The Housemans Stayed at the Resort Three Weeks

Some time ago, a reader sent me a message asking how long the Houseman family stayed at the resort. My answer follows:

The Houseman family's visit to the resort lasted three weeks. When the family was unloading the car in an early scene, the resort manager Max remarks to Mr. Houseman: "Three weeks here, and it will seem like a year." This is right before we see a large group of guests learning to dance in a gazebo.

Later in the movie, right before Johnny almost punches the waiter outside a cabin, someone remarks: "Well, cousin, it's almost over. Labor Day weekend is here."

The opening narration says the visit took place in the summer of 1963, before Kennedy was shot (Nov 22, 1963) and before the Beatles came (Feb 7,1964).

Labor Day 1963 was Monday, September 2, 1963. So, Labor Day weekend was August 31 through September 2. Probably the show that ended the movie happened on Labor Day.

So, the Houseman family's visit to the resort probably lasted the three weeks from about August 10 through September 2, 1963.

ASJ Blog Analyzes Opening Sequence

ASJFoundationPortfolio, a blog written by Amie Wood, Samantha Tait and Jessica Daley in Hartlepool, UK, includes an interesting anaylysis of Dirty Dancing's opening sequence, the slow-motion dance with the title and main credits. Their article:

In the opening sequence of the film the director uses medium close ups to show the intimacy of the dancers, this is significant as the film is called Dirty Dancing. The camera focuses on the characters by using extreme close-ups so the audience can see their facial expressions. The camera then follows different characters; the camera movement is very steady.

The opening sequence gives the audience an idea of a later enigma, as the closeness of the dancers later relate to the intimacy of the two main characters in the film. The opening sequence is also a montage of the full film.

The costume design, hair and make up are all symbolic as it represents the period that the film is set in, which is the 1960’s. The female’s costumes are very revealing, which reflects the sexual relationship that the characters have.

The edits during this sequence are rather slow which refers to the pace of the song, which creates the impression that music is an important convention involved in this genre of film.

The use of black and white also gives the pink text more effect as it makes it stand out and look visually appealing. The style of the writing is very feminine suggesting that this film shows the life of a young girl.

Dean Winkelspecht Loved the Music

DvdTown.com's reviewer Dean Winkelspecht remembers in a review, which he wrote in June 2007, that he always has loved the movie Dirty Dancing mostly because of its music.

.... I believe my first experience with this film was being taken with my older sister Cindy to see the film at a theater. .... This film was all about Patrick Swayze and dancing. I´m sure that was the primary reason that Cindy dragged myself and my nephew Don to go see Dirty Dancing. Don and I are the same age, as my sister is a good deal older, so we both had to suffer for this "date movie." 

.... Truth be told, there is something I have always enjoyed about Dirty Dancing. It isn´t the humor. It isn´t the dancing and it certainly isn´t Patrick Swayze. Jennifer Grey was twenty seven when Dirty Dancing was released and she portrayed a teenage rich girl in the film. She was cute, but she wasn´t the reason I agreed to go along to see this film. 

I was fifteen years old at the time and going to see Dirty Dancing with your sister wasn´t exactly the "cool" thing to do. What I enjoyed about Dirty Dancing was the music. I absolutely love some of the Oldies that appear in the film. "Be My Baby," "Big Girls Don´t Cry," "Where Are You Tonight," "Do You Love Me," "Love Man," "Stay," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "These Arms of Mine," and "Love is Strange" are just a few of the great songs contained on the film´s soundtrack. If anything, Dirty Dancing is one of the finest films based upon its soundtrack. .... 

I don´t recall if the dancing depicted in the film was necessarily shocking and risky twenty years ago. It was all offensive to me at that time. Since then, I´ve certainly spent enough time on club dance floors to not find anything in Dirty Dancing to be offensive. This film had a decent story and decent performances, but it is a tribute to the music and the era in which the film is set. It is a journey back in time for many to enjoy, such as my older sister. 

For younger audiences, it is a curiosity of the Eighties that looks at the Sixties. I´ve seen this film more times than I want to admit to. Oddly, I still find myself enjoying it.