Havana Nights (Dirty Dancing)

[IsaacAltman]

With a new "dance" movie coming out this weekend, I would like to hear some reviews. Here are some preliminary ones that are not too good.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/HavanaNights-1130042/

[pygmalion]

Yup. The review in my local paper was lousy, too. But what the heck, a dance movie is a dance movie. I'll be there. *shrug*

[borikensalsero]

Man, I've been dying to see this move. Actually I just want to see the dancing scenes... :D

[KevinL]

I'm gathering a crew to see Havana Nights on Sunday, so on Monday I'll let you know what a bunch of (mostly) dancers think about it.

I'm already disappointed that it's only 86 minutes long. That isn't even an hour and a half! I could make an hour and a half long movie about dirty dancing, and I suck at salsa.

Kevin

[borikensalsero]

I'm gathering a crew to see Havana Nights on Sunday, so on Monday I'll let you know what a bunch of (mostly) dancers think about it.

I'm already disappointed that it's only 86 minutes long. That isn't even an hour and a half! I could make an hour and a half long movie about dirty dancing, and I suck at salsa.

Kevin

YOU GO KEVIN!!! SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'VE GOT...

[etchuck]

Yup. The review in my local paper was lousy, too. But what the heck, a dance movie is a dance movie. I'll be there. *shrug*

RottenTomatoes has a fairly poor rating on it, though Yahoo Movies give it a C from reviewers, B- from users so far.

I do have the soundtrack, and I like it a lot. However it does worry me there's anachronistically more hip-hop than there should be in 1958.

It's too bad after reading some of the reviews. There could have been so much more done with the movie to make it more substantive and intellectually interesting.

I have a small group going tonight. We'll see after that.

[danceguy]

I'm heading off tonight to see it with some Salsa friends, a few of which are professional Salsa dancers and teachers...so I hope its a good flick. I figure if its too bad I'll just have to get up and bust a few moves for the audience. :P

Or maybe not. :wink:

SG

[Suaveson]

Please let us know how this movie is, but from most of the mainstream dance movies I have seen in the past, most have cheesy acting and mediocre dance scenes unless some of the pro's make a cameo appearence.

chow

[brujo]

Brujo thinks:

The dancing was actually better than I thought, a little more authentic. They nicely integrated the idea that it was a latin ballroom dance competition, so there was a lot of hot cuban casino style dancing combined with the New Yorkian mambo moves. So when Diego Luna and the blonde girl danced, it was a nice mix of both miami moves and cuban moves, which I thought was really nice.

The music left more to be desired. It was nice to hear the new wave of music out there, the Orishas remake of 'Represent (Cuba)" was interesting, specially in english, and the little santana intro was nice, but it would have been nicer if there was a bit more authentic cuban music or even old school son incorporated.

I expected complete crap, but it was a little better than that. And their philosophy on dancing that was presented was great. I specially liked that the guy kept on insisting that she felt the music, and she kept trashing his frame, which was a nice touch in the whole tecnique vs. feeling debate.

I think the dancing was well choreographed. You won't get new awesome congress moves from it, but it fell well within the story considering that both dancers only had limited time to dance together. Go see it.

[danceguy]

Hmm, well I saw the movie by myself (for reasons that I won't get into here), so I kind of wish I had gone with other dancers to hear their perspective.

I liked the movie...lots of neat surprises but it seemed a bit rushed to me...like perhaps they cut too much out and it could have been a bit longer. Anyone else feel this way?

It was kind of nice seeing Boriken in the movie though. :P

[ShyDancer]

Im jealous!

Im so excited reading your reviews! I cant wait till it eventually screens here!

[etchuck]

If the standard of a great, entertaining ballroom movie is Strictly Ballroom, this is certainly not it. The dancing to me was choreographed pretty well, but don't think you can write down all the moves of their salsa routine. If you want an Oscar-winning screenplay, you've got to be kidding.

