Dirty Dancing (1987)

In Emile Ardolino's popular, coming-of-age, sexual awakening romantic tale and dance film - the 'dirty dancing' of the film's title (choreographed by Kenny Ortega) referred to numerous sexy dance scenes in the staff quarters of a resort hotel, or in a dance studio (or elsewhere). The plot line of the crowd-pleasing, 'feel-good' blockbuster was about the coming of age of an idealistic teenaged HS grad whose summer encounter with a suave, lower-class dance instructor brought unpredictable changes and loss of innocence. The film's time-frame also reflected monumental social, political, and cultural changes occurring from the idealistic and conservative 1950s to the more transgressive and problematic turmoil of the 1960s. Its main tagline was: "First dance. First love. The time of your life."

The film's soundtrack was very popular, and it was honored with an Academy Award for Best Original Song for its theme song: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes). On a budget of $6 million, the film grossed $64.6 million (domestic) and $214.6 million (worldwide). It became the #1 video rental in 1988, and was the first film to sell a million copies on video.

There were many offshoots of the film: Dirty Dancing (1988-1989): an 11-episode CBS-TV series, without any original cast or crew members; Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) - director Guy Ferland's remake and prequel set in Havana, Cuba, starring Romola Garai and Diego Luna; Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage (2004), a stage musical of the same name, amongst various other stage productions; and Dirty Dancing (2017) - a 3-hour musical made-for-TV remake movie, starring Abigail Breslin and Colt Prattes.

• the film's opening credits appeared over slo-motion B/W footage of provocative early 1960s "dirty dancers" during a sweaty, off-limits, secret party among the resort staff in their dormitory quarters, to the tune of the Ronettes' "Be My Baby"
• a voice-over from radio DJ voice (legendary and popular radio personality "Cousin Brucie" or Bruce Morrow, who broadcast from 1961 to 1974 on WABC, a top 40 radio station in NYC at AM 770) announced: "Hi, everybody, this is your Cousin Brucie. Whoa! Our summer romances are in full bloom, and everybody, but everybody's in love. So cousins, here's a great song from The Four Seasons" - "Big Girls Don't Cry"
• the radio DJ was followed by voice-over narration provided by 17 year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey):
  • "That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me 'Baby' and it didn't occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy was shot; before The Beatles came; when I couldn't wait to join the Peace Corps; and I thought I'd never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman's"
• 'Baby' was the youngest of two daughters in a wealthy Jewish family; 'Baby' had just graduated from HS and was starting at Mount Holyoke in the fall (and planning to major in "Economics of Underdeveloped Countries"), with future plans to join the Peace Corps
• in the summer of 1963, she was brought with her family to an upstate New York Catskills resort known as Kellerman's Mountain House (fictional). [Note: The film was actualy shot in Virginia's Mountain Lake Hotel.] She was accompanied by her older sister Lisa (Jane Brucker) - an aspiring interior decorator, her mother Marjorie Houseman (Kelly Bishop), and her cardiologist father Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), who had been hired to be the resort's physician for three weeks in the summer by Jake's good friend - the hotel owner Max Kellerman (Jack Weston); it was the family's first vacation in 6 years

Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Jennifer Grey)

Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach)

• as part of the resort's complimentary activities, Lisa and Baby took a merengue dance lesson in the gazebo taught by ex-Rockette dance instructor Penny Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes)
• behind the scenes in the main house, Baby overheard resort owner Max ordering his college-aged, Ivy League restaurant staff to serve and entertain all of the patrons: ("Show the goddamn daughters a good time. All the daughters. Even the dogs"); he had sterner words of advice to his entertainment staff: ("Dance with the daughters. Teach 'em the mambo, the cha-cha, anything they pay for. That's it. That's where it ends. No funny business, no conversations, and keep you hands off!"); his demeaning reprimands were directed specifically toward Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), the macho resort hotel resident dance instructor and streetwise sexy suitor
• Max attempted to match up his grandson Neil (Lonny Price) with Baby; Neil (nicknamed "the little boss man") was hired as the resort's Entertainment Director for the summer, while studying hotel management at Cornell

