April 13, 2004

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Reviews

We will post constructive feedback from our readers.


March 1 , 2004 -- Rose Knows Mini Review

As a sucker for dance movies on the big screen, even though I was skeptical that I would like the movie, Havana Nights, I have to say I had fun watching the dance scenes -- you could relate to her learning how to dance, but you could also see that they never let the other more professional dancers outshine the stars -- especially in the dance contest. There were some glimpses of a few known dancers from Puerto Rico and LA; and the dance scene in a cuban club, reminded me of the original dirty dancing scene -- latin style.

They also had a cameo appearance from Patrick Swayze which gave it a tie-in to the original movie, but knowing so much more about dancing now... I found I was super-critical, whereas with Dirty Dancing -- I found the dancing more believable, rather than trying to compare it to salsa dancing then and now.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the movie soundtrack, it kept the movie flowing with very catchy tunes -- definitely worth a visit to the store; but if I remember correctly some of the songs I would have liked (more latin in flavour) are also not on the soundtrack.

Definitely a movie to share a laugh or two with your dance buddies, but not a movie I would take someone who doesn't like to dance to watch as they may be bored by the storyline and some of the cheesy lines -- you can save that for when it comes out on video -- Rose Knows

The Feedback....

March 9, 2004 -- Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Review

Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights opens with the words "based on actual events". People who think these words are a harbinger of quality or realism should take notice. Puerto Rico stands in for the Cuba which, by the way, it has sucessfully done for many years in the collective consciousness of Americans after the imposition of the American embargo.

Apparently, 1958 Cuba is country of Hip-Hop, sincerity, nonsmokers, fluent English speaking Cuban mothers. An impromptu rumba dance breaks out in the street and the American girl states that she has never seen that kind of dancing like that. Cubans have never actually seen this kind of rumba dancing either. But what is wrong with these people? Haven't they seen the dancers in the Carlos Santana videos or when P. Diddy danced with J. Lo. Sure, it is 1958 Cuba, but that is no excuse.

Hey, but the movie is about the love story and the dancing as a popular salsa website says. Tha Cuban revolution and Havana are just there to give the story a dangerous and a more Latin feel. It is about feeling the music and feeling each other as the couple's trip to La Rosa Negra displays. The dancing here are more like rejects from the Christina's Aguliera's Dirty video than actual Cuban dancers. More like a Miramarx's executive's wet dream than son. It is like someone thought up this movie when the Latin pop music in English was popular and there were rumors that Ricky Martin and Brittney Spears were to star in the project. When they dropped out, Hip Hop was added, more writers were added. And what they ended up with a cynical attempt at getting teenagers who watch anything to go the theaters.

But as one teenager who was leaving said, "That sucked !!". The people who watched the original Dirty dancing and loved it were teenagers at the time. The original movie although terrible had good dancing. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey had chemistry when they danced although it didn't extend to their acting. It is almost painful to watch the two leads in Havana Nights dance. The original appealed to a strange kind of nostalgia at the time. And we, the teenagers, as sometimes they do with pop culture, went overboard, even giving Swayze a number one hit in "She is like the Wind". Ugh, who wants to remember that?

But what disturbed me more than the movie was a movie review from a popular salsa website. It stated,

"With a combination of emotion, pride, and sensitivity, he (the lead actor) made Javier into today's ideal man; strong but in touch with his emotions. Katey, also was the prototype of a budding modern woman, smart and independent."

These sentences freaked me out more than any David Cronenberg movie could -- Joekim

March 11, 2004 -- Habana Nights: The Movie

Yeah, I knew the movie was going to be bad. But I thought it might be worth it just to see a few scenes of Cuban salsa dancing after all, the movie is called Dirty Dancing: Habana Nights. But there was no Cuban dancing.

