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Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston ... see more see more... , Jane Brucker , Kelly Bishop , Lonny Price , Max Cantor , Charles "Honi" Coles , Neal Jones , Jesus Fuentes , Heather Lea Gerdes , Garry Goodrow , Wayne Knight , Alvin Myerovich , Antone Pagan , Dorian Sanchez , Paula Trueman , Miranda Garrison , Tom Connold , Jennifer Stahl , Tom Drake , Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow , Jane Bruckner

A teenage girl learns about love, adult responsibility, and how to do The Dirty Boogie in this romantic drama. In 1963, "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is a 17-year-old spending the summer with her fa... read more read more...mily at a resort hotel in the Catskills; she plans on being in the Peace Corps next summer, so this is expected to be her last summer as a carefree adolescent. Baby doesn't get along with her older sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker), and she's bored to tears by most of the older guests at the resort. However, one night Baby hears what sounds like a party going on in the employee's dormitory, and she pokes her head in to discover most of the hotel staff enjoying the sort of close dancing that would get you kicked out of the senior prom in no time flat. Baby is particularly struck by handsome Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a dancer in the resort's floor show, and falls head over heels in love, wanting to be near him. When Johnny's dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Dirty Dancing was a surprise box-office hit, and the soundtrack album was an even bigger success, spawning several hit singles and inspiring a top-drawing concert tour featuring several of its artists. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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88% liked it

980,667 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

44 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Emile Ardolino

Release Date: August 21, 1987

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DVD Release Date: August 19, 1997

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Stats: 77,501 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (77,501)

  • spielberg00
    September 5, 2011
    spielberg00
    If someone sang the lyrics, "I've had the time of my life, and I've never felt this way before", and the first thing that came to mind was something completely unrelated to this film, namely the fairly recent Black Eyed Peas song "The Time (Dirty Bit)", then first of all, I pity ... read moreyou, because that means you obviously have not had the chance to witness the extraordinary dancing found in this film. DIRTY DANCING certainly is not perfect, but even from a critical perspective, it is a whole lot of sensual, well-acted fun. And trust me--this is not just any old MTV dance-fest like what you would find in STEP UP; nor is it a cool-guy-gaga, musical, corny, so-called "classic" such as GREASE. True, this one is like GREASE, in the way that it rewinds a few decades and looks at life in a coming-of-age way, but we can see that Patrick Swayze can do the final dance better than John Travolta can do "Greased Lightning", and there is no way to easily compare Jennifer Grey with Olivia Newton-John--hands down. This is an absolute must-see, and even more a definite must-hear.
  • theunknownhobo
    August 25, 2011
    theunknownhobo
    One of the oldest and most loved girly movies of all time that I have never been ashamed to say I love. The acting is terrible, the special effects have holes in them and the story line is sporadically poor but the soundtrack and simplicity of the instant love between Baby and Jo... read morehnny is what every 14 year old girl (including myself at that age wanted). As I have got older, the age difference between them unnerves me slightly but then most things unnerve me in my old age. A definite keeper, even if it is complete hogwash.
  • thmtsang
    August 15, 2011
    thmtsang
    Classic dance movie. Baby and her sister Lisa spend the summer at a holiday camp where they meet guys and fall in love. Baby learns to dance and helps Penny a dancer who gets in trouble. Fab soundtrack. Patrick's best role ever. Amazing!
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    July 5, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Have The Time Of Your Life.

    Great Movie! I knew I was gonna like it. Great love story, superb acting and excellent 80's songs!

