There are a number of what are considered the best ‘80s movies that I feel like I’ve seen a thousand times — The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Field of Dreams, to name a few — and there are, admittedly, some that simply passed me by. Then there’s Dirty Dancing. I actively avoided this romance for most of my life (for reasons I’ll get into later), however, when I saw that it was coming to the 2025 Netflix schedule, I figured now might be the time.
I may have never seen Dirty Dancing, but I don’t live under a rock, either. I was aware of the “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” quote and the iconic lift executed between Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze that is one of the most memorable music moments of the decade. Other than that, though, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I fired up my Netflix subscription to partake in Johnny and Baby’s love story.
Why I Actively Avoided Dirty Dancing For So Long
While Dirty Dancing is likely one of the ‘80s and ‘90s movies that wouldn’t be made today due to the age difference between Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze’s characters, that definitely wasn’t what kept me from the 1987 classic. (There were a lot of problematic ‘80s movies, so I try to just be happy that times have changed.)
My reason was more personal. Dirty Dancing is centered around Frances “Baby” Houseman and her family at the upscale Kellerman’s resort. Baby’s sister just so happens to share the same first and last name (though spelled differently) as my own sister.
This became an issue particularly when we were in college — I’m a year older, so we were there at the same time. Her friends would call me “Lisa’s sister” before a lightbulb would inevitably go off when they made the Dirty Dancing connection:
Oh my gosh! You’re Lisa Houseman’s sister! You’re Baby! Hi, Baby!
Please, make it stop.
I would hear, “It’s Baby!” shouted from across the Quad. People I barely knew would ask me if someone had put me in a corner. And because Dirty Dancing is one of those movies you can watch over and over, I feel like this happened in cycles anytime one of them got the urge for a rewatch.
Those days are long gone, though, and I felt like I could safely stream the movie without having an infantilizing nickname thrust upon me. So I dove in.
The whole “Baby” thing was a big deal to me, obviously, since it kept me from watching one of the best dance movies ever, and I love dance movies. But it hadn’t occurred to me that the movie itself would address the 17-year-old being too old for the nickname. I was super surprised when Jennifer Grey’s character not only mentioned it, but she did so in her very first line of narration:
That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me ‘Baby,’ and it didn’t occur to me to mind.
Sure, it’s subtle, and it really doesn’t come up again until the very end of the movie, when Johnny Castle introduces Baby as his dance partner for the last dance of the season, but I appreciated it either way. It was so meaningful in Johnny’s speech, too, as he said:
I’m going to do my kind of dancing with a great partner, who’s not only a terrific dancer, but somebody who’s taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people, no matter what it costs them. Somebody who’s taught me about the kind of person I want to be: Miss Frances Houseman.
OK, is it bad that I’m unbothered by their relationship? Let’s not dwell too long on that question, and I’ll move on to something else that stuck out to me about Dirty Dancing.
I Was Underwhelmed By The ‘Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner’ Moment
I think this is a case where the quote has become bigger than the movie moment, because for as often as I’ve heard, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” I was expecting it to be a bigger deal. I don’t think Baby’s parents were trying to keep her in a corner (though she conveniently happened to be in a corner when Johnny said it).
I understand the sentiment that Baby should be allowed to live her truth and not make herself small, but I didn’t even feel like the dancing was the problem to Baby’s parents — they just didn’t want their underage daughter spending the night with the 25-year-old who “entertained” all the wives at this rich adult version of summer camp. (But THEY used HIM!) Are we really villainizing ole Jake and Marge for that?
I expected to see way more stifling of Baby’s dreams, and if I’m honest, more actual corners.
Some quotes I’d like to retroactively nominate for Dirty Dancing’s most well-known line:
- I’m doing all this to save your ass. What I really wanna do is drop you on it.
- This Danish is pure protein.
- God wouldn’t have given you maracas if he didn’t want you to shake ’em.
- I carried a watermelon.
I don’t even understand the Danish one, but it sure made me laugh. This movie’s full of good quotes, but I’d only ever heard the most famous one.
The Actual Dirty Dancing And Soundtrack Are Magical
I may have been unimpressed with the movie’s signature line, but I had the exact opposite reaction to the musical elements of Dirty Dancing. I sang along to all of those ‘60s bops, starting in the opening credits with The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” to Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine” all the way to the moment I’d been waiting for in “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
Despite having seen clips and recreations of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s dance over the years, it was so satisfying to watch it in context, and I couldn’t believe when I read that the actress had refused to do the iconic lift until the day it was filmed. It certainly didn’t look like their first day doing that.
I also loved the after-hours dirty dance party that Baby infiltrated with her watermelon. If your movie is called Dirty Dancing, you better provide, and director Emile Ardolino and choreographer Kenny Ortega definitely did, gifting us with lots of hip-grinding and impossibly flexible dancers.
I’m Glad I Finally Allowed Dirty Dancing Into My Life
All in all, I actually loved Dirty Dancing. From the story to the romance to the dancing and the music, it really did exceed my expectations, and I can see why it is listed in so many “Best” lists when it comes to ‘80s movies and dance films.
I can’t say I regret waiting this long to watch it, though, because maybe one of the things I loved most about my experience is that I don’t have to worry about anyone calling me Baby. Dirty Dancing is available to stream now on Netflix.