Dirty Dancing | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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Directed by | Emile Ardolino |
Produced by | Linda Gottlieb |
Written by | Eleanor Bergstein |
Starring | Patrick Swayze Jennifer Grey Robert Crane Cynthia Rhodes |
Music by | John Morris Erich Bulling |
Cinematography | Jeffrey Jur |
Editing by | Peter C. Frank |
Distributed by | Vestron Pictures |
Release date(s) | August 21, 1987 |
Running time | 100 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million[1] |
Gross revenue | over $214 million worldwide (2009)[2] |
Followed by | Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights |
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 romantic film made in the United States. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Cynthia Rhodes, and Jerry Orbach. The story is a coming of age drama that documents a teenaged woman's rebellion against her father by starting a relationship with a dance instructor during a family summer vacation. Almost a third of the film involves dancing scenes choreographed by Kenny Ortega (later famous for High School Musical).
Originally a low-budget film by a new studio and with no major stars (except Broadway legend Jerry Orbach in a supporting role), Dirty Dancing became a massive box office hit. As of 2009[update], it earned over $214 million worldwide.[2] It was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video,[2] and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack generated two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles, including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for best duet.[3] The film spawned a 2004 prequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, as well as a stage version which has had sellout performances in Australia, Europe, and North America, with plans to open on Broadway.
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In the summer of 1963, 17-year-old New Yorker Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is vacationing with her affluent Jewish family at Kellerman's,[4] a resort in the Catskill Mountains. Baby is planning to attend Mount Holyoke College to study economics of underdeveloped countries and then enter the Peace Corps. She was named after Frances Perkins, the first woman in the U.S. Cabinet. Baby's father, Jake (Jerry Orbach), is the personal physician of the resort owner Max Kellerman (Jack Weston).
Baby develops a crush on the resort's dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), part of the working-class entertainment staff. When Baby, while carrying a watermelon, is invited to one of their secret after-hour parties, she observes for the first time the "dirty dancing" that the staff enjoys. She is intrigued by the sexy dancing, and receives a brief lesson from Johnny. Later, Baby discovers that Johnny's dance partner Penny Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes) is distraught over being pregnant by Robbie Gould (Max Cantor), the womanizing waiter who is dating and cheating on Lisa, Baby's sister. Baby learns that Robbie plans to do nothing about the pregnancy as he says "Some people count, some people don't," so she secures the money from her father to pay for Penny's illegal abortion. Baby's father agrees to give her the money despite her secrecy regarding what it will be used for, because of the trust he holds in his daughter. In her efforts to help, Baby also becomes Penny's fill-in for a performance at the Sheldrake, a nearby resort where Johnny and Penny perform annually. This upcoming show requires Johnny to train Baby to become a better dancer and learn the required routine.
As Baby becomes Johnny's pupil in dance, tempers flare and a romance begins to develop. Their performance at the Sheldrake goes reasonably well, though Baby is too nervous to accomplish the dance's climactic lift. When they return to Kellerman's, they learn that Penny's backstreet abortion was botched, leaving Penny in agonizing pain. Baby brings her father to help, but he assumes that the pregnancy was caused by Johnny, and forbids Baby to have anything to do with him or his friends. He is furious at Baby for lying to him and betraying his trust. Baby, however, defies her father and goes to visit Johnny in his room that very night, where they begin an affair. Their relationship is eventually revealed after Johnny is accused of stealing a wallet from one of the resort guests and is unable to provide a verifiable alibi; to save him from being fired, Baby confesses that he could not have been responsible as she was with him in his cabin that night. Johnny is eventually cleared of the theft charge, but is still fired for having a relationship with a guest. However, Baby's selfless act inspires Johnny to realize that "there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them."[5]
In the film's climactic scene, Johnny, even though he has been fired, returns to the resort to perform the final dance of the season with Baby. Excoriating the Housemans for their choice of Baby's seat, he utters the film's most famous line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," as he pulls her up from the family's table. Johnny leads Baby onto the stage, interrupting the show that is already in progress. After a brief speech, Johnny and Baby dazzle the audience with a stunning dance performance to the song "The Time of My Life" which ends with Baby completing the lift for the first time. Dr. Houseman learns that the true culprit in Penny's pregnancy was Robbie, not Johnny, and he apologizes (Robbie having accidentally confessed to his deed earlier in the scene, while talking to Dr. Houseman). The film ends as the dance sequence continues and the room is transformed into a nightclub where everyone, staff and patrons, dances together.