What I liked about the movie: at least to some point, the situations in this movie can relate to more people than the original (I'd name my child Baby... sure). There was more tension that could be relayed from the disparities from the ex-pat Americans and the Cubans around them (nationalism, freedom, duty, etc.). Or rather there could have been a bit more which I think could have made the movie a bit more authentic. As it was, the potential differences they tried to relay between ballroom training (Katie and her family) and Latin freestyle (Javier and his world) really didn't show up so much as a great contrast as I would have wanted. My favorite part of the movie was when Katie first dances with Javier in La Rosa Negra and she prepares in ballroom position; I can't count the times I have done that while club-dancing.

I mean seriously, I am pulled between formal ballroom and club dancing all the time, and as much as I liked the fact they tapped a bit into this odd conflict that I have (and maybe many of you too), it just didn't develop as much. (Don't say they didn't know... this story is based on the experiences of one of the co-producers and choreographers who does have ballroom training.) That said, the philosophy of dancing, and especially the differences between Katie wanting to do a routine and Javier wanting to freestyle could have been played up more. Really, you could heighten the tension by actually giving Katie more attitude that dancing is really one of the things she does WELL (win junior titles in ballroom or something) and try to deal with Javier's lack of frame, improvisation, and musicality. If you did that, you could add maybe another 3 minutes to the movie.

In the end, the movie isn't so much about dancing as it is about romance. Does it do it that well? I guess so for a teenage/20's crowd.

Also liked:
2) The acting was actually pretty decent. Not too melodramatic.

3) Of course, the dancing in general seemed pretty good, from whatever glimpses you got through edits.

What bothered me about the movie:
1) Actually my friends noticed this too: the Patrick Swayze cameo seemed out of place. I understood why it was there (at least to the extent that I did understand), but it was interesting to see him basically dancing his DD routine all over again with the same mambo from the original. Regardless, it seemed like "this is a nod to the original scene, and we're so glad to have him".

2) Why did Katie's mom give up dancing? That was not really clear. In fact, the character development of the parents as dancers and their history was not at all clear. Again, there is a lot of potential here that just did not appear... not in the same vein that Doug and Shirley Hastings (the parents) in Strictly Ballroom had in their history. Certainly there could have been more "support" from the parents in the week between the preliminaries and the finals.

3) The musical anachronisms. I love the soundtrack and will likely find a way to incorporate it into my music mixes (El Beso del Final as NC2S, Do You Only Want to Dance as obvious salsas/mambos). But that's a lot of hip-hop for 1958. I can't help but think WCS or "practice cha-cha" to "Represent, Cuba." Some more authentic Cuban son would be fine, even if it isn't as "hip" to the young audience they are targeting.

4) The finals scenes were too short. Having seen the trailer and then watched the movie, there are scenes of some of the dancing couples from the final in the trailer that I don't remember at all in the movie. Sure, we're talking maybe one additional minute of time, but I really would have liked to see that.

5) What number was Javier wearing on the back of his suit? I leave this up as an exercise to you when you watch the movie during the preliminary heat. I thought it was a different number during some of the scenes.

6) Was the Cuban revolution really as bloodless as it seemed? Ladies and gentlemen, Batista has left the country.

In the end, I guess the hallmark of a decent dance movie is for those who don't know how to be enthusiastic and learn. The touchstone (for me as a dancer) of a great dance movie is to it makes me realize and re-affirm my love for dancing. This movie I guess does a fine job with the first and makes a good effort for the latter standard, but it could have been much more. And realizing how much more they could have done to raise the quality of the movie in general disappoints me the most. As it is, it's a movie to just cash in on a young demographic without much of a message other than, "Hey, we got Patrick Swayze!" :)

[Vin]

