ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a

terrible remake. Twitter had the
time of its life.
The remake made a litany of changes to the original including a new
ending.
Updated by Aja Romano @ajaromano May 25, 2017, 10:30am EDT

This happened.

There comes a time in the midst of a turbulent sociopolitical climate and rising
international tensions when humanity needs to unite, to rally against a common
enemy.

1 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

Thus it was that ABCs remake of Dirty Dancing was the No. 1 worldwide Twitter
trend Wednesday evening, as fans of the 1987 classic starring Patrick Swayze
and Jennifer Grey came together to indulge in several hours of ridicule while the
remake aired in the US.

@Twitter Literally just reactivated it tonight to let @ABCNetwork know even the
un-twitterverse is displeased with this trash

Jolee (@MissJolee2U) May 25, 2017

Any one else not having the time of their life? #DirtyDancing

Molly Dietz (@mmdietz) May 25, 2017

The remake of 'Dirty Dancing' is the most traumatizing thing I have witnessed since
Election Night '16. #DirtyDancing #LeaveClassicsAlone

Briana Ryan (@BrianaLeeRyan) May 25, 2017

@ABC you could have remade Gone With The Wind using the cast from Big Bang
Theory and it would have been better than this mess #DirtyDancing

Chery McLemore (@cherymc1) May 25, 2017

Please put baby in the corner. Turn off the lights. Close the door. And never look back.
#DirtyDancing

Reese (@NY2Pgh) May 25, 2017

2 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

Was ABCs remake really that bad? In a word, yes.

The acting was lackluster; Abigail Breslin played Baby mainly by looking surprised
and doing her best teen Kirsten Dunst impression. As Johnny Castle, Colt
Prattes could sing just fine, and he had a pompadour which tended to effectively
distract us from his lack of facial expressions, but his dancing was nowhere on par
with Swayzes legendary performance in the original film.

Breslins dancing was even worse and it didnt help that she had far more
chemistry with her other dance partner, Nicole Scherzinger (who played Penny),
than with Prattes. In particular, it was difficult not to ridicule the famous water lift
scene for its cringeworthy differences from the original.

Says it all.......#DirtyDancing pic.twitter.com/eHk22LStLz

David Wyatt (@Davidwyatt78) May 25, 2017

It's like the epitome of a Pinterest fail. #DirtyDancing #nailedit

pic.twitter.com/w4TLXDPGVo

Stacey Nasser (@s_nasser20) May 25, 2017

Al Roker did a better job #DirtyDancing pic.twitter.com/KU4SpvsZcZ

MiSomnia (@FreyaWalnuts) May 25, 2017

Despite featuring choreography from Hamiltons Andy Blankenbuehler, the

remakes dancing in general failed to impress.

3 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

FROM OUR SPONSOR

The Original vs the Remake #DirtyDancing pic.twitter.com/U8XzsP6o0G

SAMO_Basquiat (@SAMO_Basquiat) May 25, 2017

Everyone on my timeline is asking why ABC didn't cast better dancers.

Answer: real dancers know that you don't mess with #DirtyDancing

Carolyn (@care4volleyball) May 25, 2017

Most viewers or at least the ones on Twitter seemed to agree that the main
problem with ABCs Breslin/Prattes pairing was its lack of chemistry. But it didnt
help that the film essentially turned one of the most notoriously sexy romances of
our time into a Disney movie (which perhaps shouldnt be surprising, since ABC is
owned by Disney, but still).

4 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

The remake departed from the original in several significant ways. Most of the
Dirty Dancings original themes a hypocritical upper crust, social and class
tensions, and frigid family dynamics were watered down with heartwarming
family reconciliations, interracial friendships, and empowered girls being
empowered together.

Nearly every song that featured in the originals iconic soundtrack was a remake
itself, heavily remixed or newly covered; many major songs (like Do You Love Me,
Big Girls Dont Cry, and, of course, Ive Had the Time of My Life) were reworked
to turn the movie into an actual musical, with the characters themselves singing as
well as dancing.

Notably, however, the remake did keep the originals famous abortion storyline
essentially unchanged, while also using it to drive Penny and Babys closer
friendship.

ABC changing story lines and adding new dance numbers in the #DirtyDancing
remake has me like pic.twitter.com/Yopu24xfwf

Emily Simpson (@emilyesimpson_) May 25, 2017

Several minor storylines were cut or significantly changed, while newer, cheesier
ones were added.

The famous line I carried a watermelon was changed (or flubbed) to I carried his
watermelon, a travesty which sparked its own protest hashtag.

The even-more-famous Loverboy scene in which the original characters

lip-synced Love Is Strange was awkwardly turned into one of the
aforementioned sung musical numbers, sending numerous fans into some sort of
virtual apoplexy.

And worst of all, the original nebulous-but-happy ending was extended to include

5 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

a clunky, bittersweet flash-forward shipped straight from La La Land, parting our

lovers for, you know, maybe forever, with the lackluster final words, Keep on
dancin. Like anyone would want to dance after this.

Oh ok, so ruining the whole movie wasn't enough. You had to ruin the love story too.
#dirtydancing

Sarah (@UberGuber) May 25, 2017

Reasons why #DirtyDancing remake sucks

1.No chemistry
2.Bad dancing
3.Bad casting
4.Bad writing
5.Bad music
6.HORRIBLE ALTERNATE ENDING

Olivia Breen (@Liv_Taylor3) May 25, 2017

#DirtyDancing nice they included the shot of the people who appreciate this remake
pic.twitter.com/1FXlp86Cdw

Genesa Camacho (@camacho_gen) May 25, 2017

Look on the bright side, fans youll always have the original in all its (mostly)
untarnished glory.

Finding joy in this GIF over what's actually on my tv right now #DirtyDancing
pic.twitter.com/3yqqVKSV1v

6 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

Jessica Floyd Regitz (@JessFPardue) May 25, 2017

Was this article helpful?

THE LATEST

Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi: everything

we know about the movie so far
by Caroline Framke

The lap band for weight loss is a tale of medicine

gone wrong
by Julia Belluz

How Trump policy will affect US carbon emissions, in

one graph
by David Roberts

Netflixs The Keepers: the murder of Sister Cathy

Cesnik and the abuse at Archbishop Keough,
explained
by Alex Abad-Santos

Political reporters are under attack. Conservative

voters don't seem to mind.
by Jeff Guo

7 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM
ABC ruined Dirty Dancing with a terrible remake. Twitter had th... https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/25/15689428/abc-dirty-da...

If Greg Gianforte makes it to Congress, the

questions will only get tougher
by Tara Golshan

8 of 8 5/25/17 2:44 PM