Remembering Johnny

I was 11-years-old when Dirty Dancing came out in 1987. And just a few months ago, on a Friday night, I flipped past it on AMC. Ten minutes later, I sat staring intently at Patrick Swayze's high-waisted pants and Jennifer Grey's poofy bob. I wasn't going anywhere.

Like probably every other girl and ahem...woman on the planet that year, this movie was mesmerizing. All those gyrating, shaking, and dipping dance moves--it was so different and so...dirty. I wasn't that into boys yet, but I wasn't that not into them either. And Baby's crush on Johnny was enthralling to watch. "I carried a watermelon." Ugh. Who could ever forget that one?

Until that night, I had (expectedly, as one could only hope) really fogotten about this movie. And as I watched, I saw that the characters looked outdated and silly and the picture looked grainy. And I thought to myself, "Gee, this movie is so dumb." And it all was really, pretty bad. Even as a young person, I knew something was amiss. I still remember thinking there was something not quite right with a few of the songs on the soundtrack. How does the sound of "She's Like the Wind" or "Hungry Eyes," which were both so very 1987, really be playing at Kellerman's in 1963? Did they really expect us to believe these songs were hitting the top-40 charts with the likes of the Ronettes' "Be my Baby" and Frankie Vallie's "Big Girls Don't Cry?"

So it was goofy. But it worked. And everybody kind just went with it, played along, and enjoyed the music. It happened once, but I doubt anyone will ever be able to do it again.