Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2616 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-22
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 86 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The sinuous world of 1950s Cuban dance halls provides the setting for Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, a "re-imagining" that shares with the original movie a deep love of sexy young people pressed tightly together on the dance floor. Fresh from New England, bookish and lovely Katey (Romola Garai, adorable in the charming but little-seen I Capture the Castle) meets a fiery young busboy named Javier (Diego Luna, Y Tu Mama Tambien) at a snooty hotel. Before you can say Tito Puente, the two have found a common language in the sensual swaying of their limbs, despite the resistance of Katey's mother (Sela Ward). It's all ridiculous, of course--the dialogue is atrocious, the characters tortilla-thin, and the politics embarrassing--but that's hardly the point. Luna is dreamy, there's lots of sweaty dancing, and Patrick Swayze makes an appearance--what more can you ask from a movie called Dirty Dancing? --Bret Fetzer

Synopsis
Katey Miller (Romola Garai) is an 18-year-old girl who is about to have the time of her life, even if she doesn't know it. When her father Bert Miller (John Slattery) is transferred to Havana in 1958, just before Katey's senior year in high school, the whole family relocates to the exotic locale, moving into a luxurious hotel filled with Americans as Cuba teeters on the brink of revolution. Bookish Katey is mesmerized by the raw intensity of the dancing she sees in a public square one afternoon--and by Javier (Diego Luna), a Cuban pool boy that works at her hotel. Soon, Katey and Javier are heating up the dance floor, combining his Latin moves with her formal ballroom training. With some inspiration from the hotel dance instructor, played by none other than the original dirty dancer Patrick Swayze, Katey enters a Latin ballroom dance competition. Based on co-producer and choreographer JoAnn Jansen's own experiences as an American teenager in Cuba, DIRTY DANCING HAVANA NIGHTS comes to the screen 17 years after the original DIRTY DANCING debuted. This coming-of-age film also features Sela Ward as Katey's mother, and was directed by Guy Ferland (TELLING LIES IN AMERICA).

Customer Reviews

Raunchy moves, sexy music but not much else!!!
Ever since 'Dirty Dancing' burst into our lives in the 1980's a string of dance movies have followed all striving to break into that special niche market that Dirty Dancing identified. We've since had 'Step Up', 'Save the Last Dance', 'Strictly Ballroom', 'Take the Lead' and 'Shall we Dance' to name but a few and they have all more or less had varying degrees of success. While the dancing in these movies is always excellent the storyline often leaves alot to be desired

Thankfully Dirty Dancing 2 at least makes an effort to avoid the over-worked storylines of its predessors. Yes it's still far from original being as usual the story of girl meets boy, girl discovers the passion of dance and surprise surprise falls in love with boy but what makes this movie different is the political background to it being set during the time of the Cuban Missiles Crisis, which adds a greater sense of depth to this movie as issues such a class, culture, race and politics come into play. Unfortunately despite the reasonably promising storyline the script is very weak so this movies never really manages to take flight and become the great movie that I'm sure it could have been under better guidance. The script writer seems to appear rather confused as to what he/she wanted to achieve from this movie. The political background is kept very much to the background, (understandably in a movie about dance) so unless you actually have an understanding of the situation in Cuba during the 1950's you really won't understand what's happening alot of the time regarding this issue. To call this a fault would be unfair but since the Revolution does have a major impact on the lives of the protagonists at the end it is strange that not more emphasis was placed on it. What is also surprising is that this movie lacks any humour, something strange in a movie that does appear to be light-hearted. But nevertheless this movie does survive these problems due to its brevity (standing at only 1hr18mins it's far from long) and rather original ending.

The acting throughout is fairly passable. However what really intrigued me was the fact that although the two leads had never had any dance experience they managed to pull off the dance moves with a grace and charm that would have easily fooled even the most expert of dance experts. This, in my opinion is this movie's saving grace: the catchy music and routines that will have you all enquiring about your local salsa classes. Ignore the fact that the leads don't really have much on-screen appeal. The chemistry between them is non-existent and Romola Garai is particularly wooden. While this performance works at the start as she plays the shy, newcomer trying to find her feet on foregin land it becomes progressively dull as the movie advances and she is supposed to be becoming more confident as her passion for dance takes flight. Alas this transformation never occurs leading me to wonder if Romola has the star quality to play a leading lady (she was little better in Atonement or I capture the Castle).

But on the whole this is a reasonably colourful movie. The costumes are cute and twirly (so much better than Dirty Dancing), the music raunchier and the dance moves sexier. I would have liked to have seen more shots on location as at times too many scenes are shot indoors but this is nothing serious.

To conclude Dirty Dancing 2 is alot better than Dirty Dancing, (though I must confess I never really liked Dirty Dancing. I found it to be one of the most over-rated movies of the 20th century) although calling it a sequel is a tad misleading since it's set in the 1950's and besides a cameo by Patrick Swayze there is little to remind us of the original. A good movie for a wet afternoon or a night in with the girls, just don't expect life altering material here.

Well second the best and all that....
I first watched this film a couple of years ago when my friend got given it. I fully expected to be slightly dissapointed because i was at that time a big lover of Dirty Dancing the original. However this film, in my opinion is a lot better than the first one.

The first thing i think you should know is that it is not a sequel to Dirty Dancing, in many ways it is more of a prequel having happened before the first. The only links between the films are the name, Patrick Swayse and basic story line of boy meets girl and being of differnet class it is not accepted.

The acting is top class and one thing i found incredible about this film is that niether Diego Luna or Romola Garai used a dance double and niether of them had any dance experiance. They also managed to come over accent difficulties, Garai having to put on an American Accent and Luna, being mexican, a cuban one. Yet there is not one point it the film where these accents slip.

Where this film really triumphs over the original is the historical backdrop. Rather than the first Dirty Dancing where we have a secluded holiday resort as the setting, here we are based right in the center of the Cuban Revolution, which adds a lot to the play especially by the power of the actors who portray the difficulties of the Cubans and ignorance of the Americans very well.

The dance sequences though in the big envents there are less lifts than the First Dirty Dancing, they are no less exciting and interesting.

This film is worth a watch whatever your age or gender. My brother, mother, sister and friends have all loved this film almost as much as me since i have shown it to them.

This film is well worth the money because as well as being a fantastic watch it is the sort of film you never get bored of watching, i am almost word perfect and my friends has watched it about 20 times in the last week, since i leant it to her. So this film is well worth a watch and a buy.

Totally took me by surprise
Dirty Dancing 2 - how could they?! Ok, that was my first thought and obviously I'm not alone in this. BUT...great film. The story works well, the acting is great and the dancing is sexy and sumptious. The film [almost] stands on it's own feet and steadily too. I say 'almost' because of Patrick Swayze's cameo, which works so well, especially if you think about the original and Johnny's comments about latin dance moves for the final show - now we know where he got them.

It is a shame that this film will be written off so easily by so many people - I only bought it cos I'll buy any dance/music movie - but it is well worth putting any preconceptions to one side and just enjoy. You have the beautiful backdrop of Cuba, a not-so-cutsy love story and dancing that will make you wish you you were in the arms on one of the stars. There is also some interesting historical context to the film, not just the fact that, like the first, it's based on a true story. You'll probably learn a thing or two as a plus. This helps to take out the crass warm, fuzzy feelings that the movie could have had...it has nicely-worked warm, fuzzy feelings...

The original is one film...this is another. Simple really. The original can never be beaten, but if anything, this film has more realism and less idealism to it.

Just watch it. Let it take you by surprise too.