to wish that Dirty Dancing wasn't about a girl who "grows up" by stealing money from her father to pay for her friend's back-street abortion?

[morningpaper]

... at least that's the way I remember it

SUCH a shame though because it's such a FAB film, and DD (5) is obsessed by the soundtrack - but I can't really put the soundtrack in CONTEXT for her for about 10 years...

Patrick Swayze wasn't the original first choice for the role.

I can't remember who was, but whoever it was, he had a few months to try to learn to dance and he just had two left feet. Enter in professionally-trained Swayze, who did indeed dance with Houston Ballet, a very, very good company.

According to IMbD Val Kilmer and Billy Zane were considered, Billy Zane being the one that couldn't dance.

Val Kilmer was initially offered the lead but declined.

Billy Zane was considered for the lead role, but he didn't dance well.

Dirty Dancing - what an unmitigated pile of poo!.

I see that no-one's mentioned Flashdance yet - now what was that all about?

Welder by day, stripper by night, just to pay dance school fees? WTF?

Flashdance was mentioned ages ago.

That and DD cannot be compared

I saw same argument as original OP's applied to Mamma Mia recently - young woman sleeps with three men in quick succession without contraception, doesn't know who the father of her child is..........surely some stuff kids just edit out? My two dds just watched it for the dancing/singing and I don't think it's corrupted them yet.

And Dirty Dancing is the sexiest film ever made

never thought that about mama mia - but very true

mum was a slapper who slept with 3 men within a few weeks - and obv DIDN'T use condomw with any of them

[sighs]

free love in the 60's eh

I think the trick to most of these 'girly' films is to be able to suspend your sense of disbelief or disapproval, and go with the story, or a character, or whatever you like about them.

I seem to be exceedingly good at this, and even with some of the films that I can acknowledge are actually really not very good, I still love them.

Dirty Dancing, Strictly ballroom (I really want to watch that now, in all its 80s glory!), Pretty Woman, (probably) anything with Meg Ryan in.... I love them all.

To get DH to watch them I have to find the funnier ones. He loved The girl next door and
How to lose a guy in 10 days but of course if you asked him he'd say "they were ok"

I started another thread but look at this beautiful beautiful dance

Last night I watched something even more sexist than Pretty Woman.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, now I'm no prude but a musical based on bride kidnapping? It's a tale of Stockholm Syndrome really, I know it was made in the 50's and set before then but still...

Why can't people just watch a film without picking it to pieces? Dirty Dancing was a great film, as was Pretty Woman.

Oh do lighten up, a film is NOT going to influence young girls.

i watched dirty dancing and split my fandango on a tree whilst dancing accross it with patrick swaze - who happened to be going to the spar shop

Your right there. I used to watch Dirty Dancing all the time as a kid and never really understood about abortion bit nor did i wonder. It's only now if i watch it years later that i really understand the true contex of the film.

I saw Flashdance the stage musical the other week (met Noel from Hearsay afterwards - he's nice!) and I have to say the plot is absolute guff.

Not only is it guff but the stage show (haven't seen the film) is totally unsuitable for children, as it mainly concerns pole dancing.

There wasn't a plot that I could make out. Girl wants to dance. Lots of people encourage her. She applies to dance school and gets in.

I was like 'eh?'. There's a subplot about the feistier character (Gloria - she's always on the run now, running after somebody etc etc) which showed promise but went nowhere.

It's bonkers how these things become 'cult'. I guess it's just nostalgia and the 'so bad it's good' syndrome.

7 Brides is a musical about rape. Ovbiously not in the explicit sense but that's basically what it is. I never saw it as a kid but watched it recently at Christmas and couldn't believe my eyes/ ears.

But most of these old films don't bear modern scrutiny do they. Grease is a shocker. I heard an interview with Olivia NJ and she says that looking back, it was a very dodgy message to give young girls and she tells her kids not to pay attention to that part of the film.

She doesn't regret making it though.

"Why can't people just watch a film without picking it to pieces?"

Because then this thread wouldn't exist!