Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights
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Actor: Diego Luna, John Slattery, Jonathan Jackson, Romola Garai, Sela WardBrand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
Published: 2004-07-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-07-20
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights
DVD Review: Que tonta
Summary: 3 Stars
I understand that Dirty Dancing movies aren't going to be exactly like Citizen Kain. But when you think about the premise, the culture and classist clash of American vs. Cuban dancing, sexuality, and budding romance set during the backdrop of the Revolution, the movie sounds quite promising. I mean, when I heard the premise I thought "This movie was MADE for me," because it has Cuban history and politics, awesome dancing (or so I assumed it would, due to its predecessor,) and, come on, the main character has the same name as me. But I should have realized then that a good premise does not necessarily lead to a good, or even adequate, execution.
I won't summarize the movie as so many others do; if you want a synopsis, look to their reviews. I WILL point out what exactly I found so lacking about it, and why I do not feel it was that good of a movie, even when one considers that it's ultimately just a dance movie. But again one must remember that it was their decision to involve politics in the movie, and in doing so they made themselves fair game--I do not believe in just using a deep political situation just to make a story line seem a little deeper; if it is not handled properly, it is insulting.
First off, the romance. Diego Luna and Romola Garai had definite chemistry, and it is so disappointing when you realize that the movie did not capitalize upon this, and all you're going to see in addition to some very sexually charged dancing is a few hurried onscreen kisses and an implied sex scene. Given their chemistry and the buildup of their relationship, their first kiss could have been so much better, instead of just snuck in during a dance routine--it was so quick I spent many minutes wondering if I had really seen it or not. However, to me chemistry is not the only thing required in an on-screen relationship, and I have no idea to this minute why Javier and Katey fell in love with each other. Katey's personality was developed in the movie sense (she likes classic literature, is a bookworm and rather progressive for her time) and Javier was clearly the "will do anything for his family and feels that Cuba is in need of a change" but I don't really know how those two fit together. Aside from the sexual attraction component, I have no idea what exactly they saw in each other to make their relationship anything more than "He was hot, she was pretty, and she felt sorry for him." Some might argue that Katey was merely attracted to the intensity and freedom of the Cuban lifestyle embodied by Javier, but I ask you: the movie was founded upon the idea of a romance, and what the heck kind of relationship is that?
I would also like to add that the Spanish conversations WITHOUT subtitles were incredibly rude to the audience. I do speak Spanish, but I could not make much sense of the slurred words and to this day I am wondering what exactly Javier and his brother said to each other after the Revolution broke out. Maybe they figured that the audience would not care (pfft, what are politics compared to SALSA DANCING,) but I cared.
And now, the historical components. I will not get into the anachronisms--such as Katey's parents' attitude towards her staying nights with a boy they don't know, and that even Cuba in the 50's could not have been that unrestrained--as there are many who could do that better justice than I (apparently the style of dancing in the movie was unlike what was popular in Cuba at the time.) After all, it is only a dance movie. I can ignore that stuff. But when the movie brings the history to ME I cannot ignore it, and I further dislike it when movie directors assume that their audience is completely ignorant of certain aspects of history and will just assume that "Man, that Batista guy was a jerk; he didn't allow dancing. Hopefully life will be better under this new regime! Who'd they say it was, some guy by the name of Fidel Something-or-Another?" (I am exaggerating; at least I hope that no one is that ignorant.)
And here we get to the backdrop of the story, Revolutionary Cuba. First off, Batista's regime wasn't really shown to be that bad; aside from the story involving Javier's father, it might as well have been that town in Footloose (perhaps a little more violent.) It was like Dictatorship Lite. After Havana falls to Castro and co., the Cubans act happy (which is understandable) but things are otherwise pretty calm, which one cannot imagine is really likely in such a situation.
And then we get to the ending. Katey asks Javier to come to America with her. In a move which my sister has deemed the "stupidest decision in a movie ever," Javier refuses, saying that he has to stay because of the Revolution, which he believes (or wants to believe, anyway) will improve life for him and his people, Batista killed his free-thinking father, viva la Revolución, yadda yadda yadda. I understand that movies don't always have happy endings, but I think that there is a middle ground between "boy and girl live happily ever after" to "girl lives happily ever after and boy gets sent to the gulag after he finds out that Castro isn't exactly the nice guy he claims to be and wow, Batista was a cakewalk compared to this, and has to spend his years in a drawer cell where he would kick himself for his earlier decision if, you know, he could actually kick himself, but drawer cells don't allow that." I truly think that the filmmakers did not anticipate their audience to think this much, which is understandable, but come on--everyone knows that communist Cuba is no picnic, and when Katey says something along the lines of "I know that we'll meet again," I couldn't help but thinking that the only way THAT would happen would be if Javier braves the Gulf and takes up Florida's wet feet dry feet policy. In fact, when I told my friend about the ending he said, "that boy is going to have to stop dancing and learn to convert his '57 Chevy into a boat."
I understand that people at first thought that Castro was fantastic and he didn't reveal his true intentions until later, but the fact remains that Cuba was politically instable and to choose to stay there instead of going to America was still pretty questionable. And then Katey's optimistic "We'll see each other again someday!" was just waaaay too much for me.
So, in short, if you're like me and you can't turn off your brain while watching a movie, this one's going to give you a lot of issues. If you CAN turn off your brain and just enjoy it for what it is--a dance movie--you'll probably like it, though find some things (like the romance) lacking.
Description of Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights
SET AGAINST THE DECADENT GLAMOUR & DANGER OF REVOLUTION-ERA CUBA IS THE STORY OF KATEY, A YOUNG, AMERICAN WOMAN & HER DISCOVERY OF LOVE, SENSUALITY & INDEPENDENCE WITH A SEXY, SULTRY CUBAN DANCER, JAVIER. KATEY PERSUADES HIM TO PARTNER WITH HER IN A PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL DANCE COMPETITION IN HAVANNA.Bestsellers in DVD
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