# Why are 'they' trying to convince us that "Dirty Dancing" is some sort of 'classic'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363 "2007-04-16T17:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/41 "2007-04-17T15:13:13Z")
Well, my ex was in love with patrick swayzee-what’s his career like now? likewise, jennifer gray-is she still acting? The movie was made for teenage girls-that was the target audience, and it succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/42 "2007-04-17T15:18:59Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] Yes, that’s right: ```auto Patrick Swayze ``` , the same man who made _Road House_, _Next Of Kin_, _Black Dog_, and _Red Dawn_ instant classics. [/QUOTE] I can’t believe I am going to admit this. I own Black Dog. Cause it’s got Swayze, Meatloaf and Randy Travis. Alcohol. Alcohol makes it better. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/43 "2007-04-17T15:24:43Z")
Was Patrick Swayze ever able to contort his face into a second expression, ever? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/44 "2007-04-17T16:22:10Z")
Well, speaking as a guy, the movie’s not All That, but man, it has a great soundtrack. it was on recently (of course) and I was jukin’ and jivin’ all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/45 "2007-04-17T16:26:55Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] I can also see the appeal of “Grease” which also has its flaws. [/QUOTE] Yes, but what about the appeal of Grease 2? Lady Zakalwe has a fondness for it that almost made me reconsider my proposal.\* \*Not really > [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > The one, and only, Patrick Swayze movie worth watching was Ghost. It was nice to see he could rise to the challenge of that one. Pistols at dawn, sir! I submit that [Point Break](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0102685/) is far superior to Ghost. Plus it has Keanu! ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/46 "2007-04-17T16:27:50Z")
Wow. I’m 42, and apparently completely missed the boat on this movie. I’ve never seen it and never had the desire too. Footloose, on the other hand–Well, Kevin Bacon’s much better than Patrick Swayze at everything. And the soundtrack was soooo much better. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/47 "2007-04-17T16:45:17Z")
[QUOTE=flurb] Didn’t Conan O’Brien start a campaign back in the nineties to get _Dirty Dancing_ re-released, and then when the studios did he admitted that he though it was a horrible movie? [/QUOTE] Yes! [QUOTE=IMDB] The film was re-released in 1997 solely due to a petition led by late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien in which he asked viewers to send letters calling for the film’s re-release. When exhibitors finally agreed, O’Brien joked that he actually didn’t like the movie all that much. [/QUOTE] I remember seeing this, with Conan promoting _Dirty Dancing_ as the Greatest Movie Ever—until it actually did get re-released, whereupon he admitted that the movie actually kinda sucks. In other words, the OP’s theory about “some bizarro campaign” is essentially correct. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/48 "2007-04-17T17:21:06Z")
A-HA!!! I _knew_ it!!! So… it’s all Conan’s fault, eh? Probably his revenge for me asking “is he still on the air?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/49 "2007-04-17T17:26:25Z")
No, no. It was Conan’s fault 10 years ago. Unless he started up the campaign again and I somehow missed it. A friend and I actually went to the rerelease in 1997. Later I bought a one of the rerelease posters (“Have the time of your life…again!”) and it now hangs in my garage. It makes me smile every morning before I leave for work. Not because it’s necessarily a good movie, but it’s a _fun_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![bovis-rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bovis-rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bovis-rex)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/50 "2007-04-17T17:33:09Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] It introduced me to the good actor that was Jerry Orbach. That’s enough. [/QUOTE] I hear you on that. I was in the target audience (16 year old boy) but I’d also grown up with musicals, and thought it was mighty bizarre that Joel Grey’s daughter AND Jerry Orbach were both in the same movie with the overacted guy from ‘Red Dawn.’ Still amuses me, really. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/51 "2007-04-17T17:41:37Z")
[QUOTE=bovis-rex] I was in the target audience (16 year old boy) [/QUOTE] ? I’ve never seen the movie, but I was under the impression that it was a chick flick. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/52 "2007-04-17T19:00:01Z")
Who do you think he was trying to score with? At 16 “chick flick” = “date movie” = “target audience”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/53 "2007-04-17T19:11:30Z")
I have to say, I want to smack whoever just released a cover of “She’s Like the Wind”. I’m not saying the original is good, but the cover is worse. Susan ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/54 "2007-04-17T19:20:29Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] The one, and only, Patrick Swayze movie worth watching was _Ghost_. It was nice to see he could rise to the challenge of that one. [/QUOTE] You are OBVIOUSLY forgetting _Red Dawn_, the movie that made us hate commies. (More than usual I mean) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/55 "2007-04-17T19:37:01Z")
I have no use for the movie, but I would have bent Baby over a corner in a heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/56 "2007-04-17T20:04:13Z")
Susan Foster-- Damn you. I have that song in my head now and it’s up there in my list of 10-most-irritating-songs-ever. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/57 "2007-04-17T20:30:09Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Well, my ex was in love with patrick swayzee-what’s his career like now? likewise, jennifer gray-is she still acting? [/QUOTE] He appeared, heavily plastic-surgeried, as a dance instructor in \*\*Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights \*\* which featured the lovely Diego Luna from Y Tu Mama Tambien. (What can I say, I have a friend who loves dance movies even more than I do.) Jennifer Grey had a nose job which as mentioned, changed her appearance [drastically](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/hh/0000426/iid_1265165.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Grey%2C%20Jennifer&seq=2). She has appeared in a couple of short-lived sit-coms. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/58 "2007-04-17T21:36:14Z")
[QUOTE=cbawlmer] If you were a girl aged 10-15 when it was first released, it was a pretty huge deal. The movie played at every slumber party for several years afterward, and everyone had the soundtrack. It’s a guilty pleasure now, but many girls have fond memories of it. [/QUOTE] I remember watching **Dirty Dancing** at a slumber party when I was ten-years-old. We also watched **Mannequin** and **Three Men and a Baby**. We watched **Mannequin** twice. The scene where the mannequin falls on the guy will stay with me forever. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/59 "2007-04-17T21:37:29Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > I don’t know why anybody would need to own this on DVD. It’s on television all the time. It’s a running joke in my family, when checking the TV listings, to notice what time “Dirty Dancing” is on today. Is it mostly on WE? Because they have a series also called _Dirty Dancing_, a reality show based on the film. [QUOTE=tremorviolet] No, it’s always on **TBS** : _ **The Beastmaster Station** _. 😉 [/QUOTE] I originally thought this _Onion_ article was about _Beastmaster_ (the movie, not the TV series inspired by it), but I’m linking to it anyway, because it’s a good example of what _The Onion_ does best: [_Kickboxer_, Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, To Continue In A Moment](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30644) > [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I had the time of my life. I’ve never felt that way before. I swear. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363/60 "2007-04-17T21:49:26Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Jennifer Grey had a nose job which as mentioned, changed her appearance [drastically](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/hh/0000426/iid_1265165.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Grey%2C%20Jennifer&seq=2). She has appeared in a couple of short-lived sit-coms. [/QUOTE] Didn’t she really, honestly go in for a genuine deviated septum and the jerk decided to “fix” her while she was under? I thought I remembered something about her suing him because once she woke up with a new nose, she couldn’t get cast because no one recognized her any more. Or maybe I’m just making it all up, as I can’t find any cites anymore (although there’s mention everywhere that she’s said it was “a mistake”, it’s unclear whether the mistake was hers in getting it or the doctor’s in doing it.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-trying-to-convince-us-that-dirty-dancing-is-some-sort-of-classic/400363.md?page=4)