Save the Last Dance For Me: Dirty Dancing (1987)

Romantic Moment #13

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Let’s face it, you all knew this was coming. This one absolutely had to be on the list, I mean how could I not talk about the wonderful film Dirty Dancing?

Actually this is a film I always associate with Valentine’s Day as my sister and I would always watch it and eat heart-shaped pizzas from Papa Murphy’s, brownies, and candy. Lots of candy.

I miss being able to do that with her. She’s always my perfect valentine.

Dirty Dancing is my sister’s favorite movie, and I mean what’s not to like? First of all you have the very, very attractive Patrick Swayze y. I mean Patrick Swayze is amazing: he can sing, dance, and is good-looking. A perfect package.

So romantic!

Second, the film has great music; Be My Baby by the Ronettes, Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen (love him), Love is Strange by Mickey & Sylvia, She’s Like the Wind by Patrick Swayze, and (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes.

So the story of Dirty Dancing, (set in the 1960s), is that Baby, (Jennifer Gray), is 18 years old and enjoying a summer trip before joining the Peace Corps. She is staying at a resort with her mother, father, and older sister Lisa. When she gets there, we find out that there is a segregation between the workers.

What?!

The waiters are allowed to mix with the rich guests, but the dancers are looked down on and seen as not worth enough to mingle. Baby attempts to cross the barrier and go over to “their” side. She meets Johnny, (Patrick Swayze), and is completely blown away by his confidence and good looks.

One day Baby sees one the dancers, Penny, upset. She tries to comfort her and discovers that Penny is pregnant. And to make it even worse, the father of Penny’s child is the same guy dating Baby’s sister.

As the guy, Robby, won’t help Penny, she has decided to get an abortion. However, she doesn’t have enough money to pay for the illegal operation. Baby is able to get her the appropriate funds, but it doesn’t solve anything as Penny has an important dance exhibition that she and Johnny do at another hotel, and they can’t find anyone to cover for her. Baby volunteers, and her and Johnny grow very close while practicing for the show; ultimately falling in love.

The two have to hide their love as Baby’s father will disapprove, and Johnny could be fired. Their love is tested when Johnny gets accused of stealing and no one believes his alibi. But if Baby tells the truth will it hurt her family and cause Johnny to lose his job anyway?

Most Romantic Moment: Save the Last Dance for Me

***Spoiler Alert***

Baby has told the truth and saved Johnny as she couldn’t see him fired for nothing. But while she saves him from jail time Johnny is let go, as he “broke” the rules. He receives his summer bonus, but can’t do the last dance of the season and will not be hired again next year.  Baby and Johnny say good-bye, and it is so sad! ;(

So they have the talent show, ending on a very tame song instead of Johnny’s razzle-dazzle. Baby is just sitting there, fenced in by her parents in the corner; sad, lonely, and bored.

But then, Johnny comes storming on through the room, he goes to Baby and says some of the best lines ever:

Then he takes Baby up onto the stage and the two dance. They dance the best they ever have. Baby even does the dance move, “the Lift”. Before she failed, but now that she isn’t doing it for any other reason than her love for him, they perfect it!

But the most romantic thing is that he CAME BACK for her! He came back so they could do their final dance together. So they could finally express their love out in the open!

So romantic

I WANT A JOHNNY!

And the song they use to at the end! It’s so romantic and uplifting. Such a great scene.

Of course being so great of a scene, it gets referenced in other works. In Crazy, Stupid, Love Jacob tells Hannah that his best line to get a girl to sleep with him is that he can recreate the Lift from Dirty Dancing. She insists on him showing her.

And in the TV show Wedding Bands, the band is hired to play at an Adult Prom Party Wedding Renewal. One of the hosts, Bobby has been secretly learning the dance moves, and that night requests the song and surprises his wife by having them dance to it.

To start Romance is in the Air from the beginning, go to Boom Box of Love: Say Anything (1989)

For the previous post, go to Bringing the World to Your Backyard: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember (2002)

Romantic Moment #3

A Walk to Remember (2002)

***Spoiler Alert***

So I am not a big Nicholas Sparks fan;

I didn’t like Message in a Bottle, oh don’t get me started on that girl!

