Dance, dance...(Dirty Dancing)

Everyone loves the underdog story. How a nondescript personality comes to the forefront and

snatches the glare from front rankers. Emile Ardolino's Dirty Dancing is one such instance. Apparently this 1987 low-budget romantic drama wasn't expected to run more than a week at the theatre, but strangely it went on to become a massive sleeper hit and was also the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video! However, if you watch this Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey movie today, this mammoth success will hardly come off as uncalled for. It's a film tailor-made to reap in the moolah. It's smart, simple, sexy, freewheeling, passionate, has a social message and yes... it has Patrick Wayne Swayze, the smooth smouldering dancer!

It's touted as a coming-of-age tale of a young girl who is vacationing with her affluent family at Kellerman's resort. She is attracted to a lowly dance instructor and eventually has a clandestine affair with him. But Dirty Dancing isn't as simple as it seems. It is loaded with a social commentary on discrimination, class divide and self-expression. The dance that is called dirty in the film is almost symptomatic of the passion that one aught to live his or her life with, it's a mode of self-expression that is often repressed by class divisions and hierarchy of the society. Every single person wants an avenue to unleash her inner desires. Perhaps the film probes that sentiment as well...

Baby is projected as the polished, prim and protected younger daughter who is supposed to tow a certain line. There is a code of decorum that she's supposed to follow along with her elder sister, Lisa. But her heart wants to fly free. So, when she catches the first glimpse of Johny Castle slaying the dance floor with Penny Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes) she's obviously envying the woman in Johny's arm. Because, Johny is a looker and he's obviously enjoying the dance with Penny. She wants to be in Penny's place but has two left feet. She's bored of the stiff upper lip gentility practised by Dr Houseman (Jerry Orbach), her father, and the other rich vacationers at Kellerman's. She's not enjoying Neil's hovering company because he's too full of himself and of course Johny is the more tantalising man in front of her. He's mysterious, gorgeous and intrigues her. And of course, he dances like a dream...

The entertainment staff, headed by Johny, are treated with utter disdain by the resort proprietor. They

are supposed to entertain but keep their hands off the guests. So it's really disgusting when cougars like Vivian pay for sexual favours from Johny and his likes. He hates it but it's the money and of course, 'the way these women smell'. He's had a rough childhood so this is a remarkable lift from the deplorable condition they people have come from. But that does not mean they and their emotions be taken for granted. 

But that's exactly what happens. When Dr Houseman comes to the rescue of Penny after her botched up abortion, he just assumes that Johny is responsible for her condition and prohibits Baby to meet these people. Never does he give Johny a chance to explain. The rich do not care to give a patient ear to the poor. But Baby is a changed woman. She's not one of them. Soon she's waltzing in Johny's arms and goes to the extent of standing up for him when things get sticky. That's what encourages Johny to see life through a different prism. Because, "No one has done this for him before."

I purposely did not provide the gist of the film because I presume everyone has seen this cult classic. It's almost like those Hindi romances that smoothly sails with its easy story line, lovely songs and crackling chemistry between the leads. It's the same for Dirty Dancing, only better. Because the dance here is simply smacking good. Patrick is gorgeous, Jennifer is innocent and earnest. They make a royally lovely pair. 

In the dance sequence at Sheldrake, Grey is totally wonderful as the jittery yet sporting dancer who is most willing to let the man take the lead. She's got makeup on her for the first time so it's a tad crude but then subsequently she just flowers. 

Every time the two dance they set the floor on fire with their raw passion and physical attraction.

They touch each other and you feel the scorching heat between the two. It's smouldering. Just like Johny's gaze when he looks at Baby while she's changing in the car after her debut dance at Sheldrake. By now, the readers here must be realising am a complete romantic. So, this is totally one for me. It's sweet, sexy and celebrates passionate love. 

And there's dance. Every time you see Johny move, you will find yourself jelly-kneed. He's that good. Right from his first frame till the last.

Time of my Life is simply liberating. You feel like letting go of your fears and inhibitions when you watch Baby shake her leg with Johny. The mambo or the dirty dance, as they call it, is an expression of love and wild emotion. It's better out than in. It's quite a sight watching those youngsters move with gay abandon, sizzling the screen with their moves. So confident, so sure of their bodies and their steps. It's almost like lovemaking in motion, accompanied by snazzy rhythm and swaying passion...