Dirty Dancing (1987)

I'm sure there are worse things I could do than put Baby in a corner, but I can't think of any.

Seen as the top-half of a double bill with Grease at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. There's nothing quite like a live audience that's amped up and ready to applaud at the slightest moments of triumph. Baby telling off Robbie? Applause. Jerry Orbach sinking putts like it ain't no thang? Applause. Baby's idiot sister doing her terrible hula dance song? Applause, which I didn't take part in. You gotta earn my claps, fucker. I do wish I'd yelled "Road House" when Swayze beat up Robbie.

Dirty Dancing crackles with energy and is refreshingly comfortable with sensuality. The late, undervalued director Emile Ardolino brings a theatrical sensibility that perfectly compliments Eleanor Bergstein's deeply personal script. It's basically a musical without singing. Now, the screenplay is not without its flaws. That goofy subplot about the elderly thieves? What was all that about? And yet, it DOES work within the confines of the plot because of how things shake out, so I can't begrudge Bergstein's story construction. What I found to be the strongest element was that unlike SO MANY romances where the lovers break up because of some contrived bullshit and we're just sitting there twiddling our thumbs because we know they're going to get back together, Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze never really break up. There are arguments and obstacles to overcome, but their love and adoration for one another builds and is never broken. It also takes the time to show them in the throes of passion and the unmistakable joy that comes with finding a new love. The "Love is Strange" scene doesn't really even need to be there, yet it's so joyous that I can't imagine the film without it.

This kind of movie lives or dies by the chemistry of the two leads and damn, are they HAWT together! It feels superfluous to talk about Swayze's breakthrough role because of how big a star he became, so I'll instead rail against Hollywood for dropping the ball on Jennifer Grey. She gives a genuine, winning, lovely performance that's utterly charming and beguiling. You sympathize and follow her every step of the way. Supported by the excellent soundtrack, which I wonder nowadays whether another director would've had the nerve to mix period tunes with modern pop, it's a film I often underestimated since my sister obsessed over it whilst I wiled away my days playing Double Dragon on NES. Points go to you, sis. It is indeed an iconic picture.