Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Guy Ferland
Produced by	Lawrence Bender Sarah Green
Screenplay by	Boaz Yakin Victoria Arch
Story by	Kate Gunzinger Peter Sagal
Starring	Romola Garai Diego Luna Sela Ward John Slattery Mika Boorem Jonathan Jackson
Music by	Heitor Pereira
Cinematography	Anthony B. Richmond
Editing by	Luis Colina Scott Richter
Studio	Lawrence Bender Productions
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment Miramax Films
Release date(s)	February 27, 2004 (2004-02-27)
Running time	86 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$27,685,016

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights is a 2004 American musical romance film directed by Guy Ferland. This film is a "re-imagining" of the 1987 blockbuster Dirty Dancing, reusing the same basic plot, but transplanting it from upstate New York to Cuba on the cusp of the Cuban Revolution.

Plot

Katey Miller (Romola Garai), her parents (Sela Ward and John Slattery), and her younger sister Susie (Mika Boorem) arrive in Cuba during the Cuban revolution. A self-described bookworm, Katey is not very happy about having to move to a different country during her senior year of school as she had been planning to attend Radcliffe College; although, the rest of her family seem extremely pleased to be in Cuba. Meeting several other rich American teenagers down by the pool including James Phelps (Jonathan Jackson), the son of her father's boss; Katey becomes disgusted when one of the teenagers insults a waiter when he accidentally knocks over some of their drinks. Katey attempts to talk to the waiter - Javier (Diego Luna), who works at the hotel to support his family - because she feels awful about what had occurred but he is not interested.

Katey watches a film of her mother and father dancing and wishes she was as good as they were. She and her father dance a bit. The next day in class, Katey is asked to read aloud from The Odyssey and it is a passage about love and passion. After class, James asks Katey to a party at the country club and she agrees. While walking home from school she sees Javier dancing at a street party and he offers to walk her home. They stop to listen to a street band and police show up, stopping Javier while Katey runs away. The next day, Katey tries some of the dance moves she saw. Javier sees her and asks her to come see the real dancers Saturday night, but she says she is already going to the country club. Javier gets upset and leaves. Katey wears one of her maid's sexy dresses to the country club party and impresses James. Katey convinces him to take her to the Cuban club where Javier is dancing with the ladies. Javier dances with Katey while James sits at the bar. Soon he is accosted by Javier's brother, who tells him that they will eventually kick the Americans out of Cuba. Javier comes over and argues with his brother. James takes Katey back to the car and tries to seduce her, but she refuses, slaps him, and runs away. Katey goes back to the club and Javier agrees to walk her home.

The next day Katey walks by a dance class with a male teacher (Patrick Swayze) teaching it. He asks if anyone wants to enter the big dance contest and then dances with Katey for a bit. She grabs a flyer for the dance. While walking to the pool, James apologizes to her and then tells her that Katey's sister saw Javier with her and got him fired. Katey argues with Susie and goes to find Javier. He is now working at a chop shop with his brother. She asks him to enter the dance contest with her, but he refuses. Meanwhile, it is becoming apparent that Javier's brother is helping the revolutionaries. The next day, Javier shows up at Katey's school and agrees to enter the dance contest with her. They start teaching each other dance moves and Javier convinces her to "feel the music". They practice all the time, Katey dances some more with the dance teacher, until it is the night of the dance. They dance with the other couples on the floor and are chosen to go on to the next round. Katey's parents, however, disapprove of her relationship with Javier but Katey reconciles with them. On the night of the final round of the contest, while Katey and Javier are on the dance floor, Javier sees his brother and some revolutionaries disguised as waiters and the police soon try to arrest them. The contest stops as everyone flees the club and Javier has to save his brother from the police. Javier and his brother talk about how they miss their dad, then they hear that Batista has fled the country and join the celebration.

Later, Javier comes to the hotel and finds Katey. He takes her to the beach and they make passionate love. The next day, Katey's parents tell her they are leaving Cuba and she has one last night with Javier. They go to the Cuban club where they first danced and the floor is theirs. Katey's family is there to see her and Katey narrates that she doesn't know when she will see Javier again, but this will not be their last time to dance together.

Cast

• Romola Garai as Katey Miller
• Diego Luna as Javier Suarez
• Sela Ward and John Slattery as Jeannie and Bert Miller, Katey and Susie's parents
• Mika Boorem as Susie Miller, Katey's sister
• Jonathan Jackson as James Phelps
• Rene Lavan as Carlos Suarez, Javier's brother
• Patrick Swayze as Dance Class Instructor
• January Jones as Eve
• Mya Harrison as Lola Martinez
• Angelica Aragon as Mrs. Suarez

Production

Havana Nights is based on an original screenplay written by playwright and NPR host Peter Sagal, based on the real life experience of producer JoAnne Jansen, who lived in Cuba as a 15 year old in 1958-59. Sagal wrote the screenplay which he titled Cuba mine, about a young American woman who witnessed the Cuban revolution and has a romance with a young Cuban revolutionary. The screenplay was to be a serious political romance story, documenting, telling, among other stories, how the Cuban revolution went from idealism to terror. It was commissioned in 1992 by Lawrence Bender, who was rising to fame with his production of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. The screenplay was bought by a film studio who requested several rewrites before deciding not to produce the film. A decade later, Bender decided to make a Dirty Dancing sequel, and the film was very loosely adapted from Sagal's script. Not a single line from Sagal's original screenplay appears in the final film and Sagal says that the only remnants of the political themes that existed in his script is a scene where some people are executed.^[2]

Reception

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights received generally negative reviews, mostly criticizing its attempt at a remake from Dirty Dancing. On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 23% 'rotten' rating, with the simple consensus "Cheesy, unnecessary remake."^[3]

Soundtrack

Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	February 17, 2004
Genre	Pop / R&B
Label	J Records

1. "Dance Like This" - Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz
2. "Dirty Dancing" - The Black Eyed Peas
3. "Guajira (I Love U 2 Much)" - Yerba Buena
4. "Can I Walk By" - Jazze Pha featuring Monica
5. "Satellite (From "Havana Nights")" - Santana featuring Jorge Moreno
6. "El Beso Del Final" - Christina Aguilera
7. "Represent, Cuba" - Orishas featuring Heather Headley
8. "Do You Only Wanna Dance" - Mýa
9. "You Send Me" - Shawn Kane
10. "El Estuche" - Aterciopelados
11. "Do You Only Wanna Dance" - Julio Daviel Big Band (conducted by Cucco Pena)
12. "Satellite (Spanish Version) Nave Espacial (From "Havana Nights")" - Santana featuring Jorge Moreno

References

1. ^ "Title << British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. 2004-03-16. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF195331/. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
2. ^ This American Life radio episode #383, air date June 19, 2009.
3. ^ Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights at Rotten Tomatoes

External links

• Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights at the Internet Movie Database
• Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights at the TCM Movie Database
• Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights at AllRovi
• Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights at Box Office Mojo
• Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights at Rotten Tomatoes