The other website site in Toronto said the movie is for Cuban music aficionados. Are they kidding? I just discovered the great video clips of Cuban salsa dancing at: www.salsaville.com/salsa_a_la_cubana_new.htm

Or check out the feet of the guy in the acqua blue floral shirt in this video clip. Amazing. www.boogalu.com/movies/muevelacintura.mov

Please tell me, Rose, what do you think of these video clips? Why couldn't they get one of these guys in the movies? For a least 20 seconds at least? Because they don't deem it commercial enough. The Afro-Cuban population always get the short end of the stick in Hollywood movies about Cuba. -- Chincub
March 11, 2004 -- Havana Nights review

I would have to agree with Joe Kim on this one. I definitely left the theaters disappointed and disgusted. Though some people that are not familiar with Cuba or Latin Dancing in general may enjoy it.

It was obvious to see that the lead actor had no dance training or experience. I believe that he had learned how to dance, if you could call it that, just before the movie.

Then there was that LA dancer who did the neckdrop. What the hell was that? I didn't know that neckdrops existed in 1950's Cuba. -- Anonymous
March 13, 2004 -- Havana Nights review

There are a few thing I appreciated in this movie:

There is at least a hint of historical context. We all like to bitch about Castro (mostly with good reason) but let us not forget that Batista had pretty much whored Cuba to the americans. And in the film we can see how bigoted (and racist)the americans were and how represive the Batista regime was. Also the tension between the pragmatist Javier and his revolutionary brothers feels quite real. Also of note is the fact that no one wins the dance contest.

Instead of a cheesy finale with the stars of the movie conquering the dance floor and flying into the sunset (across the Florida straits) we are reminded again that in real life tragedy occurs and wining the prize is not the most important thing you can win. Also, Javier has the fortitude of saying "This is my country" and letting go of the girl. Reminded me of Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca telling Ilsa(Ingrid Bergman): "I am no good at being noble, but I know that the lives of two people do not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world..." S

ure the acting is stilted and the dancing not first rate. Unfortunately the days of "triple threats" (entertainers that could dance, act and sing) are long gone. So I think it is pointless to whine about not having proficient dancerts acting in this film.

Seriously, can anyone name half a dozen salseros who are also respected as thespians? Also, a bit of realism, please. Had they gotten a professional dancer to play Javier's part, then how could we believe that this guy was a waiter? No. I think Diego Luna is perfectly cast. He can move a little and he looks like an AMATEUR dancer, such as his character is supposed to be.

As for Hollywood movies about Cuba, I think Chincub says it best: It is a Hollywood movie. The only way to make an authentic cuban movie is for cuban producers, directors and actors to make it in Cuba. Of course, the production will not be as slick and sophisticated as the Hollywood product and it would be considered arthouse cinema, bound for sub-culture status and mainstream obscurity.

I do feel that this film will inspire a lot of people to take up Latin dancing. And for the good of the salsa scene, all the purists should refrain from bashing the movie and let the neophytes learn by themselves what real dancin and real latin music are all about.

As for the neck drop... I have seen old movies of swing dancers from the 30's doing even crazier drops and flips, so do not try to tell me that that move could not have been done in Havana, 1958. Styles do change (it looked very Salsa Brava, if you know what I mean) but the posibility of cultural recycling is quite real. Keeping in mind that this is a "dance movie" I'd give it three *** out of five stars. Francisco
April 4, 2004 -- (about the movie Havan...)

First of all; I would like to say that I am not a racist. But by my own experience, I can say that the best dancer of Cuban music is el negro. You even can find old black people, from that era (70 and more years old), that dance much better than the guys in that movie. I enjoyed the movie since you can remember the times where the music was more pure; and the dance more natural and less technical -- Jose
April 13, 2004 -- Havana Night

That is true Jose. You can see how well the Cuban singers could dance in the in the 40`s and in the 50`s, Benny More and Celia Cruz were great dancers too. And by the way; those singer in the 70`s in New York couldn`t even move.
May 22 , 2004 -- Dirty Dancing 2

I have seldom laughed so long and hard as I did during and at this film -- whatta waste of celluloid! I went knowing full well that the acting would be below anything like a healthy standard, but I'd really set my hopes on the dance scenes...which turned out to be practically non-existent. What one did see of any dancing at all was either so amateurish -or so badly edited- that it wouldn't have made any difference to the film to have left it out entirely. Sad, sad, sad. My advice: save your cash for something less embarassing... Sandy

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