'Baby' Watching Secret "Dirty Dancing" in Staff-Employee Quarters-Dormitory

• to get away from the main resort, as Baby wandered near the off-limits staff quarters (and heard the song "Where Are You Tonight"), she was asked to help deliver watermelons to a secret party (with reddish light) by Johnny's cousin Billy Kostecki (Neal Jones); she was introduced to 'dirty dancing', where she watched in awe as the staff vigorously danced - especially Johnny's making the moves with his long-time dance partner Penny to the soundtrack's playing of "Do You Love Me" (by the Contours) and Otis Redding's "Love Man"

'Baby' Dancing with Johnny For the First Time At the Secret 'Dirty Dancing' Party

• 'Baby' was completely intimidated when Johnny brought her onto the dance floor to teach her a few moves, but obviously she thoroughly enjoyed the experience
• in a major sub-plot, Penny was discovered to be pregnant ("knocked up"), and 'Baby' immediately and wrongly assumed that the father was Johnny; Johnny comforted Penny and offered to pay part of his salary for an abortion, but she refused; it was soon revealed that she had been impregnated by irresponsible hotel waiter Robbie Gould (Max Cantor), a Yale medical student, who refused to pay for her abortion; as Penny angrily put it: "Penny got knocked up by Robbie the Creep"; the snobbish and uncaring Robbie told 'Baby': "Some people count, and some people don't"; Robbie was also in the midst of romancing Baby's sister Lisa, and Baby attempted to protect her from his predatory behavior: "Stay away from my sister or I'll have you fired"
• 'Baby' chose to intervene and asked her father for a loan of $250 cash, without specifying what she needed the money for; there was a complication - the day of the abortion in New Paltz, NY was scheduled on the same day as a dance show ("Mambo Magic") at the neighboring Sheldrake Hotel, meaning that Johnny's partner Penny couldn't dance that night - and cancellation of the show wasn't a real possibility: ("If they cancelled, they would lose this year's salary and next year's gig"); 'Baby' volunteered to train and take Penny's place
• as they began training with Johnny and she practiced on her own (with an invisible partner), he gave her advice about feeling the moves internally: "The steps aren't enough. Feel the music...It's a feeling, a heartbeat. Don't try so hard. Close your eyes"

The Beginning of Training and Practice with Johnny

• over the course of about a week, he (and Penny) taught 'Baby' expressive mambo dance moves, in one sequence to the tune of Hungry Eyes, as he kept reminding her: "You gotta hold the frame"

Practice with Johnny and Penny - "You gotta hold the frame"

• a montage was presented as the song continued to play, during their many hours of practice

Montage of Further Training with Johnny and Penny
Continuation of Dance Practice Lessons - and Baby's Flared Temper

• after hours and hours of exhausting indoor practice, tempers flared, and Baby uncharacteristically expressed how she was fed up with Johnny's harsh training and criticisms of her lack of concentration: "We're supposed to do the show in two days. You won't show me the lifts. I'm not sure of the turns. I'm doing all this to save your ass. What I really want to do is drop you on it!"; he suggested that they move outdoors to practice lifts: "Let's leave!"
• they drove off to a nearby cold lake, to further practice balance and perfect their lifts on a log in the forest (to the tune of "Hey Baby" performed by Bruce Channel): ("Now the most important thing to remember in lifts is balance"); as he stood on the log, she asked how he became a dancer, and he explained how he had started as a dance instructor at an Arthur Murray dance studio; from the log, they transferred to a meadow and then to the water to continue trying their lifts

Practicing Balance on a Forest Log

Trying a Lift in a Meadow

Perfecting Lifts in a Cold Lake

• before Baby's substitute performance for Penny, she was worried about the show ("What if I forget the steps?"), but was able to comfort and reassure Penny that her operation-abortion would be fine: "Don't worry. You'll be fine"
• Johnny and Baby's "Mambo Magic" dance performance-act to the number 'De Todo un Poco' at the Sheldrake Hotel went well, although 'Baby' was nervous and stiff, and hesitated to do the finale's full lift
• when 'Baby' and Johnny returned to Kellerman's and learned that Penny's abortion was botched, Baby called upon her father to treat Penny who was in agonizing pain; when Mr. Houseman asked who was responsible for Penny, Johnny answered, but then he wrongly blamed Johnny for the pregnancy; afterwards, Baby was reprimanded and scolded for lying about the reason for borrowing the cash: ("You're not the person I thought you were, Baby"); he also forbid her from further contact with the dance staff or Johnny
• later the same evening, Baby disobediently visited Johnny in his cabin-bungalow to apologize for her father's treatment of him, to the tune of "These Arms of Mine" by Otis Redding; surprisingly, Johnny thanked her for her father's miracle cure and talent, and then admitted that he was only a low-status guy: "The reason people treat me like nothing is because I am nothing"; he claimed he had never met anyone as idealistic or positive as Baby: "I've never known anybody like you. You look at the world and you think you can make it better"
• he complimented her on her bravery to go seek help from her father, but then she expressed her own fears: "I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all, I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you"

