Dirty Dancing

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Finally, after 23 years, I got around to watching the 1987 Patrick Swayze movie, Dirty Dancing.

I’d always avoided it because I had no interest in watching a chick flick about a 16 year old girl falling in love with a dance instructor at a Butlins style American holiday camp..

But after a stream of guys films, The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Parker, Chinatown and All the Presidents Men, it was time to give my wife a break, and watch a girly romance film.

I was actually pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t the cheezy, falling in parentally disapproving love, 80s predictable romp I was expecting. Well, alright it is, but in a fairly ok, kind of way.

The film is set in the 1950s and sees younger daughter “Baby” (Jennifer Grey) go with her family to a rich holiday resort in the woods by a lake somewhere in the US for a couple of weeks during the summer, where she discovers the staff party – the staff who consist entirely of professional trained dancers it seems. Is this where the students from Fame go for their summer jobs? – and most importantly she meets the good looking but arrogant Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), who predictably she falls for but he doesn’t like her as she’s a rich, spoilt daddys girl.

Johnny’s dance partner needs an abortion and in a “that’s an unlucky coincidence” moment the only time the back street doctor (this is the 50s remember) can come is on the night of a big hotel dance that would decide Johnny’s work prospects for the coming year.

Baby offers to help and a “Rocky” style training montage follows, during which the our two stars fall in love.

Johnny: You just put your pickle on everybody’s plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me.

The plot continues predictably enough from there leading to a smile inducing musical dance number climax that you just don’t seem to get these days.

I have to say, despite it’s predictable 80s cheesiness it was fairly enjoyable, although I think a lot of that was 80s nostalgia. Had I seen it back in the day, I think I would have hated it.

There’s something about 80s movies, they really know how to do a happy ending. Everything wraps up and you’re left with a smile on your face. Something that seems to be lacking from movies these days I think. Although Iron Man 2 pulled off a good, happy ending I think.

And I finally got to hear the Baby in the corner quote in the proper context (not quite what I was expecting to be honest – for some reason I thought Patrick Swayze’s character was called Baby and he was about to kick off and start a fight, guess I’m getting mixed up with Roadhouse).

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