I saw it last night as well.
The movie, yes predictable and the acting wasn't great but for a cheesy movie that we have to see because it has dancing in it it was not too bad. As well I liked the interplay between Katey's Ballroom style and Javier's Freestyle. I agree we could have gotten to learn more about her parents.
The Dancing, There were some really good dance scenes in the movie, but imho there were just as many if not more really bad dance scenes. A few of the shots at the club were good. Overall my biggest gripe is that I hate seeing salsa clubs portrayed as some sort of sex orgy and alot of the club scenes looked like that to me. Something more inline with a X-tina or Britney video than a salsa club.
The other worthwile dance scene is the first competition. However just when it seemed like there would be a great move the dancers would do something cheesy and the cool move would not be there.
Patrick Swayze, gosh he looks old.
I bought the soundtrack, it has a couple of good tracks, without a doubt the best being the one by Santana. Represent Cuba sounds good to me, good Cha-Cha. I am partial to Mya so I have to say her song is good, although there is an instrumental version that is better to dance to.
Overall see the movie, you will probably get some enjoyment out of it, the soundtrack, although not really salsa is actually pretty good and I think that there can be some good crossover into pop to come out of this.

[brujo]

Overall my biggest gripe is that I hate seeing salsa clubs portrayed as some sort of sex orgy and alot of the club scenes looked like that to me. Something more inline with a X-tina or Britney video than a salsa club.
.

Um, have you seen latin people and cubans dance? They might have turned it up a little bit in the movie, but if you go to clubs like la Tropical in Cuba, you get what some guys have refered to as a vertical lapdance. It might not be sanitized and politically correct in your eyes, but the Cubans don't have this particular bias themselves.

[etchuck]

I don't think I was as shocked with the first scenes at La Rosa Negra. Granted, it's not my preference, but heck... it is Dirty Dancing, and it appeared as authentic as it could be.

Also, according to the VH1 special, the actors spent about 2 months of 8-hour practices to get all the choreography and "Latin motion" right. Damn, I wish I could have someone pay me for lessons for that long. :)

[samba ajr]

I'm going this afternoon.

Is Boriken in the movie? I guess I should just look for the best dancer!

[SDsalsaguy]

Also, according to the VH1 special, the actors spent about 2 months of 8-hour practices to get all the choreography and "Latin motion" right. Damn, I wish I could have someone pay me for lessons for that long. :)

Heck yeah! Count me in too! ...ummm, so basically what you're saying is that to really get a leg up on my dancing I need to drop out of school and become an actor? :wink:

[Vin]

Overall my biggest gripe is that I hate seeing salsa clubs portrayed as some sort of sex orgy and alot of the club scenes looked like that to me. Something more inline with a X-tina or Britney video than a salsa club.
.

Um, have you seen latin people and cubans dance? They might have turned it up a little bit in the movie, but if you go to clubs like la Tropical in Cuba, you get what some guys have refered to as a vertical lapdance. It might not be sanitized and politically correct in your eyes, but the Cubans don't have this particular bias themselves.

That may be the case, and I have no opinion as far as the political correctness of the dirty dancing goes, but this is not the aspect of the dance that I particularly find appealing. Unfortunately I have never been to Cuba and seen them dance there but the dancing I have seen from Colombians, Puerto Ricans, and yes, even Cubans is nothing like that. I prefer something sexy yet classy, what I saw was still sexy, but more on the trashy side.

[toetaps17]

I dont think anyone could ever compare to the original Dirty Dancing, but is this one good? It is not in Canada yet.
Thanks..Jenna

[pygmalion]

Hi toetaps17. Welcome. :D

[Rockinrobin]

