Houseman clan and Kellerman's snooty patrons.
Yet the reason 'Dirty Dancing' really works is because of Grey and Swayze. Grey, has such a fresh, appealing personality that she radiates bubbly charm. And Swayze admirably does not condescend or trivialize Johnny, who in other hands might have been just another poor man's James Dean. Swayze really makes us buy Johnny's predicament, and as a result we understand why Baby has fallen so hard for her savior in a leather jacket. It's a tougher, smarter performance than Swayze's ever been given credit for.
And then of course there's the film's climax -- set to the ingratiating number one hit "(I've Had the) Time of My Life)" -- when our heroic young lovers finally stand up to the repressive values of Baby's family, and unite all of Kellerman's in a huge explosion of dirty dancing.
By the time Johnny utters his immortal line
"Nobody puts baby in a corner!",
it's impossible not to bust into a huge grin.
'Dirty Dancing' may be cinematic junk food, but it earns every calorie. Guilty pleasures don't come any sweeter than this.
Every movie lover should have this one in their collection and pull it out and watch it , it's a sweet way to start your summer....
Have a Great Summer
