I Carried A Watermelon

Last night I went to see Dirty Dancing at the Castro Theater. It was the first time I had ever seen the movie on the big screen and let me tell you, it was awesome.

You know how some childhood movies just don't stand the test of time? You watch them years later and think: 'How the hell did I sit through this 5 million times from the ages 11-13?' (Beaches, anyone?) But Dirty Dancing is not like that. Dirty Dancing remains brilliant into the 21st Century.

The fact that throughout the movie, hairstyles, clothes and music hop bizarrely between the early 60s and late 80s does nothing to detract from the pleasure. Tremendous feats of cinema greatness are performed as Patrick Swayze manages to be sexy with a mullet and macho while ballroom dancing. Geeky teen-age angst never looked so hot (at least not until My So-Called Life) as with Jennifer Grey's dance routines.

What really makes this movie a timeless classic is the dialog. Say "Nobody puts Baby in the corner" or "I carried a watermelon" to anyone between the ages of 20 and 35 and they will immediately know what you are talking about. I give most of the credit to the fact that Dirty Dancing was written and produced by women. Baby's sexual brazenness is totally ahead of its time and the back alley abortion sub-plot really sends a clear feminist message.