We went to see the movie last night at the Edwards multiplex, which is promoting local salsa competitions - see photos of Boise Salsa Cafe at http://www.rockinrs.com/boisesalsa.htm -with huge posters and prizes from the movie. Sound Tracks and T-shirts, etc. As a preliminary, the theater had a contest for the few attendees in the audience, based on questions about the first Dirty Dancing movie - what was the name of the old couple who were caught pick-pocketing; what was Baby's real name? After about 10 trivia questions, they showcased the local Fred Astaire Franchise Studio dance instructors doing a Salsa demo in the orchestra pit in front of the screen - Martha Bradford and Joe Moncada were in the middle of their dance when some idiot in the movie control box turned off the lighting and left them 'dancing in the dark' - luckily we were up front with about 10 other local dance couples and salsa instructors. :shock: :roll:
The movie itself had a similar 'teen plot' from the first DD:upperclass American family arrives with two daughters, one who is not only intellectually brilliant and socially, a polite egalitarian, but also loves to dance. Her parents were obviously competitive dancers who stopped dancing when they started having a family - she got pregnant, duh - the end of one life - the beginning of another. The use of the 'old' black and white film footage of her parents dancing the foxtrot carries over into the theme/choreography that the daughter insists Javier learn to combine with his 'native cuban' moves for their competition amalgamation.
Patrick Swayze's cameo role as dance instructor for the Americans living at the Oceania Hotel in 1958 Cuba becomes a cathartic education for a teen on the brink of finding her sensuality and sexuality - trust yourself and admit you are afraid to 'let go' of your inhibitions - after all it is only dancing and to compete, you need to show that you are not only enjoying yourself, but also excited [and a little afraid] about showing your partner how much you enjoy dancing with him. Suggestive flirtation is a central part of many Latin dance rhythms - as in the Tango Corte' where "her hips say 'YES' but her head says NO". :P
The story line could have been more drawn out as the revolution in Cuba comes to a peak and Batista is overthrown by Castro - and we all know that politically - the economically powerful Americans had to leave that wonderful island -source of incredible musicians and dances we love. The dancing in the club was representative of Afro-Cuban freedom of expression in rhythm and lyrics. I enjoyed the dancing scenes and snippets of practice sessions. The only criticism: there could have been a LOT more dancing in my opinion and I would have enjoyed a longer movie. I hope the DVD has 'out takes' of more dance scenes. The sound trac may include more hiphop than would have been 'real' for that era. :wink:

[dancer21]

in the local paper it received 4 stars out of a 5 star rating. i would have given it 2.

did they want us to understand the revolutionaries of cuba?
were they trying to make a teen love story?
were they trying to make a dance movie?
trying to cover a few too many sub plots, it fell short of my expectations.
never mind the acting of our two leads grew worse in the final scenes.

i would have enjoyed to see a higher standard of dancing or atleast more of the better dancing cast members. the scene we are brought to a true cuban night club is pretty hot and steamy, border lining a sex club, only to produce very basic and average dancing. pretty unbelieveable.

we have far too many great dancers in this day to be making sub-standard dance movies. in looking at the martial arts gendre, those movies hold nothing back to become bold and exciting to attrack an audience. i know most theatre goers would jaw drop if they ever saw the likes of our top salsa dancers or our top amatuer latin dancers let alone the likes of our current world professionals

nice to see patrick still hasnt changed the way he mambo/salsas...or is it?

[samba ajr]

In the end, I guess the hallmark of a decent dance movie is for those who don't know how to be enthusiastic and learn. The touchstone (for me as a dancer) of a great dance movie is to it makes me realize and re-affirm my love for dancing. This movie I guess does a fine job with the first and makes a good effort for the latter standard, but it could have been much more. And realizing how much more they could have done to raise the quality of the movie in general disappoints me the most. As it is, it's a movie to just cash in on a young demographic without much of a message other than, "Hey, we got Patrick Swayze!"

But did you enjoy it? I did. :) I think enough people have covered the plot, the music, the dancing. The biggest problem with this movie is that it follows 3 great others: Dirty Dancing, Strictly Ballroom and Dance With Me. It was if they used the template of the original (that was a given), tossed in Chayenne, Doug & Shirley Hastings, Patrick Swayze, put in the current popular dance and voila! a movie for all the teenboppers! (Do they even remember Patrick Swayze. I certainly do--fondly (even if he did look a bit worse for wear)

Interesting that the audience (granted a matinee) seemed to be all older couples. when I see it again (and I know I will) hopefully the crowd will be more upbeat.

