Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing (1987)

  • 68% of critics liked it
    (44 reviews)

  • 88% of users liked it
    (980,667 ratings)

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… More

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PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By
Emile Ardolino
Written By
Eleanor Bergstein
Genres
Drama, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts
In Theaters
Aug 21, 1987 Wide
On DVD
Aug 19, 1997
Vestron Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

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

  • Desson Thomson, Washington Post

    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.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

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

  • Vincent Canby, New York Times

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

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Alexander D


    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)",… More

  • Unknown H


    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… More

  • Candy R


    Classic dance movie. Baby and her sister Lisa spend the summer at a holiday camp where they meet guys and fall in love. Baby learns to dance and helps Penny a dancer who gets in trouble. Fab soundtrack. Patrick's best role ever. Amazing!

  • Manu G


    Have The Time Of Your Life. Great Movie! I knew I was gonna like it. Great love story, superb acting and excellent 80's songs! In the 1960s, Frances "Baby" Houseman, a sweet daddy's girl, goes with her family to a resort in upstate New York's Catskill… More

  • Bethany M


    Nothing more to say than a timeless classic. If you haven't seen this film, you are missing out on one of the most gorgeous love stories of all time. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey have incredible chemistry and this film makes you nothing but happy. One of the many reasons why… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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Trailers & Clips