Still The Time Of Your Life

Last weekend I made one of the best purchases of my life; I bought the DVD Dirty Dancing: Twentieth Anniversary Edition. Dirty Dancing has always been my favorite movie. Every time I hear the first two drum beats of “Be My Baby” I forget how to breathe. This movie, although a little cheesy at times, captivates me until the very end. There are times when it makes me laugh, and when it makes me want to cry. Dirty Dancing is a movie worth buying because of its love story and drama.
The time was 1963, and the movie starts with the Houseman family in their car, on their way to Kellerman's Summer House, a resort in the Catskills of upper New York. The youngest daughter, Baby (Grey), is does not look to happy as they arrive at their destination. One night, as she is taking a walk, she finds herself in the staff quarters portion of the camp. There she helps carry watermelon to a staff dance; at the dance she meets Johnny Castle (Swayze), the camp dance instructor. Johnny, who is considered to be “from the wrong side of the tracks,” teaches Baby how to dance, and they soon fall in love.
This is my favorite love story. Some people consider this movie to be about stolen innocence, not me. I see it as a movie about growing up and a first love that was meant to happen. Johnny is reluctant at first to give Baby so much as a friendly smile. When his dance partner Penny develops a “problem” and has to get an illegal abortion, he has no choice but to teach Baby how to mambo. As a dancer this is one of my favorite parts because if you have a good enough eye, you can learn how to mambo and salsa from these scenes. Also, some of the best songs from the soundtrack are in these scenes, including “Hungry Eyes” and “Hey Baby.” Johnny and Baby do their gig at another hotel and come back to find Penny in trouble. This trouble requires Baby to go get her dad, Dr. Houseman. He helps Penny, assumes that Johnny was the one to get her in trouble, and then tells Baby to never talk to “those people” ever again. Later that night Baby sneaks out to Johnny's room, where she tells him, “Most of all, I'm afraid of walking out of this room and never feeling again the way I feel when I am with you,” they then dance, and then, well you know, consummate their relationship. They continue their relationship by sneaking around; this includes lip-syncing to Sylvia and Mickey’s “Love Is Strange.” They are eventually seen by Johnny's former lover, “the cabin bunny” Vivian, and when a couple of wallets are stolen she tells Mr. Kellerman that it was Johnny. Seemingly, the only way to save Johnny is to tell Mr. Kellerman (and her family) that she was with Johnny in his room when the wallets were stolen. Johnny is proven innocent but still loses his job because of his relationship with Baby. The camp is almost over by this time, and the Houseman family (who are not on good terms with each other at this time) go to the closing talent show. Half way through the closing number, Johnny bursts through the door, walks over to the Houseman table, and delivers the famous, but incredibly cheesy line, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.” He then puts on a recording of the most famous song from the movie “(I've Had) The Time of My Life,” and the dance the last dance of the season to it. As they are walking out, they are stopped by Dr. Houseman, who says that he is proud of Baby and tells Johnny that he knows that he was not the one to get Penny in trouble. Therefore, giving a sort of a blessing on their relationship. The movie ends, leaving the watcher feeling satisfied and like the need to get up and dance.
Besides the fantastic movie, another reason that you should buy this version is because of all the special features. On the first disc it has a trivia track that is very interesting and commentary with the writer and co-producer Eleanor Bergstein. On the second disc it has deleted scenes (including one that should have been at the end of the movie where Johnny tells Baby that they will fight as hard as it takes to make them last), extended scenes, alternate scenes, interviews with Jennifer Grey, Kenny Ortega, Eleanor Bergstein, outtakes, original screen tests, tributes to Jerry Orbach (Dr. Houseman) and Emile Ardolino (the director), music videos for “Hungry Eyes,” “She's Like The Wind,” and “(I've Had) The Time Of My Life,” and a interview type segment called “Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze.” I sat down and watched all of these tings at once, and they were everything I would suspect from anything to do with Dirty Dancing: Amazing!
Another amazing thing about this DVD is that it only cost me about $14 at Wal-Mart. I would highly recommend this DVD for anyone looking to have the time of their life!