My Praise for ABC's "Dirty Dancing" -- Part 2

This is the second article in a series. The first article is here.

In my first article, I urged my readers to welcome new versions of the "Dirty Dancing" story. Appreciate the originality. Don't dismiss them reflexively. Exercise your sense of humor and laugh.

Now I will begin pointing out elements in the ABC original movie that I liked.

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The ABC original movie greatly enlarges the roles of two older female characters -- Marjorie Houseman and Vivian Pressman. The reason is that ABC's audience for this movie was populated disproportionately by middle-age and older women. ABC foresaw that its audience in 2017 would differ from the audience that watched the Gottlieb original movie in 1987.

Both ABC characters -- although no longer young -- still feel sexual.

* Marjorie Houseman is trying to become sexually active again in her marriage, which has been sexless for a long time.

Sex-starved old Marjorie Houseman in the
ABC original movie "Dirty Dancing"

* Vivian Pressman has been enjoying a sexual affair with Johnny Castle and also has been performing sexy songs with him in the hotel's ballroom.

Sex-busy old Vivian Pressman in the
ABC original movie "Dirty Dancing"

Marjorie and Vivian become acquainted with each other and discuss sex.

For much of ABC's audience, those two situations are interesting. Those two situations are introduced early in the story and continue to develop through most of the story. In each case, there is considerable suspense.

* How will Marjorie's situation affect Baby?

* How will Vivian's situation affect Johnny?

* Will Vivian's affair with Johnny interfere with Baby's affair with him?

* Will Majorie and Vivian affect each other's situations?

* How will the story end for Marjorie and Vivian themselves?

Such questions captivated me and held my interest through the entire ABC original movie.

As it turns out, Vivian causes Johnny to be arrested. Vivian's fateful action is foreshadowed early in the story when she tries to give Johnny an expensive watch. Vivian's motivation for her misdeed develops understandably during the story.

In contrast, Johnny is arrested in the Gottlieb original movie because of the Schumachers, who are marginal, barely noticed characters and whose motivation is unrelated to the main story of Baby and Johnny. The Schumachers are deux ex machina characters who exist only to suddenly cause Johnny to be arrested.

The subplot leading to the arrest of Johnny is much better in the ABC original movie.

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The actress who plays Penny Johnson in the ABC original movie is Nicole Scherzinger, who was 38 years old when the movie was released in 2017. The actress in the Gottlieb original move was Cynthia Rhodes, who was 30 years old when that movie was released in 1987.

On the left, Penny Johnson played by Cynthia Rhodes in 1987.
On the right, Penny Johnson played by Nicole Scherzinger in 2017.

Scherzinger is a gorgeous actress, but she plays a Penny Johnson who is and looks relatively old. Below are the ages of the actresses and actors when their Dirty Dancing movies were released:

Penny Johnson
Cynthia Rhodes = 30
Nicole Scherzinger = 38

Johnny Castle
Patrick Swayze = 35
Colt Prattes = 31

Gottlieb Original Movie
Penny Johnson = 30
Johnny Castle = 35

ABC Original Movie
Penny Johnson = 38
Johnny Castle = 31

On the left, Johnny Castle played by Colt Prattes in 2017.
On the right, Johnny Castle played by Patrick Swayze in 1987.

With regard to their ages, Rhodes and Swayze looked like a plausible romantic couple, whereas Scherzinger and Prattes looked like an unlikely romantic couple. In both movies, however, the relationship between Johnny Castle and Penny Johnson was platonic, as far as the movie audience knew.

In both movies, Johnny Castle was sexually involved with Vivian Pressman. The age comparisons are as follows:

Vivian Pressman
Miranda Garrison = 37
Katay Sagal = 63

Johnny Castle
Patrick Swayze = 35
Colt Prattes = 31

Gottlieb Original Movie
Vivian Pressman = 37
Johnny Castle = 35

ABC Original Movie
Vivian Pressman = 63
Johnny Castle = 31

These age relationships show that the ABC original movie purposefully portrayed its older female characters -- Marjorie Houseman, Vivian Pressman and Penny Johnson -- as sexual. ABC foresaw that its movie audience would be populated disproportionately by middle-aged and older women who would be interested in watching older female characters being sexual -- and being sexually attractive.

Thus ABC has adapted its cast and story to its audience. That is a reasonable artistic decision, and I appreciate it positively.

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Penny Johnson has a relationship not only with Johnny Castle, but also with Baby Houseman, who is supposed to be about 18 years old. Here are the actresses' age differences:

Penny Johnson
Cynthia Rhodes = 30
Nicole Scherzinger = 38

Baby Houseman
Jennifer Grey = 26
Abigail Breslin = 21

Gottlieb Original Movie
Penny Johnson = 30
Baby Houseman = 26

ABC Original Movie
Penny Johnson = 38
Baby Houseman = 21

Penny Johnson helping Baby Houseman
in the 1987 "Dirty Dancing"

Penny Johnson helping Baby Houseman
in the 2017 "Dirty Dancing"

In the ABC original movie, Penny is almost twice as old as Baby (who is supposed to be 18). The relationship between Penny and Baby seems at moments to be similar to an unmarried aunt and an admiring niece. ABC's Penny is quite affectionate, even loving, toward Baby. I enjoyed watching the ABC Penny interact with Baby, and I imagine that the audience's older women did so likewise.

