Emile Ardolino's Dirty Dancing (USA, 1987. Color; 105 min.) reviewed by Bianca Shama

Dirty Dancing directed by Emile Ardolino, is a vivid love story. Baby, an inexperienced, sheltered, seventeen year old girl, played by Jennifer Gray. She takes a vacation with her parents to a resort in the Catskills. This is where she meets John, played by Patrick Swayze, a sexy, experienced dance instructor working at the resort. Baby instantly when she meets Johnny is intrigued by his rough lifestyle, and is mesmerized by his uninhibited movements of 'dirty dancing'. The two are nearly opposites, but progress to show each other throughout the film a lot about love and the harsh realities of life, resulting in the ending of Baby's innocence.

The movie contains an abundance of great dancing and sensual body movement. A true enjoyment to watch. All the vibrant dancing is set to wonderful pounding rhythms that make the viewer want to get up and dance themselves. The dance sensation, Cynthia Rhodes, features in this film as Joe's dance partner, Penny. She is an excellent dancer as she has proven in other dance movies such as Flashdance, and Staying Alive. Her dancing talent makes the movie a true delight.

This sensual love story is very appealing because it never becomes sappy. It stays away from being cute and focuses more on real issues. These issues range from abortion and abandonment, to Baby's growing from a sheltered child, to pulling away from her overbearing and overprotective father for her recognition as an adult. Though the relationship that progresses between Baby and Johnny is the main core of the film, these issues move the film along and keep it from ever becoming dull or dragging.

This is the sort of film that would appeal to an audience of all ages. It is a love story that is not so complicated that it could not be appreciated by young adults and it is not so simple that adults would not enjoy it. The movie contains a number of different aspects that would attract a number of different audiences. The movie contains dancing, love, sex, hate, violence, jealousy, great music, friendship, and more. It covers all the bases. With such a great cast who could resist?

The choreography is particularly amazing. The variety of dancing that takes place is very enjoyable to watch, especially since those doing the dancing are so talented and vibrant.

A negative that I saw in the film was that I found it hard to believe that the characters were supposed to be so young. Jennifer Gray as Baby seemed way too mature to be only seventeen; Patrick Swayze also seemed to be much older than she. At times it was almost as if Swayze were robbing the cradle, they seemed so far apart in ages. Yet, this is easy to overlook because the passion that seeps from the two draws the viewers attention to the passionate romance that is forming between them, not to their age.

Another problem with the film is a few inconsistencies in the soundtrack The film is supposed to be set in the summer of 1963 and a few of the songs are recorded later than that. A scene towards the end of the movie has Baby and Johnny dancing to a song that was not even released until the I980's.

Aside from a few minor drawbacks, this film is a wonderful lesson in love and life. Watching this movie was a truly enjoyable experience. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a movie that will keep their foot tapping and to anybody who believes in love.