Dirty Dancing's Darkest Story Means It Has Aged Surprisingly Well

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Though it's a romantic comedy from the '80s, Dirty Dancing has aged surprisingly well. A number of films from that time period don't hold up when examined under a modern lens. Certain stereotypical racial or marginalized group tropes are badly outdated now and plenty of the humor of the era is wholly problematic today. In particular, the issues of how women are portrayed in '80s movies, particularly around issues of sex, consent, and autonomy, have aged incredibly poorly in a post-#MeToo era. However, there are multiple aspects of Dirty Dancing that allow it to be enjoyable and relatable to audiences today.

Dirty Dancing, originally released in 1987, is set in the summer of 1963 and focuses on Frances «Baby» Houseman, played by Jennifer Grey. Baby is on vacation with her parents and sister at Kellerman's, a resort in New York's Catskill Mountains. Baby decides to explore the resort after dark one night and discovers a secret «dirty dancing» party thrown by resort staff. After Dirty Dancing's dance instructor character Johnny Castle's (Patrick Swayze) partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), is revealed to be pregnant, Baby volunteers to stand in as Johnny's partner for a performance so Penny can get an abortion. The coming-of-age story sees Baby growing up, learning to dance, and slowly falling in love with Johnny.

Related: How Old Baby & Johnny Are During Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing has aged surprisingly well because of its modern approach to certain controversial issues throughout the movie. The entire plot is jumpstarted by Penny's decision to have an abortion, which the movie doesn't shame her for doing, a surprising move for an '80s movie, much less one set in the early 1960s. Scriptwriter Eleanor Bergstein revealed (via