Also, ABC's 38-year-old Penny finding herself pregnant is a somewhat different problem than the other, 30-year-old Penny finding herself pregnant. The older Penny is nearing the end of her fertility. That difference was not mentioned in either movie, but many of the women in the audience might appreciate that difference.

Nobody reading this should think that I am critical of Nicole Scherzinger's playing Penny in this movie. I love Scherzinger as a singer and actress, and I loved her performance in this movie. I have loved Scherzinger ever since I watched this music video -- many times.

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The ABC original movie provides an epilogue that reveals what happens to Baby and Johnny between 1963 and 1975. A huge portion of the fans of the Gottlieb original movie have desired and begged for such an epilogue.

The epilogue affects the main story. In the ABC epilogue, Johnny becomes a Broadway choreographer. During the ABC story, therefore, Baby encourages Johnny to become a Broadway dancer.

In contrast, in the Gottlieb original movie, Baby encourages Johnny merely to keep arguing that the hotel's talent show should feature a Cuban-soul dance instead of a pachanga dance.

In the ABC original movie, Baby's suggestion and encouragement affects Johnny's life profoundly and lastingly.

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The ABC original movie introduces an African-American young man, named Marco (played by J. Quinton Johnson), who is about Lisa Houseman's age and who becomes involved platonically and musically with her. He teaches her to play a ukulele and sings a duet with her at the talent show.

The new character Marco, a Negro musician,
teaching Lisa to play the ukulele in the 2017 movie "Dirty Dancing"

Marco is a thought-provoking character. He as a Negro (the word used in 1963) feels uncomfortable in socializing with Lisa, because she is Caucasian (the word used in 1963). Furthermore, the Negro band-leader Tito Suarez warns and scowls at Marco not to socialize with Lisa. Marco's modesty, politeness and deference portrays a behavior that was quite common in Negro young men in 1963.

Tito Suarez (in background) scowling at Marco
for socializing with Lisa Houseman in the 2017 "Dirty Dancing"

Lisa's interaction with Marco made her a more interesting character. Marco distracts Lisa from her anguish about her breakup with the sexually aggressive Robbie Gould. Lisa flirts subtly and safely with Marco. Their racial difference makes any romantic relationship impossible.

Now free of romantic entanglements, Lisa learns to play a musical instrument and reads the feminist book The Feminine Mystique, which Baby had been reading (not The Plight of the Peasant) on the drive to the resort hotel.

Lisa is affected by Marco's distracting her from her preoccupation with romantic desires. She is affected further by Marco's teaching her to play the ukulele and to sing a duet with him for the talent show.

Marco also provides much of the music for the ABC original movie. In various scenes, he plays the piano and sings. His musical talent is only moderate and therefore is realistic. He is a rather ordinary young man who works at the hotel and who plays the piano and sings amateurishly at parties.

Because Marco is in the movie, he and other characters sing instead of just playing music on record players. For example, in the bunkhouse scene, when Baby sees the hotel employees "dirty dancing", Marco is playing a piano and singing the songs "Do You Love Me" and "Love Man".

Marco singing at the "dirty dancing" party
in the employees' bunkhouse.

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The character change that I myself liked the most was Neil Kellerman. In the 1987 movie, Neil is a rather villainous character and is disliked by Baby. In the 2017 movie, though, Neil is entirely positive and is liked by Baby.

On the left, Neil Kellerman in the 2017 movie.
On the right, Neil Kellerman in the 1987 movie.

I am not criticizing the actor, Lonnie Price, who played the character well and memorably in the 1987 movie. Rather, I am criticizing the character, who is villainous and disliked.

The audience for the 1987 movie includes nice young men (I myself am one instance) who do not like seeing a nice young male character like Neil being disdained by Baby while he is trying politely to express some romantic interest in her. When I watched the movie in 1987, I felt sorry for Neil through most of the movie (until Neil became bossy toward Johnny about the dance to be performed at the talent show).

In the 2017 movie, Baby does not reciprocate Neil's romantic interest, but she does like, appreciate and respect him throughout. Neil is so nice that Baby's parents and sister think Baby is having a summer-vacation romance with him.

Neil Kellerman and the Housemans
watching Johnny and Penny dancing in the ballroom.

The 2017 movie demonstrated that the story did not need for Neil to be a villain. If Baby and Neil are a plausible romantic couple, then there is more emotional conflict in Baby's selection of Johnny over Neil.

I strongly prefer a likable Neil Kellerman character in the  "Dirty Dancing" story.

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This series of articles praising the ABC original movie will continue.