    In the 1960s, Frances "Baby" Houseman, a sweet daddy's girl, goes with her family to a resort in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains. Baby has grown ... read moreup in privileged surroundings and all expect her to go on to college, join the Peace Corps and save the world before marrying a doctor, just like her father. Unexpectedly, Baby becomes infatuated with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny, a man whose background is vastly different from her own. Baby lies to her father to get money to pay for an illegal abortion for Johnny's dance partner (Johnny is not the father). She then fills in as Johnny's dance partner and it is as he is teaching her the dance routine that they fall in love. It all comes apart when Johnny's friend falls seriously ill after her abortion and Baby gets her father, who saves the girl's life. He then learns what Baby has been up to, who with and worse - that he funded the illegal abortion. He bans his daughter from any further association with "those people". In the first deliberately willful action of her life, Baby later sneaks out to see Johnny - ostensibly to apologize for her father's rudeness - and ends up consummating her relationship with Johnny. A jealous fellow vacationer sees Baby sneaking out of Johnny's bungalow the next morning and in an act of retribution, tells management that he is responsible for a theft the evening before, knowing he would not furnish his real whereabouts. In an act of bravery, Baby states that Johnny is innocent, and alibis him by confessing that they were together all night. This revelation causes a huge rift in the family and Baby makes an impassioned speech to her angry and bereft father. At the closing night performances, and although he has been fired and banned from attending, Johnny returns and takes the stage to tell everyone about the woman whose faith in him and whose courage changed his life. They do one final show-stopping dance together. Baby's father learns that Johnny was not responsible for his partner's pregnancy and learns to accept that although his beloved daughter is transitioning to womanhood, she will always love him.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    Nothing more to say than a timeless classic. If you haven't seen this film, you are missing out on one of the most gorgeous love stories of all time. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey have incredible chemistry and this film makes you nothing but happy. One of the many reasons why ... read moreI love the 80's and their films so much.
  • DreamExtractor
    April 30, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    I wouldn't call it a classic, but it certainly is a good romance and a great memory of Patrick Swaze.
  • jennifxu
    April 28, 2011
    jennifxu
    Dirty Dancing is pure sex. When they were crawling on the floor toward each other, butts cheekily pointed upward, I ... well, I got a little excited.
  • movieguru12
    February 21, 2011
    movieguru12
    This movie is the greatest movie(apart from the B/C),that you'll ever see that involves dancing. It's just an fantastic movie. So sad that Patrick Swayze died! He's so sexy, adorable & beautiful in this movie too. :) So glad that my best friend finally got to see this movie! :) R... read moreeally love it. :) Just great! :) A great romance :) Such a great movie :)
  • ajv2688
    January 29, 2011
    ajv2688
    This movie mostly appeals to teen girls, and being one when I first saw it, I loved this movie. It's the only dance related movie I love, actually. It's a beautiful nostalgic romance movie, and I highly recommend it.
  • erika250
    January 22, 2011
    erika250
    found it boring.

View All Dirty Dancing Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 12, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

While the music on the soundtrack is predictably overloud, the period detail is refreshingly soft-pedaled. Full Review

Desson Thomson
February 12, 2008
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

The dance finale between Gray and Swayze, although an obvious crowd-pleaser, is performed to a contemporary song clearly intended for the charts, which blows the period feel right off the dance floor. Full Review

Variety Staff
February 12, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

Good production values, some nice dance sequences and a likable performance by Grey make the film more than watchable. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Dirty Dancing works best when it's most direct and unpretentious. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie plays like one long, sad, compromise; it places packaging ahead of ambition. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Turned out to be one of those films that had something for everyone. Full Review

Common Sense Media Editors
January 1, 2011
Common Sense Media Editors, Common Sense Media

A hip-shaking guilty pleasure. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 17, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Guilty pleasure: Fluffy, schmaltzy and predicatble, this coming of age tale, set at a turing point of American culture, is extremely enjoyable due to erotic dancing and Oscar-winning tunes (just disre... Full Review

February 12, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Teenage titillation for girls, circa 1963. Full Review

Walter Chaw
August 7, 2007
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

Against all odds on the night of the Event, she steps up and shows the world that Baby can dance and only pictures this awful gross that much money. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Frances "Baby" Houseman: Me?. I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, about who I am and most of all I'm scared of walkin' out of this and never feelin' the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.
    • Johnny Castle: You just put your pickle on everybody's plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me.
    • Frances "Baby" Houseman: I carried a watermelon.
    • Penny Johnson: Go back to your playpen, Baby.
    • Johnny Castle: What's your name, Baby.
    • Frances "Baby" Houseman: Frances. The first woman in the cabinet.
    • Johnny Castle: Frances, that's a grown-up name.
    • Penny Johnson: Johnny, what are you doin'?
    • Johnny Castle: Don't worry about Max, I'll tell him your grandmother died or something.
    • Penny Johnson: How many times have you told me never get mixed up with them?
    • Johnny Castle: [long pause] I know what I'm doing Penny.
    • Penny Johnson: You listen to me, you gotta stop it now!
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Dirty Dancing Trivia

  • In 'Dirty Dancing' what was Baby's real name?   Answer »
  • What is 'Baby's' real name in Dirty Dancing?  Answer »
  • "Most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way that I feel when I'm with you."  Answer »
  • What 2 movies did Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey star in together?   Answer »
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