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Volume CXXXIII, Number 17 |
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Dirty Dancing goes to Cuba
DIANA HEALD
STAFF WRITER
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights sizzled its way into theaters on February 27, giving viewers a glimpse of American life in Cuba in the late 1950s and all the dirty dancing that apparently accompanied it.
Like its 1987 precursor, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights claims in promotions to explore the "paradigm of first love, dance, and self-discovery." It is directed by Guy Ferland, who also directed such films as Bang, Bang, You're Dead; Delivered; After the Storm; and Telling Lies in America.
The movie begins with the Miller family's arrival in Havana just months before Castro's regime takes over. The Miller parents are former ballroom dancers and their eldest daughter Katey (Romola Garai) secretly longs to follow in their footsteps. Bookish and reserved, Katey doesn't fit in with the other rich, glamorous American teenagers staying at the ritzy Oceana Hotel.
Instead, she strikes up a friendship with a young Cuban pool boy, Javier (Diego Luna). Javier shows the sheltered Katey that there is life outside the walls of her exclusive hotel, and exposes her to real Cuban music and dancing. Her sheltered middle-class Midwestern background hasn't prepared Katey for the hustle and bustle of Havana, and she begins to feel increasingly torn between her obligations to her family and her desire to explore her new home.
Things grow more complicated when sparks begin to fly between Katey and Javier, whose job as a pool boy prevents him from dating any of the American guests staying at a hotel. Katey's gossipy, jealous classmates do Javier in and he gets fired. Katey feels terribly and decides that the best way to resolve the situation is for her and Javier to enter the country club's annual Latin dance competition, which provides a handsome cash prize.
Predictably, Katey and Javier spend long hours practicing their moves, learning about themselves, and falling in love, all of which is contrasted with the increasing social turmoil in the streets of Havana.
The movie is totally predictable, but that does not mean you shouldn't see it. The lush, colorful Cuban scenery is a sight for sore eyes, and Garai and Luna aren't bad to look at, either. The dance scenes are hot and, well, dirty, at least in a PG-13 way, and will make you want to come home and dance the night away.
What you won't get is anything close to an accurate portrayal of Cuba in the late 1950s, and the Cuban Revolution is made to look cheesy and silly. The acting could be better, and some of the dialogue is just plain stupid.
That said, if you are looking for a fun, light-hearted way to brighten up your afternoon, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights does the job quite nicely.
2.9 bears
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