Baby's Request to Have a Sensuous Dance With Johnny: "Dance with me"
"Dance with me"

• she then invited the shirtless Johnny to symbolically "Dance with me"; incredulous, Johnny asked: "What, here?" and she replied boldly: "Here"; to the tune of Solomon Burke singing "Cry to Me" in the dim light, they danced sensuously; after a few moments, he removed her blouse; she was stripped down to her white bra and jeans as he held her when she dipped backwards, before the scene dissolved to them in bed kissing - presumably before sex

The Subsequent "Dance With Me" Scene - Stripped Down to White Bra

• the next morning at breakfast, Dr. Houseman surprised the family by announcing they were leaving early - the next day - before the weekend's end-of-season talent show, but then he was persuaded to change his mind ("It was just an idea. We can stay if you want to"); both Baby and Johnny visited with Penny, who was recuperating nicely, and was told by Dr. Houseman that she could still have children; Baby admitted that the show went OK, except she didn't do the lifts; Baby's love-struck look tipped off Penny to the fact that Johnny and Baby were having sex, and she admonished him to not get involved with the resort guests ("How many times have you told me never get mixed-up with them?...You've got to stop it now"), but he was pre-occupied
• during a rainy day, Baby was again able to sneak away from her family to return to Johnny - and soon after found herself in bed naked with him, to the distant tune of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" by The Shirelles; Baby was atop Johnny - when she asked: "Have you had many women?... Tell me, I wanna know," but he was reluctant to talk about his sex partners; but then he did speak about his past relationships mostly at the resort with older rich women, and his own lower-class background: "You gotta understand what it's like, Baby. You come from the streets and suddenly you're up here and these women - they are throwin' themselves at ya and they smell so good. And they really take care of themselves. I mean, I never knew women could be like that, you know? And they're so rich - they're so goddamn rich, you think they must know about everything. And they're slippin' their room keys in my hands two and three times a day -- different women -- so, here I think I'm scorin' big, right? And for awhile, you think - 'Hey, they wouldn't be doin' this if they didn't care about me, right?'"
• when Baby assumed that he was just using the rich older women, he claimed it was just the reverse: "No, no, that's not it. That's the thing, Baby. See, it wasn't like that. They were usin' me" - and then they kissed passionately; he learned that her real name was Frances ("the first woman in the Cabinet"), and he called it a "real grown-up name"
• later, while other resort guests were being entertained, Baby returned to Johnny for more playful cha-cha dance moves, while lip-synching to the tune of "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia; she spited him by taking charge: ("You're invading my dance space. This is my dance space. That's yours. Let's cha-cha")
• Johnny was pressured by Neil into changing up the final dance routine (for the closing night talent show) from the Mambo to the Pechanga, without being able to offer his own suggestions; afterwards while taking a walk together, Johnny explained his compliance and weak reaction to Neil: ("I know these people. They are rich and they're mean. They won't listen to me"); when Baby suggested that Johnny should "fight harder" for his ideas: ("Make them listen"), he said he wanted to keep his job for the following summer; disgusted, he reminded her that she never had any intention of being courageous enough to tell her family about their serious relationship: ("Fight harder, huh? I don't see you running up to Daddy telling him I'm your guy") before he stalked off
• however, they soon reconciled, but Johnny was forced to defend the two of them together from a snide comment made by the arrogant and womanizing Robbie: ("Hey, well it looks like I picked the wrong sister") - Johnny found an excuse to viciously beat up Robbie for impregnating Penny and then abandoning her
• during rehearsals for the final talent show, Baby proudly watched as Johnny turned down a proposition ("extra dance lessons" = sex paid for by her husband) by one of the rich female guests, Vivian Pressman (Miranda Garrison); Baby's sister Lisa also confided in her that "tonight's the night with Robbie"
• later that evening, as Lisa went looking for Robbie, she found him in his cabin in bed with Vivian; she was fortuitously saved from losing her virginity to the disreputable waiter; at the same time, Baby and Johnny were spending their final evening in bed together in his cabin, to the tune of "In the Still of the Nite" sung by the Five Satins; he shared a dream he had of being embraced by her father
