The classic film “Dirty Dancing” is coming back to theaters for two nights! The special 35th anniversary screening will feature a special commemorative featurette and interview with star Jennifer Grey.
Originally released in 1987, “Dirty Dancing” was one of the biggest movies of the decade. It propelled actor Patrick Swayze into an 80s superstar, and spawned iconic lines like “Nobody puts baby in a corner.” The film also had a popular soundtrack, which created a resurgence of 1960s music. The song “(I’ve had) The Time of My Life” won the Oscar that year for best original song. The music was so popular, the soundtrack had its own sequel called “More Dirty Dancing.” A successful stage show has been going in Europe and the United States for well over a decade, which shows the lasting power of the film and its music.
While the original film was a popular film with audiences and remained a steady seller on home video, follow ups were less successful. A prequel film released in 2004 called “Dirty Dancing Havana Nights” tried to draw audiences in with a new cast and a small role for Swayze. However, despite starring a young Diego Luna, it only barely made its money back in theaters.
That hasn’t stopped Hollywood from trying again to being “Dirty Dancing” back. An official sequel starring Jennifer Grey is due out in 2024. It’s lasting appeal is what led to Fathom Events to plan the event after 35 years. Fathom hopes fans will be able to “celebrate the magic of “Dirty Dancing” and its timeless themes of love, family, class, and perseverance all over again.”
Here’s hoping this release will be handled better than “The Thing.” As we reported last month, that rerelease left a lot of fans unhappy for its substandard quality. Fathom Events publicly apologized, and promised to improve. Which bodes well for “Dirty Dancing” fans to enjoy the film the way it was meant to be seen.
“Dirty Dancing” returns to theaters August 14th and 17th, 2022. Listings can be found on the Fathom website to see which theaters near you will be part of the event.
