ABC's Dirty Dancing Remake

Submission 16,047

About

ABC's Dirty Dancing Remake is a 2017 made-for-TV movie based on the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. Following a string of well-received and highly-viewed musical remakes, ABC's Dirty Dancing became the subject of online mockery and critical derision.

History

On August 21st, 1987, Dirty Dancing, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, was released. The film grossed over $214 million and became the first film to sell over a million copies on home video. The soundtrack sold more than 32 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. The single “(I've Had) The Time of My Life" won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.^[10]^[11]

Following the release of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, the 2004 Dirty Dancing, there was no talk of new Dirty Dancing films until 2011, when Lionsgate announced a remake.^[9] One year later, Lionsgate shelved the remake.

On December 8th 2015, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the ABC television network would be producing a Dirty Dancing remake starring Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Scream Queens) as Baby, written by Jessica Sharzer (American Horror Story) and directed by Wayne Blair (The Sapphires). The decision to remake the film followed a steady string of made-for-TV musical hits, including Grease Live! and Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again. Three months later, on February 23rd, 2016, producers cast dancer Colt Prattes to play the Patrick Swayze role of Johnny.^[12]

The remake aired on May 24th, 2017.

Reception

Dirty Dancing received generally poor reviews from critics, scoring just 20% rotten on the website Rotten Tomatoes.^[13] Rolling Stone magazine released a list of the “10 Most WTF Moments from ABC's TV Remake” and Business Insider called it a “disaster.”^[2]^[3]

However, the remake became ABC’s most watched Wednesday programming in months, drawing in 6.6 millions viewers.^[1]

Online Reception

Even though Dirty Dancing boasted huge viewership, online, people expressed disappointment in the musical. On Twitter, people voiced disappointment about the remake, criticizing the dancing and performances. On May 24th, Twitter user @camacho_gen tweeted a picture of an empty auditorium (shown below, left) and wrote, “#DirtyDancing nice they included the shot of the people who appreciate this remake.” The tweet received more than 960 retweets and 3,600 likes.^[14] That day, Twitter user @MichaelAusiello tweeted a gif of a woman saying “Bullshit” with the caption #DirtyDancing review in one word (shown below, right).^[15] The tweet received more than 350 retweets and 1,300 likes.

Several people pointed out the difference between the films’ famous lift scenes, comparing the two moments in both versions. Twitter user @bibble8gubbles tweeted a side-by-side comparison of the two scenes with the caption “When you order it online Vs when it arrives….#DirtyDancing.” The tweet (shown below, left) received more than 2,300 retweets and 4,900 likes.^[16] Another Twitter user @StaceofBase20 posted the same image (shown below, right) and the caption “It's like the epitome of a Pinterest fail. #DirtyDancing #nailedit.” The tweet received more than 2,500 retweets and 6,500 likes.^[17]

Throughout the broadcast, more users joined in at expressing their disappointment in the film.

Media Coverage

The remake the reaction to the film has been covered by a variety of news sites, including Refinery29,^[4] People,^[5] Vox,^[6] Billboard,^[7] BuzzFeed^[8] and more.