When I was in elementary school, I hear about the "25'ers Club." The nightly news reported on a group of women who had gone to see this movie, Dirty Dancing, 25 or more times in the theater. These women were squandering their money on movie tickets when they could easily wait for it to come out on video. And what a stupid name for a movie!
And then I saw it on HBO.
The sight of Johnny Castle in the employees hangout, his unbuttoned tuxedo shirt and tight black pants got my attention. When he motioned our girl next door to join him on the dance floor, I was hypnotized. When he taught this bumbling watermelon girl the most basic of Dirty Dance moves (you know the pelvic thrust I'm talking about, ladies), it pretty much sent me right into puberty.
The first 10 times I watched that movie, I didn't even know what "knocked up" meant. I thought Jimmy beat the crap out of Penny. I mean, she looked like she'd been beaten when Johnny lifted her up off the floor of Kellerman's kitchen. This movie taught me about virginity, adultery, abortion, lust, the American caste system, and the fact that if you are special enough, you don't have to be super hot to have a super hot guy fall in love with you. It's got to be one of my top three sexiest movies, and there's not even any nudity!
It's incredibly cheesy to the outsider. I'm not here to convert anyone. But there was never a more dashing Patrick Swayze role. Ghost was a pretty good movie. Red Dawn? He's a badass. But I know I belong to a generation of girls who grew up hoping they could have a Mickey and Sylvia moment with a boy from summer camp. We all want a chance to try the lift. We wanted a man who would put his job and reputation on the line to stand up for our honor. This is a sad day for girls who love Johnny Castle. So keep the jokes mum while we mourn the loss of our dream guy.
1 comment:
I can't believe you got through that without mentioning that "no one puts Baby in the corner." RIP Patrick Swayze.
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