Dirty Dancing is in large part based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's own childhood: She is the younger daughter of a Jewish doctor from New York, spent summers with her family in the Catskills, participated in "Dirty Dancing" competitions, and was herself called "Baby" as a girl. In 1980, Bergstein wrote a screenplay for the Michael Douglas film, It's My Turn. However, the producers cut an erotic dancing scene from the script, much to her dismay. She then conceived a new story, focused almost exclusively on dancing. In 1984, she pitched the idea to MGM executive Eileen Miselle, who liked it and teamed Bergstein with producer Linda Gottlieb. They set the film in 1963, with the character of Baby based on Bergstein's own life, and the character of Johnny based on the stories of Michael Terrace, a dance instructor whom Bergstein met in the Catskills in 1985 while she was researching the story. She finished the script in November 1985, but management changes at MGM put the script into turnaround, or limbo. Bergstein then shopped the script around to other studios, but was repeatedly rejected until she showed it to Austin Furst, president of Vestron Pictures, a new studio in Century City. Vestron's vice-president Mitchell Cannold liked the story, as he too had spent some of his own childhood in the Catskills. He and fellow vice-president Dori Berinstein agreed to seek financing for the film, if an appropriate director could be found. Gottlieb and Bergstein chose Emile Ardolino, who had won the 1983 Academy Award for the documentary, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'. Ardolino had never directed a feature film, but was extremely passionate about the project, even sending a message from where he was sequestered in jury duty, insisting that he was the best choice as director. The film was approved, and budgeted at the relatively low amount of $4 million, at a time when the average cost for a film was $12 million.[7]
For choreographer, Bergstein chose Kenny Ortega, who had been trained by the legendary dancer Gene Kelly.[8] For a location for the film, they did not find anything suitable in the Catskills (as many of the resorts had been shut down at that point), so they decided on a combination of two locations: Lake Lure in North Carolina, and the Mountain Lake Hotel near Roanoke, Virginia, with careful editing making it look like all of the shooting was done in the same area.[9]
Director Ardolino was adamant that they choose dancers who could also act, as he did not want to use the "stand-in" method that had been used with the 1983 Flashdance. For the female lead of Frances "Baby" Houseman, Bergstein chose the 26-year-old Jennifer Grey, daughter of the Oscar-winning actor and dancer Joel Grey of the 1972 film Cabaret who, like her father, was also a trained dancer. They then sought a male lead, initially considering 20-year-old Billy Zane, who had the visual look desired (originally the Johnny character was to be Italian and have a dark exotic look) but initial dancing tests when he was partnered with Grey did not meet expectations. The next choice was 34-year-old Patrick Swayze, who had been noticed for his roles in The Outsiders and Red Dawn, in which he had co-starred with Grey. Swayze was a seasoned dancer, with experience from the Joffrey Ballet. The producers were thrilled with him, but Swayze's agent was against the idea. However, Swayze read the script, liked the multi-leveled character of Johnny, and took the part anyway and Johnny was changed from being Italian to Irish. Grey was not happy about the choice, as she and Swayze had had difficulty getting along on Red Dawn. However, the two of them met, worked things out, and when they did their dancing screen test, the chemistry between them was obvious. Bergstein described it as "breathtaking".[10]
Other casting choices were Broadway actor Jerry Orbach as Dr. Jake Houseman, Baby's father; and Jane Brucker as Lisa Houseman, Baby's older sister. Bergstein also attempted to cast her friend, sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer to play Mrs. Schumacher, and Joel Grey as her husband. However, Westheimer backed out when she learned the role involved being a thief. The role part went instead to 79-year-old Paula Trueman, and Joel Grey was not cast. Another role went to Bergstein's friend, New York radio personality "Cousin Brucie". Bergstein initially wanted him to play the part of the social director, but then later asked him to play the part of the magician. The part of the social director went to the then unknown Wayne Knight (of later Seinfeld and 3rd Rock from the Sun fame).[11] The part of Baby's mother was originally given to Lynn Lipton, who is briefly visible in the beginning when the Houseman family first pulls into Kellerman's (Lipton is in the front seat for a few seconds; her blonde hair is the only indication). But Lipton became ill during the first week of shooting and was replaced by actress Kelly Bishop, who had already been cast to play Vivian Pressman, the highly sexed resort guest. Bishop moved into the role as Mrs. Houseman, and the film's assistant choreographer Miranda Garrison took on the role of Vivian.[12][13]
