Dirty Dancing (1987)

Director:

Emile Ardolino

Writer:

Eleanor Bergstein (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Jewess goes to Catskills for shiksa adventure!

Plot:

Spending the summer in a holiday camp with her family, Frances ('Baby') falls in love with the camp's dancing teacher.

Plot Keywords:

Bittersweet | Barefoot | Labor Day | Male Female Relationship | Opposites Attract

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Grey	...	Frances 'Baby' Houseman
Patrick Swayze	...	Johnny Castle
Jerry Orbach	...	Dr. Jake Houseman
Cynthia Rhodes	...	Penny Johnson
Jack Weston	...	Max Kellerman
Jane Brucker	...	Lisa Houseman
Kelly Bishop	...	Marjorie Houseman
Lonny Price	...	Neil Kellerman
Max Cantor	...	Robbie Gould
Charles 'Honi' Coles	...	Tito Suarez (as Charles Honi Coles)
Neal Jones	...	Billy Kostecki
'Cousin Brucie' Morrow	...	Magician
Wayne Knight	...	Stan
Paula Trueman	...	Mrs. Schumacher
Alvin Myerovich	...	Mr. Schumacher

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (re-release) | Dolby Digital (re-release) | Dolby (original release) | SDDS (re-release)

Certification:

Belgium:KT (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Ireland:12A | Iceland:L | UK:15 (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-10 | France:U | Norway:12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:12A (re-rating) (2004) | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Appalachian region, Virginia, USA

Company:

Great American Films Limited Partnership

Trivia:

Although they barely dance during the movie, Jerry Orbach and Kelly Bishop (Baby's parents) were both well-known as Broadway singers and dancers. In fact, their most famous Broadway musicals - "A Chorus Line" for Bishop and "Chicago" for Orbach - had engaged in a famous rivalry for box office and awards when they opened within months of each other in 1975.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the second "sex" scene when Baby asks Johnny if he's "had many women," she rolls over when he comes back to kiss her after putting his shirt on and you can clearly see her underwear near the top of the sheet across her back.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Radio disc jockey: [on radio] Hi, everybody, this is your Cousin Brucie. Whoa! Our summer romances are in full bloom, and everybody, but everybody's in love. But cousins, here's a great song from The Four Seasons.
Baby: [voiceover] That was the summer of 1963 - when everybody called me Baby, and it didn't occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy was shot, before the Beatles came, when I couldn't wait to join the Peace Corps, and I thought I'd never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman's.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 29th and Gay (2005)

Soundtrack:

Be My Baby

Some kind of wonderful

I don't really know what it is about Dirty Dancing.. there is some sort of absolute magic in this movie.. I cannot possibly recount the hundreds (yes, hundreds)of times I've watched it, beginning to end... but every time I do come upon it on TV, I am entranced and mystified and sit myself down and there I am, for two hours, loving the movie as if I'm watching it for the first time. Although Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey absolutely hated each other throughout the making of this film, they possess a beautiful chemistry on the set.. it makes the viewer enjoy it that much more, to see this passion and commitment.. and I can't help tearing up a tiny bit at the end, when Patrick comes up to the Houseman family and tells her dad, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner". (classic moment) For all those people who believe this movie is corny and sappy, maybe in a way it is, but it was the penicle of the 80's films, and put Patrick Swayze right on the map; his performance was immaculate.

Three Cheers for Dirty Dancing !!

Ps- The soundtrack is fantastic, an absolute masterpiece