• when Baby left Johnny's cabin early the next morning after spending the night, she was spotted by Johnny's spurned would-be adulterous lover Vivian; to spite both Baby and Johnny, Vivian reported them to the management and vengefully claimed that Johnny had stolen her husband's wallet; Johnny was about to be fired by the hotel's manager Max Kellerman for intermingling with the guests - including Baby; to provide Johnny with an alibi when he was spitefully and wrongly accused of theft, in the presence of her father, Baby boldly confessed to Max that she had been with Johnny overnight: ("I know because he was in his room all night. And the reason I know is because I was with him")
• with her father, 'Baby' had now confessed to a second lie - she apologized that she had lied about the cash for Penny's abortion - for good reason - and then accused her repressive father of elitism about her future career choices: "I'm sorry I lied to you. But you lied, too. You told me everyone was alike and deserved a fair break. But you meant everyone who was like you. You told me you wanted me to change the world, to make it better. But you meant by becoming a lawyer or an economist and marrying someone from Harvard. I'm not proud of myself. But I'm in this family, too, and you can't keep giving me the silent treatment. There are a lot of things about me that aren't what you thought. But if you love me, you have to love all the things about me. And I love you, and I'm sorry I let you down. I'm so sorry, Daddy. But you let me down, too"
• Johnny informed Baby that he had been let go (for associating with the guests), although he had been cleared of the theft charges; he was pressured to leave quietly in order to receive his summer bonus; she felt her dreams with him had been dashed: "So I did it for nothing. I hurt my family, you lost your job anyway, I did it for nothing!" He was still thankful for her faithfulness to him: "No, no, not for nothin', Baby! Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before"
• before Johnny left the resort, he had a few words with Baby's father, who still falsely believed that he had fathered Penny's child; Johnny listened to harsh accusations: "I see someone in front of me who got his partner in trouble and sent her off to some butcher while he moved on to an innocent young girl like my daughter"
• Johnny's goodbye scene with Baby by his car was accompanied by "She's Like the Wind" (performed by Patrick Swayze with Wendy Frazer), as he told her: "I'll never be sorry." She answered: "Neither will I" - and they kissed
• in the film's concluding finale featuring the resort's smaltzy end-of-season talent show, Baby sat with her parents at a corner table; Dr. Houseman took back his envelope given to Robbie (with a check and recommendation to medical school) after he was shocked to learn that Robbie had impregnated Penny, not Johnny; Robbie had stupidly blurted out: "And I want to thank you for your help with the Penny situation. I guess we've all gotten into messes like these...I thought Baby told you. Look, I'm not sure. Penny said so, but you know with girls like that, they're liable to pin it on any guy around"

The Houseman Table At the End-of-Season Talent Show

• to everyone's surprise, Johnny returned to the resort and confronted Baby's parents (mostly her protective father); he told him that Baby shouldn't be seated in the corner at their family's table: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"; then, he led Baby to the stage. Although he had been fired from the staff, he interrupted and announced to the crowd: "Sorry about the disruption, folks, but I always do the last dance of the season. This year somebody told me not to. So I'm gonna do my kind of dancin' with a great partner, who's not only a terrific dancer, but somebody who's taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them. Somebody who's taught me about the kind of person I wanna be. Miss Frances Houseman"
• and then to the tune of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warne's "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," he and Baby danced together (performing the dance moves they had practiced all summer), including Johnny lifting Baby above his head in the midst of the audience, and encouraging the many other guests at the Catskill Resort to loosen up and dance with them

The Dance Finale

• now that Dr. Houseman had learned the truth about Penny's pregnancy, he pulled Johnny aside to apologize about misjudging him: ("I know you weren't the one who got Penny in trouble...When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong"); then, he congratulated Baby: "You looked wonderful out there" - and she hugged her father