The Story Behind That Surprise Ending of the 'Dirty Dancing' Remake

The Glamour website has published an article titled The Story Behind That Surprise Ending of the Dirty Dancing Remake, written by Jessica Radloff. The article includes the following passages.

That "ending" saw Johnny and Baby reunite 10 years after their initial meeting at Kellerman's. It's 1975, and Johnny Castle has brought Dirty Dancing to life as a Broadway musical in New York City. Frances (because who thinks she goes by "Baby" anymore?) decides it's worth taking a trip down memory lane; for the next three hours, she watches her teenage self carry a watermelon ...

It turns out Frances is now married with an adorable young daughter. She's writing books and taking salsa classes once a week at the local Jewish Community Center. Johnny is, apparently, still Johnny (though with seventies-style hair) and credits Baby with inspiring him. At the end of the musical, the two share a hug and Johnny meets Frances' daughter. He urges his former teen love to "keep dancing," which seems like the equivalent of what someone signs in your high-school yearbook.

But how did that extra scene come to be? That's where Dirty Dancing writer Jessica Sharzer comes in. Taking on the task of a lifetime, Sharzer had to keep the story and tone the same as the movie version, while adding scenes and developing existing characters. So what was the real deal behind Johnny and Baby's big reunion? And did she have to get permission from the original screenwriter? Here, she explains all.

Jessica Sharzer, screenwriter of ABC remake
(This photo is not from the Glamour article.)

The interview of Sharzer begins as follows.

Glamour
What was the reason behind that decision to fast-forward 10 years at the end and catch up with Baby and Johnny?

Jessica Sharzer
It’s the seventies. There were two considerations that led to that. One is that people have such nostalgia for this movie, and one question was always, "I wonder what happened to Johnny and Baby?" So we felt for fun, if we’re going to redo it, why not answer that question?

The other thought was that by putting a frame around it, where she’s actually going to see the Broadway musical of her life — and Dirty Dancing was turned into a Broadway musical — that it actually gave permission for the musical numbers. So the framing device sort of served both of those ideas.

Glamour
What do you hope the audience takes away from that moment? Do you hope they're shocked?Satisfied?

Jessica Sharzer
You never forget your first love, and I’m very interested in first loves. In fact, the very first job I got in Hollywood was to write a screenplay called First Love. ...

It’s not usually the love that you sustain for the rest of your life, and there’s something very immature about it. It’s a very dramatic experience, and so, for me, it was interesting to see, Where did their lives land them later. It was less about what happened between them because it was never really [a thought] that we were going to throw them together as husband and wife. It was more about, How did that summer change them permanently in terms of their direction in life?

I don’t think it’s going to particularly shock audiences, but I hope it’s satisfying to just answer that question and to see that this first love — for her — was sort of awkward and geeky, [and] that it led her somewhere in her life.

Glamour:
Did you have to get permission from the original writers to make that decision?

Jessica Sharzer
I didn’t have to do that. We really had permission to take the ball and run with it.

Glamour
This version is about an hour longer than the original film. What additions did you look forward to incorporating?

Jessica Sharzer
We decided to add a lot for the parents because they cast these amazing actors [Bruce Greenwood and Debra Messing] and wanted to give them something to do beyond what was in the original, especially the mother.

And we also wanted to expand the sister’s role because in the original movie she’s more comic relief, which is great, but for us, we wanted to really dive into the sister relationship and dive into her psychology. You know, how she’s different from Baby and how the two of them come to learn about each other and mutually respect each other by the end.

So we really dove into those family stories. It was just a lot of fun. It was a really fun job.

In the Glamour interview, Sherzer answered also the following questions.

Glamour
From a feminist angle, was there anything you pushed for to make this version even more empowering than the original?

Glamour
Was there ever any talk about splitting them [Baby's parents] up for good, or was that not an option?

Glamour
Vivian Pressman’s role was expanded in this version. How did that come about?

Glamour
Was there any chance of having anyone from the original movie make a cameo in this version?

To read the Sharzer's answers to those latter questions, go to the Glamour webpage.