I was also not a fan of The Notebook (I totally would have picked James Marsden) and I’ve never been interested in his other works.

I don’t think this really added to the story.

For years people had been trying to get me to watch this movie, and every time I said no.

Even though I love the song Hawk Nelson wrote for the movie, I still wouldn’t watch it.

Tempting but no

Even though I absolutely love Shane West, nope, nope, no.

But that all changed when my friend kept begging me to watch it. I finally gave in and that was one of my best decisions EVER! I loved the movie.

I went on to read the book which I also loved. Those two are one of the sweetest things I have seen/read. It is full of so many romantic moments, it was hard choosing just one.

So the film is about two people, Jamie and Landon. Jamie is one of the popular boys in school, no sorry the popular boy as he is the best looking.

Shane West, oh man are you good-looking.

Sorry, back to the film.

So Landon has been acting up a lot recently, mostly because of his anger at his dad for leaving the family for another woman. He and his friends convince a guy who wants to be a part of their group to do a dive after drinking; causing him to be seriously hurt (while Landon slightly injured); afterwards he gets in trouble and has to do community service/help in the school.

Enter Jamie. Jamie is the minister’s daughter, good in school, loves astronomy, and of course is picked on for being the preacher’s daughter, smart, for the clothes she wears, etc.-you get the idea.

Landon ends up spending a lot of time with her as he finds himself  having to tutor alongside her; as well as star opposite her in a play.

Landon finds being in the play out of his comfort zone, and asks Jamie for help. She agrees but on one condition, he can’t fall in love with her.

Later when Jamie tries to talk to him in front of his friends, he pulls a Danny Zuko and acts like he doesn’t know her. Jamie of course is upset.

So later when he comes to her for help, wanting them to be “secret friends” to protect his reputation she shuts him down.

The time for the play comes and Landon, even though he doesn’t want to admit it, misses having Jamie around. When he sees her performing he is just blown away.

Afterwards, he tries to date her but she still isn’t sure about trusting him. When his friends play a cruel prank on her, he not only defends her against his friends but encourages and supports her.

How romantic

They start dating and fall in love. 🙂 But unfortunately, things do not always stay as happy as we hope. It turns out that Jamie didn’t want Landon to fall in love with her because she has cancer, and no earthly treatment can cure it.

Most Romantic Moment: I Want to Make Your Dreams Come True

So throughout the film, Jamie talks about how she has a list of things she wants to do before she dies. Some are basic and easy, while other much grander. The list is:

1. Get married in the church where her mother and father were married
2. See a miracle
3. Have a star named after her
4. To be in two places at the same time
5. Get a tattoo
6. Befriend someone she doesn’t like
7. Spend a year in the peace corps
8. Make a medical discovery

When Landon had to first do the community school service, she checked off number 6; but since then she hasn’t had the chance to do anything else (and as the later reveal of her pending death it looks like she might never cross everything off).

Aw, man.

But after Landon and Jamie begin dating, he decides that he is going to try to help her check off as many as he possibly can.

He takes her to the state border (#4):

Getting her temporary tattoos (#5) as her dad wouldn’t let her have a real one:

And buying a star, naming it after her (#3):

While all of these are absolutely adorable and really show how Landon has changed and how much he loves her, the best part is when he fulfills #1.

So romantic

So as Jamie is dying with very little time left, Landon asks her to marry him.

I know how romantic is that? He knows how much that means to her, the first thing she ever dreamed of doing was being married in the same church as her mother and father with her father officiating. He knows that out of everything this is her biggest dream, and he helps her fulfill it. What a dream guy!

It’s just so romantic how much he loves her! This made me want my own Landon. Why, why, why- are the best guys fictional?

And to make that moment even more romantic not only did he fulfill her #1 goal, but the other most important on her list; #2

So romantic

Such a great film!  I highly recommend it! I watch it over and over.

To start Romance is in the Air from the beginning, go to Boom Box of Love: Say Anything (1989)

For the previous post, go to You’re My Exception: He’s Just NOT That Into You (2009)

For more on A Walk to Remember, go to Number Two Look Just Like You

For more Nicholas Sparks, go to I Love You Anyway: The Notebook (2004)

For more films based on books, go to Feast Your Eyes On My Accursed Ugliness: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)