Dirty Dancing remake well timed but will it betray the original?

Yet another Hollywood remake has come to fruition with Lionsgate studios announcing today the Dirty Dancing Remake. Will the 80s classic set in the 60s get a fantastic makeover worthy of a 21st Century audience? Or perhaps we should expect a plate of delicious cheese to go with Sunday night dinner.

When I first read about the Dirty Dancing ‘re-birth’ I was impressed that someone hadn’t re-made it sooner. Since 1987 the world has changed a fair bit, and a modern portrayal of the ‘Dirty Dancing’ storyline could be fairly interesting. I think it could go further than, let’s say, a remake of ‘Commando’ starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which had a plotline so wooden that it would take just one monkey to re-write the script. Speaking of Monkeys, aren’t they top of the box office right now?

Re-making 80s classics is not new, but making them work for a different audience today is not easy. There might still be a huge fan base for the original ‘Dirty Dancing’ but today, that generation has changed as well. Also, for those die hard Patrick Sawyze fans, not getting to see him in at least a cameo role could be seen as a missed opportunity to give homage to the first one. Could they not have made this back in 2008?

Lionsgate said in their statement that the film would include “the thrills and complexity of sexual awakening…and the soul-stirring power of dance”. Well, it doesn’t sound too bad to me. I am particularly looking forward to their casting announcements for the movie and with the popularity of musicals like 'Glee', young audiences could flock to this one. Let’s see where this goes.