There is a deep, dark void in my life. I feel bereft and incomplete, for I do not own a copy of "Dirty Dancing."
I KNOW. It's only like the best movie ever ("Nobody puts Baby in a corner."), and yet it is not in my collection. I am forced to check it out at the library, where I always seem to be checked out by the little 80-year-old lady who sees fit to comment on everything I check out, and yet is ominously silent when she picks up "Dirty Dancing."
It should also be noted that I blush very easily.
Besides the great draw of Patrick Swayze before he got kind of bloated and piggy looking, the real reason I LOVE this movie is the dancing. There is something so amazingly expressive about the way the dancing was incorporated into the movie. It's most noticeable in the big seduction scene, where Baby asks Johnny (incidentally, why are "bad boys" in movies always named Johnny?) to dance with her, which sort of segues seamlessly into the seduction part. It's so much more appealing and tasteful than watching the characters yanking shirts off and tripping over their pants. Maybe not as realistic, but certainly more appealing.
I still have the tape (yup, tape--not even the DVD) from the library, and I'm thinking today might be a good day to watch it yet again. But then I'll have to return it to the library, and I can't check it out again for a long time, because, come on, I have my pride. I need to check out something more serious and cerebral next time to make up for my frivolous choice last time. But if I owned the movie, I wouldn't have to pretend I'm really interested in "The March of the Penguins," and could instead give myself over to the great pleasure of watching Johnny beat up Robbie the Creep ("Get outta here--you're not worth it.") over and over again.
Mom? Are you listening? My birthday is coming up . . .
9 comments:
This seems exactly the sort of thing that's right for Christmas pool, too... You need a little amazon wish list or something...
I never felt the need to own that movie because it was always on tv. However, now I feel like I haven't seen it in a long time and need to watch it. My cousin bought my mom the special anniversary edition, so maybe I'll borrow that! By the way, don't make fun of Patrick Swayze. When I heard he had cancer, I was so sad, much more so than I ever thought I'd be.
Uh-huh. And the fact that you see his bare ass has nothing whatsoever to do with it. Sure.
And have you ever considered the reason the 80-year-old lady gives you the evil eye is that whenever you check it out she can't put it on back in the employee lounge during her break?
Sara--I was actually thinking more back to the mid-90s, when he had that alcohol problem and got all bloated. He has cancer? Man, I'm so out of touch . . .
Hey, is it snowing there? I was listening to the weather report this morning and they said that parts of upstate NY would be getting up to 2 feet of snow?! Were they just teasing me?
You mean "To Wong Fu" Patrick? I had to see that movie for my drama class in high school and hated it. Maybe because the teacher hyped it up so much. Anyway, yes, the Swayze has pancreatic cancer. Reports have said that he's doing very well, but I'm skeptical.
Oh yes, this is a classic fave of mine, too.
And the best thing ever was when we got Tivo and I realized that I could search movie listings and set to tape (yes, because I still say "tape" even though it's a DVR) all of my faves whenever they came on.
And then I can watch them whenever I want. For free. SO RAD.
My short list: Dirty Dancing (duh), High Fidelity, Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, Footloose, Picture Perfect, Pretty in Pink, Say Anything...the list of dorky 80s movies goes on.
And I even have the Dirty Dancing soundtrack CD. Come on - those are some great songs.
My freshman college roommate and I loved Dirty Dancing and would watch it all the time. She hated this one part (I think during Baby and Johnny's performance over at the other resort) where Baby kind of leaned backwards over Johnny's arm and let her head roll so her hair swung around (it does look kinda fakey). And EVERY TIME my roommate would squeal about how much she hated that moment and then she would mock the move. To this day when I think about that movie, that's the image I have in my mind: Lisa F. tossing her hair and rolling her eyes.
Jean--I'm sure there will be 2 feet of snow in some parts of upstate, but where we are it's just been raining all day. Which is why I decided it would be a great day to sit on my ass and watch movies.
RLS--Yeah, well, I have both the first AND SECOND "Dirty Dancing" soundtracks. Did you even know there was a second one? Yup. Not as good as the first one, though. There is no denying some parts of the movie are fake and overacted, but the fact that Patrick Swayze is shirtless for at least half the movie TOTALLY makes up for it.
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