CD Review: Dirty Dancing, The Deluxe Anniversary Edition

It's hard to believe that Dirty Dancing is 25 years old. Let that sink in all: TWENTY FIVE YEARS.

Now that we all feel old, let's move on to the real meat of the business. In honor of the anniversary, there's a new edition of the soundtrack available where much of the content was voted on by fans. The package contains a nice booklet full of liner notes and behind-the-scenes interviews, photo cards, an awesome sticker that would look rad on my Trapper Keeper, and is wrapped up in a pretty little booklet. And of course, the real gift is the album. I had that album on cassette and it was on heavy rotation back in the day. Classic '80s soundtrack.

It's on sale in a multitude of placess including Amazon, so if you're into this kind of thing, pick it up.

And because I'm feeling nostalgic for Patrick Swayze now, here's his hit song "She's Like The Wind," which he actually co-wrote. Singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, adorable... love ya, Patrick!

Stealing From The '80s Continues

In Hollywood, "what's old is new" seems to be the mantra. Great movies from the '80s seem to be a treasure trove of great ideas for the studios to reboot, remarket, and unleash upon a nostalgic audience.

There's a difference between a long-awaited sequel and a remake. Take Tron and Tron Legacy, for example. I enjoyed the updated sequel and thought it was a great continuation of the original storyline. And then there's Karate Kid 2010, which was a complete bastardization of a film I hold sacred (bowing my head and saying a prayer to Mr. Pat Morita). And don't even get me started on Arthur, Clash of the Titans, Miami Vice, and The A-Team.

A remake of Red Dawn is already in the works and I really don't know how they're going to pull that off. The film was released during the Cold War, so it made sense. Originally, they had the Chinese invading us, but they've since changed it to North Koreans coming to take us over--but not before a group of high school kids foil their plans (think Home Alone but with machine guns).

Here's just a tiny sample of '80s movies that are being planned for a complete reboot:

1. The Last Starfighter (1984): still speculation whether it's a sequel or reboot
2. Footloose  (1984): will be released in October of this year
3. Poltergeist (1982): "They're baaaaaack..."
4. Weird Science (1985): this one makes me want to cry
5. WarGames (1983): not the same without the telephone modem and floppy disk
6. Robocop (1987): this project has changed hands so many times. It'll be a CGI bonanza for sure. Yuck.
7. Ghostbusters (1984): absolute outrage!
8. Short Circuit (1986): Johnny 5 is alive... again
9. The Goonies (1985): they are spreading the original over 4 new films. That's so wrong.
10. Dirty Dancing (1987): this has gotten a lot of press lately. They should just leave this one in the corner.

And if they even think about rebooting The Breakfast Club, I will personally lead a public protest.

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Who Would Put Baby in a Corner AGAIN?

If you're a female of a certain age you pretty much have to admit that you watched Dirty Dancing 3,897,275 times, especially after it came out on VHS. (Yeah, I said it. VHS. What?) I know I wanted to be Frances "Baby" Houseman, even with her awkwardness. Who wouldn't have wanted to hook up with Johnny? He was both bad and good. Swoon!

So I hear that Lions Gate Entertainment is in the works for a Dirty Dancing remake, directed by Kenny Ortega, the choreographer of the original film. The early buzz indicates it will be released in 2013.

I'm not sure how I feel about this remake. Who could play Johnny as well as the late, great Patrick Swayze? (And who could crinkle his nose as cute as him?) Who could play Baby with as much adorable awkwardness as Jennifer Grey (pre-nose job)?

I'm pretty sure I'll stick with the original.

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