The tight schedule allowed only two weeks for rehearsal, and 44 days for filming as it was already the tail end of summer. The cast stayed in the same hotel at Mountain Lake Resort in Pembroke, Virginia, and rehearsals quickly turned into disco parties involving nearly every cast member, even non-dancers such as Jack Weston.[14] The dancing and drinking went on almost non-stop and, immersed in the environment, the lead actors, Grey and Swayze, began identifying with their characters. Bergstein built upon this, encouraging the actors to improvise in their scenes. She also built the sexual tension by saying that no matter how intimate or "grinding" the dance steps, that none of the dancers were to have any other kind of physical contact with each other for the next six months.[10]
Filming started on September 5, 1986, but was plagued by the weather ranging from pouring rain to sweltering heat. The outside temperature rose to 105 °F (41 °C), and with all the additional camera and lighting equipment needed for filming, the temperature inside could be as high as 120 °F (49 °C). According to choreographer Kenny Ortega, on one day ten people passed out within 25 minutes of shooting. The elderly Paula Trueman collapsed and was taken to the local emergency room to be treated for dehydration. Patrick Swayze also required a hospital visit; insisting on doing his own stunts, he repeatedly fell off of the log during the "balancing" scene and injured his knee so badly he had to have fluid drained from the swelling.[10]
Delays in the shooting schedule pushed filming into the autumn, which required the set decorators to spray-paint the autumn leaves green. The uncooperative weather then took a different turn, plunging from oppressive heat to down near 40 °F (4 °C), causing frigid conditions for the famous swimming scene in October. The crew wore warm coats, gloves and boots. Swayze and Grey stripped down to light summer clothing, to repeatedly dive into the cold water.[9] Despite her character's enjoyment, Grey later described the water as "horrifically" cold, and she might not have gone into the lake, except that she was "young and hungry".[12]
Relations between the two main stars varied throughout production. They had already had trouble getting along in their previous project, Red Dawn. They worked things out enough to have an extremely positive screen test, but initial cooperation soon faded, and they were soon "facing off" before every scene.[10] There was concern among the production staff that the animosity between the two stars would endanger the filming of the love scenes. To address this, producer Bergstein and director Ardolino forced the stars to re-watch their initial screen-tests—the ones with the "breathtaking" chemistry. This had the desired effect, and Swayze and Grey were able to return to the film with renewed energy and enthusiasm.[12]
Director Ardolino encouraged the actors to improvise, and often kept the cameras rolling even if actors went "off script". One example of this was the scene where Grey was to stand in front of Swayze with her back to him, and put her arm up behind his head while he trailed his fingers down her arm (similar to the pose that is seen in the movie poster). Though it was written as a serious and tender moment, Grey was exhausted, found the move ticklish, and could not stop giggling each time Swayze tried it, no matter how many takes Ardolino asked for. Swayze was impatient to finish the scene, and found Grey's behavior annoying. However, the producers decided that the scene worked as it was, and put it into the film complete with Grey's giggling and Swayze's annoyed expression. It became one of the most famous scenes in the film, turning out, as choreographer Kenny Ortega put it, "as one of the most delicate and honest moments in the film."[10]
The shooting wrapped on October 27, 1986, both on-time and on-budget. No one on the team however liked the rough cut that was put together, and Vestron executives were convinced that the film was going to be a flop. Thirty nine percent of people who viewed the movie did not realize abortion was the subplot. In May 1987, the film was screened for producer Aaron Russo. According to Vestron executive Mitchell Cannold, Russo's reaction at the end was to say simply, "Burn the negative, and collect the insurance."[10]
Further disputes arose over the question of whether a corporate sponsor could be found to promote the film. Marketers of the Clearasil acne product liked the film, seeing it as a vehicle to reach a teen target audience. However, when they learned that the film contained an abortion scene, they asked for that part of the plot to be cut. As Bergstein refused, the Clearasil promotion was dropped. Consequently, Vestron promoted the film themselves and set the premiere on August 16, 1987. The Vestron executives had planned to release the film in theaters for a weekend, and then send it straight to home video, since Vestron had been in the video distribution business before film production.[1] Considering how many people disliked the film at that point, producer Gottlieb's recollection of her feelings at the time was, "I would have only been grateful, if when it was released, people didn't yell at me."[10]
