
In 1963, Frances "Baby" Houseman, a sweet daddy's girl, goes with her family to a resort in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains. Baby has grown up in privileged surroundings and all expect her to go on to college, join the Peace Corps and save the world before marrying a doctor, just like her father. Unexpectedly, Baby becomes infatuated with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle, a man whose background is vastly different from her own. Baby lies to her father to get m... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1963, Frances "Baby" Houseman, a sweet daddy's girl, goes with her family to a resort in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains. Baby has grown up in privileged surroundings and all expect her to go on to college, join the Peace Corps and save the world before marrying a doctor, just like her father. Unexpectedly, Baby becomes infatuated with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle, a man whose background is vastly different from her own. Baby lies to her father to get money to pay for an illegal abortion for Johnny's dance partner. She then fills in as Johnny's dance partner and it is as he is teaching her the dance routine that they fall in love. It all comes apart when Johnny's friend falls seriously ill after her abortion and Baby gets her father, who saves the girl's life. He then learns what Baby has been up to, who with and worse, that he funded the illegal abortion. He bans his daughter from any further association with "those people". In the first deliberately willful action of her life, Baby later sneaks out to see Johnny, ostensibly to apologize for her father's rudeness, and ends up consummating her relationship with Johnny. A jealous fellow vacationer sees Baby sneaking out of Johnny's bungalow the next morning, and in an act of retribution, tells management that he is responsible for a theft the evening before, knowing he would not furnish his real whereabouts.
Leave your thoughts about Dirty Dancing.
| Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonDirty Dancing is "Flashdance" with a triple-digit IQ. |
| Cinema CrazedFelix Vasquez Jr.Packs in drama, comedy, and an iconic finale that's still quite riveting. |
| EmanuelLevy.ComEmanuel LevyGuilty pleasure: Fluffy, schmaltzy and predicatble, this coming of age tale, set at a turing point of American culture, is extremely enjoyable due to erotic dancing and Oscar-winning tunes (just disregard the stereotypes and cliches). |
| Sacramento BeeJoe BaltakeTurned out to be one of those films that had something for everyone. |
| Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittUnfortunately, the idea for Dirty Dancing exceeds the execution...and the story resolves itself all too conveniently in that final scene. |
| Chicago TribuneDave KehrA poignant and racy movie. The dancing is pretty great, too. |
| L.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyAbove all, you've got Jennifer Grey, as a rich girl summering in the Catskills and falling for her working-class dance instructor, played by Patrick Swayze. The chemistry between them is red-hot, and they're wonderful dancers. |
| Washington PostDesson ThomsonThe dance finale between Gray and Swayze, although an obvious crowd-pleaser, is performed to a contemporary song clearly intended for the charts, which blows the period feel right off the dance floor. |
| NewsweekDavid AnsenIt's a wonderfully corny story, performed exuberantly by Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. When these two get together, you practically have to get out the fire extinguishers. |
| Movie MomNell MinowIndefensible, but irresistable. Nobody puts this movie in the corner! |