Do you want to see ‘Dirty Dancing’?

Dirty Dancing (1987)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 44
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 14

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 2

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 980,667

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Movie Info

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 family 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.

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Drama, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts

Directed By: Emile Ardolino

Written By: Eleanor Bergstein

In Theaters: Aug 21, 1987 Wide

On DVD: Aug 19, 1997

Vestron Pictures

Dirty Dancing Trailer & Photos

Cast

Patrick Swayze
Johnny Castle
Jennifer Grey
Frances "Baby" Houseman
Jerry Orbach
Dr. Jake Houseman
Cynthia Rhodes
Penny Johnson
Jack Weston
Max Kellerman
Jane Brucker
Lisa Houseman
Kelly Bishop
Marjorie Houseman
Lonny Price
Neil Kellerman
Max Cantor
Robbie Gould
Charles "Honi" Coles
Tito Suarez
Neal Jones
Billy Kostecki
Jesus Fuentes
Dirty Dancer
Heather Lea Gerdes
Dancer
Garry Goodrow
Moe Pressman
Wayne Knight
Stan
Alvin Myerovich
Mr. Schumacher
Antone Pagan
Staff Kid
Dorian Sanchez
Dirty Dancer
Paula Trueman
Mrs. Schumacher
Miranda Garrison
Vivian Pressman
Tom Connold
Bus Boy
Jennifer Stahl
Dirty Dancer
Tom Drake
Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Mor...
Magician
Jane Bruckner

Critic Reviews for Dirty Dancing

All Critics (44) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (15) | DVD (24)

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

February 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment (1)

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

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.

February 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comments (6)

Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Top Critic

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

February 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment (1)

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

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

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comments (2)

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Top Critic

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

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment (1)

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

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

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

A hip-shaking guilty pleasure.

January 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Common Sense Media Editors

Common Sense Media

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 disregard the stereotypes and cliches).

July 17, 2009 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment (1)

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Teenage titillation for girls, circa 1963.

February 12, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment (1)

TV Guide's Movie Guide

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.

August 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central

| Comment (1)

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

An animated rendering of its characters is virtually the only thing preventing the formulaic Dirty Dancing from being another one of Disney's crappy romances.

May 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Rob Humanick

Slant Magazine

The purest spirit of the 1980s is distilled in this amiable film.

February 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]

| Comment

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian [UK]

Endlessly quotable, strangely fascinating and immensely charming.

February 9, 2007 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Caroline Westbrook

Empire Magazine

The film's easy charm, infectious soundtrack and tidy choreography should still win over new fans as well as old.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Anna Smith

Time Out

Trend setting musical with Swayze and Grey at their peaks.

June 1, 2005 Comment (1)

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Abysmal pre-teen trash

December 31, 2004 Comments (4)

Jon Niccum

Lawrence Journal-World

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Dirty Dancing

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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 you, because that means you obviously

June 14, 2011

Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

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 Johnny is what every 14 year old girl

August 25, 2011

Unknown Hobo

Super Reviewer

Dirty Dancing Quotes

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1. 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.
– Submitted by Alyssa B (13 days ago)
1. Johnny Castle: You just put your pickle on everybody's plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me.
– Submitted by Tavia B (6 months ago)
1. Frances "Baby" Houseman: I carried a watermelon.
– Submitted by Olivia B (7 months ago)
1. Penny Johnson: Go back to your playpen, Baby.
– Submitted by Olivia B (7 months ago)
1. Johnny Castle: What's your name, Baby.
2. Frances "Baby" Houseman: Frances. The first woman in the cabinet.
3. Johnny Castle: Frances, that's a grown-up name.
– Submitted by Alyssa B (7 months ago)

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Latest News for Dirty Dancing

September 14, 2011:

Now You Can Play Dirty Dancing: The Game on Facebook
"Everyone who has ever wanted to be a part of those magical times in the Catskills can now have the...