Tuesday, August 14, 2007

CP Ponders the Great Questions of Life - Vol. 1


Aside from the cars and the occasional song playing on the radio, what exactly about this movie is supposed to make us think it's taking place in 1963?

Were the costume designers and stylists on crack, or was this intentional?

30 comments:

Coaster Punchman said...

Oh, and was the sister played by a drag queen?

chelene said...

Obviously I need to see this movie again because I don't remember any possible drag queens.

Dale said...

I've never seen this movie and somehow I'm happy about that. I do enjoy saying 'Nobody puts Baby in a corner' however. Jennifer's nose was taller than Mr. Swayze before she cut it off.

Joe said...

One of my pet peeves is movies and TV shows that don't get their period hairstyles right. I mean, just look at Swayze's hair! Sheesh. Was he trying to be some kind of beatnick?

M.A.S.H. was an example of a TV show with lousy 50's haircuts.

Cup said...

I've never been a big fan of this movie.

Dino said...

i don't care I love(d) the movie and will watch it whenever its on. I always had a thing for guys in black clothes there were considered bad boys

GrizzBabe said...

This is also one of my favorite movies. I've seen it more times than I feel comfortable admitting.

deadspot said...

Couldn't it be both?

anandamide said...

i'm with bubs. with that haircut in 1963, swayze'd have 6 crew cuts kicking his ass continuously.

which, in retrospect, makes 1963 seem imminently more sensible than the '80s....

Anonymous said...

Patrick Swayze and his wife are prominent breeders of Arabian horses. He was even pictured on an Arabian horse calendar a few years ago with his stallion Tammen and without his shirt!

I only saw one of his movies, Ghost, and that was on TV, but I know all about his straight Egyptian breeding program! You non-horse people who don't know what that means can do what you want with that wording, ha ha!

Your cousin Cathy

Megan said...

Well, there was that botched back alley abortion. . .

Eebie said...

It was a screamer for the ladies. The movie was irrellevant. It's like Keanu Reeves, the women like him. (As an aside, Keanu is gay.)

BeckEye said...

I have no idea what 1963 looked like, but I loves me some Dirty Dancing. I mean, c'mon! How can you not love this? They did the lift! THEY FINALLY DID THE LIFT!!!!

Anonymous said...

Um, should there have been more dinosaurs in the background or something?

Missy said...

Yeah, remember THE LIFT!!

Moderator said...

I've never seen this movie. Nor have I ever wondered why the hairstyles clearly were not fitting for the time period.

Thanks for making me consider these things.

Johnny Yen said...

What, you didn't dress like that in 1963? Yeah, me neither. I was just getting out of diapers.

Melinda June said...

I beg to differ. I think it is historically accurate, not to mention one of the BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME.

And yes, her sister was definitely played by a drag queen.

wonderturtle said...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! CP and MJ, you have validated my long-held suspicion about the sister. And everyone knows that 1963 was The Year of the Drag Queen.

jin said...

LOVE your "Patrick Swayze is really short" tag.
I never could get all hot n bothered over those short guys.
Sorry, I forgot...what was the question again?!

Katie Schwartz said...

they thought the line, "nobody puts baby in the corner" would be compensation enough.

Doc said...

Bubs- Don't be knockin' M*A*S*H* now. That just ain't right.

"Dirty Dancing" is a pleasant bit of fluff, but don't look for historical correctness or life's hidden meaning in it. For that you need "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly", or at the very least "Casablanca".

Doc

Coaster Punchman said...

HA! Well thanks all for engaging in this enlightening analysis of "Dirty Dancing." Just got back from vacation which explains my absence. Back soon!

CP

Elizabeth McQuern said...

The sexual repression! The crinkly poofy skirts! Abortion was still illegal. And black people couldn't vote in some parts of America. Isn't that adorable? Oh, nostalgia.

Anonymous said...

Hummm, I could not locate one recent photo of Jayne Bruckner....she hasn't really done much since her roll in this movie.

Unknown said...

Hi - This is chelene's friend Shari.

I need to weigh in here. It's a Jewish thing!!!

NY based Orthodox Jews still go upstate to Bungalow colonies and resorts...but back in the 60s it was also the thing to do for Conservative/Reform/Other jewish people as well.

That's the cheeziness factor. The activity programmer would bring in comedians (Borscht Belt), and dancers, and lame magicians, etc.

:)

Coaster Punchman said...

Hello Shari,
Yes, I am familiar with the Borscht Belt (we were thinking of buying a place in Livingston Manor! Funny, we were there on a Saturday and there was no one on the streets...)

I assume that Baby's family were reform or non-religious, which would make them have hair and clothing styles like the average American. Nothing about Baby's clothes or hair says 1963 to me. That permed do she wears in the film screams 1987 to me. And I don't know what is up with most of the clothes she wears.

Unknown said...

Yes, I see what you mean.

Except the capris. And I think she had a pointy bra.

:)

Johnny Yen said...

Oh, oh-- yes, I remember now-- it's the filmed birth of my youngest brother Kevin, on December 6 of 1963.

Oh, wait, I'm mistaken-- it was Frankie Valli losing his virginity, on camera, also in December, 1963, to some chick, who he never even knew her name, to.

Old Lady said...

I think the chiffon dress was pretty close.