For the film's opening, the August 16, 1987 edition of The New York Times published a major review, with a headline reading, "Dirty Dancing Rocks to an Innocent Beat." The Times reviewer called the film "a metaphor for America in the summer of 1963 – orderly, prosperous, bursting with good intentions, a sort of Yiddish-inflected Camelot."[15] Other reviews were more mixed: Gene Siskel gave the film a "marginal Thumbs Up" as he liked Jennifer Grey's acting and development of her character, while Roger Ebert gave it "Thumbs Down" due to its "idiot plot",[16] calling it a "tired and relentlessly predictable story of love between kids from different backgrounds."[17] Time magazine was lukewarm, saying, "If the ending of Eleanor Bergstein's script is too neat and inspirational, the rough energy of the film's song and dance does carry one along, past the whispered doubts of better judgment."[18]
Regardless of reviews, the film drew adult audiences instead of the expected teens, with viewers rating the film highly.[12] Many filmgoers, after seeing the film once, went right back into the theater to watch it a second time.[12] Word-of-mouth promotion took the film to the number one position in the United States, and in ten days it had broken the $10 million mark. By November, it was also achieving international fame. Within seven months of release, it had brought in $63 million, and boosted attendance in dance classes across America.[10] It was one of the highest-grossing films of 1987, earning $170 million worldwide.[19][20]
The film's popularity continued to grow after its initial release. It was the number one video rental of 1988,[21] and became the first film to sell a million copies on video. When the film was re-released in 1997, ten years after its original release, Swayze received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,[22] and videos were still selling at the rate of over 40,000 per month.[22] As of 2005[update], it was selling a million DVDs per year,[23] with over ten million copies sold as of 2007[update].[24]
A May 2007 survey by Britain's Sky Movies listed Dirty Dancing as number one on "Women's most-watched films", above the Star Wars trilogy, Grease, The Sound of Music, and Pretty Woman.[25] The film's popularity has also caused it to be called "the Star Wars for girls."[6][26][27] An April 2008 article in Britain's Daily Mail listed Dirty Dancing as number one on a list of "most romantic movie quotes ever", for Baby's line "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."[28] The film's music has also had considerable impact. The closing song, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" has been listed as the "third most popular song played at funerals" in the UK.[6]
Rehearsals for the dancing, and some of the filming, used music from Bergstein's personal collection of gramophone records. When it came time to select actual music for the film, Vestron chose Jimmy Ienner as music supervisor. Ienner, who had previously produced albums and songs for John Lennon and Three Dog Night, opted to stick with much of the music that had already been used during filming, and obtained licenses for the songs from Bergstein's collection. He also enlisted Swayze to sing the new song "She's Like the Wind." Swayze had written the song a few years earlier with Stacy Widelitz, originally intending for it to be used in the 1984 film Grandview, U.S.A.[10]
The movie's score was composed by John Morris. The Kellermans' song that closes the talent show scene had lyrics written specifically for the film,[12] and was sung to the tune of Annie Lisle, a commonly-used theme for school alma maters.[35] Kenny Ortega and his assistant Miranda Garrison chose the song for the finale by going through an entire box of tapes listening to each one. According to Ortega, literally the last tape that they listened to had "The Time of My Life", which they saw as the obvious choice.[30] Ienner then insisted that Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes record it. The song won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Duet, an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[30][31]
The film's soundtrack started an oldies music revival,[36] and demand for the album caught RCA Records by surprise. According to Franke Previte, before a single had even been released, there were a million albums on back-order.[10] The Dirty Dancing album spent 18 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album sales charts and went platinum eleven times, selling more than 42 million copies worldwide.[37] It spawned a follow-up multi-platinum album in February 1988, entitled More Dirty Dancing.[38]
Songs from the album which appeared on the charts included:[30]
The film's huge success had the paradoxical effect of backfiring on some of the participants.
