Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)

Director:

Guy Ferland

Writers (WGA):

Kate Gunzinger (story) and
Peter Sagal (story) ...

Release Date:

27 February 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Tagline:

Turn Up The Heat And Follow The Rhythm

Plot:

In November 1958, the American teenager Katey Miller moves with her parents and her younger sister to Havana...

Plot Keywords:

Revolution | Love | Cuba | Nightclub | Dancing

Cast

Diego Luna	...	Javier Suarez
Romola Garai	...	Katey Miller
Sela Ward	...	Jeannie Miller
John Slattery	...	Bert Miller
Jonathan Jackson	...	James Phelps
January Jones	...	Eve
Mika Boorem	...	Susie Miller
René Lavan	...	Carlos Suarez
Mya	...	Lola Martinez (as Mya Harrison)
Polly Cole	...	Polly (as Polly Cusumano)
Chris Engen	...	Steph
Tommy Kavelin	...	Señor Alonso
Wilmer Cordero	...	Teacher
Charlie Rodriguez	...	Grandpa Suarez
Donato Poveda	...	Troubador (as Donato)

Also Known As:

Dirty Dancing 2 (Australia) (Singapore: English title)
Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2 (USA) (working title)
Baile caliente - Noches de la Habana (Mexico) [es]
Baile caliente: Noches de la Habana (Argentina) (video title) [es]
Dance lascive 2 - Les nuits de la Havane (Canada: French title) [fr]
Dancing Havana (Japan: English title) [en]
Dirty Dancing - Noites de Havana (Brazil) [pt]
Dirty Dancing 2 (France) [fr]
Dirty Dancing 2 (Germany) [de]
Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights (Spain) [es]
Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights (Italy) [it]
Dirty Dancing 2: Nyhtes stin Avana (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Dirty dancing - Kuuma tanssi 2 (Finland) [fi]
Kirli dans 2 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sensuality.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #40488) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 | Czech Republic:12 | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:12 | Norway:A | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Puerto Rico

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

The plot is loosely based on the life story of producer JoAnn Fregalette Jansen, who moved to Cuba with her family in 1958. Thus, the "Based on True Events" title.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: You can clearly see that Katey's dress strap is torn even before James tears it.

Quotes:

[about Javier]
Susie Miller: He's not like us.
Katey Miller: There is no "us", Susie.

Movie Connections:

Follows Dirty Dancing (1987)

Soundtrack:

Dance Like This

A combination of many factors make this movie unforgettable

If your expecting a carbon remake of the original "Dirty Dancing", then you will be sorely disappointed as although "Dirty Dancing Havana Nights" shares the same plot and name there are few similarities between the two movies. The styles are completely different, and both hold their own individual kind of magic that captures the hearts of the viewers.

The dancing has few fancy tricks and the music is more of a dance beat then unforgettable hit, however the simple elegance and hot moves will leave the breathless. It oversteps some of the marks the original barely touched upon, the phrase Dirty Dancing comes into play as a strong theme of the dance. The dancing shows a way of rebellion where they enter there own world and dance their own steps, it shows the process of growing up and the parents fight to keep their baby, that a lot of teenage girls face.

Although the dancing is memorable (although in my opinion there is not enough) the main theme seems to be the setting. The amazing setting of Cuba is a brilliant setting, the colourful surroundings bring to life a surreal feeling that captures the summer buzz of the movie perfectly.

The politics involved of the revolution manage to reach through this idealistic dream and bring a harsh sense of reality to the movie, that in my opinion is very interesting.

Katey (Romola Garai) and Javier (Diego Luna) dance well together. They have an interesting chemistry, (although not as prominent as the characters interaction in the original, which is a slight disappointment). The dialogue at times can sound slightly false, however is usually soon made up for. Sela Ward and John Slattery (who play Katey's parents) are brilliant actors, that really bring up the movie at times. The movie has many actors that all interact brilliantly and the events that the movie covers are done in a very thought provoking way.

Towards the end I felt that it began to lose the quality that it had built throughout the movie, namely in the big dancing scene that is slightly disappointing. However, it is rescued by the ending that provides a powerful reality that wakes them up from the summer dream that the movie seems to build its self into and provides a bittersweet ending that in my opinion is very good, although it leaves you wondering what happened next.

Overall, the movie is well worth seeing, it brings together a brilliant story, with hot music and a time/setting that is unforgettable, once you see it once you'll want to watch again and again.