I love this movie. It's cute, fun, romantic, good-hearted, funny, and overall a great film. Jennifer Grey is incredibly adorable in the weirdest way possible and her character as an endlessly motivated do-gooder is New York perfect character. Unlike Grease or other films, she doesn't change into the bag girl and get the guy by giving up her true identity. Rather, she fights for what's right, accepts tough changes, comes clean with her father, and tastes a bit of the wild side from secretly dancing, romancing, and... well taking her father's money for abortion without his knowing (and not her abortion). If anything she changes for the better as she breaks out of her shell, lives more, and stays true to herself and her character. Also, the dancing and music in this film are incredible. I love the time period, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, and everything about this film. I'd love to revisit it just to relive it and be part of its world again.

When I first saw Dirty Dancing years ago, I was stunned by how much of it I recognized from my past and how true it rang for me. Nobody except John Sayles (and later the authors of Good Will Hunting) had ever brought a time and a place so familiar to me so alive on the screen before. It was all there - the Ivy league protocol and manners (I went to Cornell, like Neil), the resort's silly entertainment, the lodge and cabins, the Houseman's table manners - everything was just as I remembered, INCLUDING the presence of other people that we werent really "suppose" to associate with as much. At least not invite them to dinner anyway, unless they were perhaps courageous bums like Jack Dawson in Titanic, or maybe....just maybe......handsome and talented dancers? Anyway, but thats just the set up. Author Eleanor Bergstein knew the era well and depicted it with stunning accuracy and brutal honesty. But the real story is about dancing and the sexual awakening of an innocent young girl, Baby Houseman. In that role, Jennifer Grey was perfect, and the transformation she undergoes throughout the film never strains credibility nor seems contrived or forced. Not an easy feat considering how much she was intent on growing up that summer.Other cast members contributed mightily to this classic. Baby's parents projected just the right mix of parental authority and love for their daughter, an essential ingredient throughout. Meanwhile, well educated Neil and Robbie were superb as the cocky nerd and womanizing cad, especially when contrasted with Johnny. And I especially loved Baby's relationship with Penny and how Penny ultimately came to respect her after treating her like trash in the beginning. Last but not least, Patrick Swayze was magnanimous - combining raw power and sexuality with vulnerability and a soft heart, I couldn't imagine the movie without him.Finally, the music and dance was absolutely essential to the success of this film. The dance needed to be sexualized as it was important to the plot, but it never crossed the line into bad taste or vulgarity. The musical choices were all superb, and the closing dance scene is one of Hollywoods most memorable. All in all, I never stop enjoying this movie, and expect to see it again and again periodically for the nostalia and memories it never fails to conjure up.

I'm a guy. An older one at that. I've been watching this movie since 1987. Over and over. I never get tired of it even though I can recite most of the dialog. I'm not sure why but this movie gets to me every time. I saw the play a few years ago in Cleveland too. I have two copies of the movie on DVD. The story isn't that great, the acting is not the best, the music is good but I cannot put my finger on why it's my all time favorite movie. The one I've watched more times than I'd like to admit. Some people don't get it but I do. It's just a great movie and I will continue watching it periodically. Sorry, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

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.