Patrick Swayze was routinely parodied in the media, and in 1989, received two nominations for worst actor from the Golden Raspberry awards, for his performances in Next of Kin and Road House (which used the tag line "The dancing's over. Now it gets dirty"). But in 1990, Swayze again had success in Ghost with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg.[40]
Grey, for her part, had a rhinoplasty in the early 1990s, which changed her nose and made her face nearly unrecognizable from her "Baby" character.[41] She was never able to find a role which matched the success that she had in Dirty Dancing.[42]
As for the studio, despite the film's huge monetary success, Vestron followed it up with a series of flops, and ran out of money. Vestron's parent company Vestron Inc. went bankrupt in 1990,[10] and was bought out in January 1991 by LIVE Entertainment for $26 million. The rights to Dirty Dancing passed to Artisan Entertainment, and later to Lions Gate Entertainment.[23]
Jerry Orbach, already known as a successful Broadway actor, continued in different genres. He was the voice of the candelabra "Lumiere" in the 1991 Disney animated film, Beauty and the Beast and then took on his best-known role, detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order, which he played from 1992 until his death in 2004.[43]
Choreographer Kenny Ortega went on to choreograph other major pictures such as the 1992 Newsies[8] and starting in 2006, the High School Musical series.[44] He also became a director of film and television, including several episodes of Gilmore Girls, in which Dirty Dancing's Kelly Bishop had a starring role.[45]
Various images and lines from the film have worked their way into popular culture. Johnny Castle's line "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" has been used in song lyrics, and as the title of the "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" episode of the TV series Veronica Mars, and the title of a "Fall Out Boy" song. It was also parodied in the webcomic Looking For Group where Richard, one of the primary characters, uttered a variation involving his own name that has since become an internet meme in its own right, and in Family Guy, where it is followed by Baby's parents questioning Johnny due to Baby's youth.
The film was adapted for the stage in 2004 as a musical, Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage. Produced by Jacobsen Entertainment in Australia for $6.5 million, it was written by Eleanor Bergstein and had the same songs as the film, plus a few extra scenes. Musical direction was by Chong Lim (composer for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney), and the initial production starred Kym Valentine as Baby, and Sydney Dance Company's Josef Brown as Johnny. Although reviews were mixed,[27] the production was a commercial success, selling over 200,000 tickets during its six-month run.[20] It has also had sellout runs in Germany, and in London's West End, where it opened at the Aldwych Theatre on October 23, 2006 with the highest pre-sell in London history, earning £6 million ($US12 million).[1][6][27] As of early 2008[update], over 350,000 people have seen the musical in London, with ticket sales of £40 million ($US80 million), selling out for months in advance.[24] Josef Brown of Australia continues to play the role of Johnny Castle in London, while Georgina Rich made her musical debut as Baby. The show was scheduled to continue its run in London's West End through April 2009, and was scheduled to open in the Netherlands in the city of Utrecht in March 2008.
A New York production is in the planning stage,[27] with the show first starting in other North American cities. It broke box office records in May 2007 for its first such venue, selling $1.8 million on the first day of ticket sales in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The production opened on November 15, 2007 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, with an all-Canadian cast. After Toronto, the musical opened in Chicago in previews on September 28, 2008 and officially on October 19, 2008, running through January 17, 2009,[46] followed by Boston (February 7–March 15, 2009) and Los Angeles. No Broadway dates have been announced for the show.[47][48][49]
Dirty Dancing has appeared in other forms than the stage version. In 1988, a music tour named Dirty Dancing: Live in Concert featuring Bill Medley and Eric Carmen,[30] played 90 cities in three months.[10] Also in 1988, the CBS network launched a Dirty Dancing television series, however with none of the original cast or staff. The series was canceled after only a few episodes.
In 2004, a prequel to the film was released, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. Although not a remake, Havana Nights showcases a similar storyline about an American teenager learning about life through dance, when her family relocates to Havana, Cuba just before the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Patrick Swayze was paid $5 million to appear in a cameo role as a dance teacher — considerably more than the $200,000 he earned for the first film.[50]
For the 20th anniversary in 2007, the film was re-released in theatres with additional footage, while the original film version was re-released on DVD with deleted scenes and writer commentary.[51] At the same time, Codemasters released Dirty Dancing: the Video Game.[52] In the United Kingdom the anniversary was marked by a reality TV show based on the film, Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life, filmed at the Mountain Lake resort.
In the UK , to mark the 20th anniversary of the film, Channel Five broadcast a special documentary called Seriously Dirty Dancing. It was presented by Dawn Porter, an investigative journalist and a self-confessed Dirty Dancing addict. The documentary was very successful, Channel Five's highest rated documentary of 2007. She visited the set of the film, met other Dirty Dancing fanatics and also learned the last dance, which she performed at the end of the documentary in front of family and friends.
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