Here's a question: Would this movie stand on it's own, without all the homages to other films? I don't think so.

[GalacticDancer44M]

First I'd like to say hello to everyone out there. I just found this cool website the other day. I just returned from the movie a few hours ago and echoe many of your responses.
The movie was enjoyable to see, but as mentioned on the weak side. I think the lead roles should have used more experienced dancers personally. Patrick has aged, but still showed he was the best dancer in the movie in my opinion. Mind you, I've only been dancing a year.
Still worth seeing and it does light up your fire for dancing.

[virginiadancegirl]

Anyone else notice one little odd thing (though I know Patrick Swayze wasn't in there to "be" Johnny Castle...)but the first DD was set in 1963, and the new one is set in 1958...makes my head hurt, thinking of the obviously older Patrick in a movie set 5 yrs earlier.......hmmmmmm?!?!?

[SDsalsaguy]

Welcome to the ranks of DF posters GalacticDancer! :D

[KevinL]

A bunch of us saw Dirty Dancing yesterday:

Patrick did look older, but the teenager in the row behind us moaned when he came on the screen. He must still have something going for him, 8^).

I was disappointed that the movie was so short. It would have been easy to add in lots more dancing, and beef up some of the side plots. (I think, I'm not much of a director.)

My dancing friends thought that the young couple were "authentic", and seemed real. I thought the acting was pretty good.

The girl had a constant supply of great dresses.

I thought the dancing was really good, but then I've never been to a "real" salsa club.

Go see it, it's worth an hour and a half of your time.

Kevin

[borikensalsero]

Nope, I'm not in the movie... Wouldn't mind being in one though... Not to mention that my Real Name is Javier as well. HMMMM

[pygmalion]

Bummer. I can't go until Wednesday. I'm really off my form, lately. I usually see these movies on opening day. :(

[IsaacAltman]

I saw the movie with my wife and some champions from South America. The view was almost the same with us all. Dancing was thin, acting was thin, music not of the times, and not accurately depicting the times. Cubans in Miami don't go because the movie depicts pro revolution. Big thumbs down. Hope the movie Jennifer Lopez made is better.

[Pacion]

Patrick did look older, but the teenager in the row behind us moaned when he came on the screen. He must still have something going for him, 8^)

According to a bio I found, Patrick Swayze was born 18 August 1952. Alas, just as not all women age well, same applies to men :wink:

As for still having something going for him? I think it is those hips :D

I did read something years ago that he had problems with his knees which could have put paid to dancing career? Not sure how true this is/was.

[peachexploration]

Yeah, I think he and his wife are trained in ballet.

[ShyDancer]

Patrick did look older, but the teenager in the row behind us moaned when he came on the screen. He must still have something going for him, 8^)

According to a bio I found, Patrick Swayze was born 18 August 1952. Alas, just as not all women age well, same applies to men :wink:

As for still having something going for him? I think it is those hips :D

I did read something years ago that he had problems with his knees which could have put paid to dancing career? Not sure how true this is/was.



Here comes the Patrick Swayze fan club........... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
This is all from the top of my head so I may leave bits out.

Patricks Mother was a champion ballroom dancer (well known although her name eludes me at the minute) ......he learnt to dance as a child.
Apparently he did have avery promising career as a dancer/ choreographer until he had a knee injury which cut that career short and he went into acting. He did a few movies prior tp DD (one of which he co-starred with jennifer Grey - Red Dawn).

His wife, Lisa Niemi, is also a ballroom dancer..thats how they met. I do believe like peachexploration said that she has ballet background as well but Im not 100% as Im not as interested in her bio :wink:


Havana Nights premiers here on the 13th! Cant wait!

[Pacion]

His mother, Patsy, is apparently a world famous choreographer. (From the sleeve of a video I have :wink: )

From recollection, his wife went to his mother's school for classes and that is how they met. She is a beautiful dancer. I saw them perform, on television, at one of these music award ceremonies that the Principality of Monaco puts on. They were beautiful :D