Dirty Dancing Remake Hits A Sour Note
Recently, television has been in a frenzy recreating popular movies and musicals from the past. NBC became the network most famous for this with their significant live events they create for each remake. This craze began with their first remake of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood in 2013. More recently, ABC decided to get in on the action and try their hand at the remake game. News broke earlier this year that there would be a Dirty Dancing remake and last night (Wednesday, May 24th) was the big premiere. The overwhelming reaction from viewers is less than stellar.
The musical, which is a remake of the beloved 1987 romantic drama, starred Colt Prattes as Johnny Castle -- a role originated by Patrick Swayze -- and Abigail Breslin as Frances "Baby" Houseman -- first portrayed by Jennifer Grey. It also featured roles played by Sarah Hyland, Nicole Scherzinger, Debra Messing and Katey Sagal.
Besides the notable differences from the original screenplay including the musical numbers and a significant change in the ending, the entire film seemed to fall short. If you watched, you could notice dancers making mistakes during certain scenes and the connection between the main stars, Breslin and Prattes, seemed like a dress rehearsal.
The original actors, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer brought light and freshness to their performances that together look like they were telling stories will only their bodies. While Breslin may have a lengthy career, her performance in this movie looked like a college theater actor who just can't quite breakthrough to the emotional depth.
Funny enough, while the original barely saw anything from the Houseman mother, the redo thankfully expanded Messing's role for this adaptation and to me her performance saved the film. Her nuances when talking as well as the dynamic between her and her husband in the movie seemed very sincere, believable and what drew my interest for the majority of the film.
While the movie as a whole fell pretty flat, a few individual moments did stand out. - Nicole Scherzinger Since her PCD days we rarely hear her vocal talents so while she may have shifted her voice slightly to fit the period and role, the talent shined through. - Debra Messing Her work throughout the entire film was just stand out. Messing used her seniority in acting to her advantage in this adaptation filled with a lot of amateurs. We also got a good taste of her to make us miss her again before the official Will and Grace reboot comes to our screens. Overall, I think it was an okay try from ABC for their first time doing a remake film. I think the actors may have enjoyed the experience trying to recreate such an iconic movie, but their nerves from the gravity of the situation may have gotten the best of them. The entire film seemed like it was filled with first takes, and not the right kind. Maybe we should take this as a lesson to just leave great movies where they are in the past.