Dirty Dancing is one of those movies that pretty much everybody loves. Even the guys who claim they've never watched it have been known to say "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" now and then. While Jennifer Grey loves that everybody still takes the movie to heart, she doesn’t understand is why so many people try to recreate the famous lift.
Speaking with The Guardian while promoting her new Amazon series, Red Oaks, Grey pulled no punches by making the following statement addressing the people who try to capture the magic themselves:
I don’t know how all these people who re-enact it have the guts to throw themselves into the arms of anyone other than Patrick Swayze. It’s insane!
To be fair, we assume most of the women throwing themselves into the scene wish they were jumping into the arms of Patrick Swayze. That part’s a given, right? It can also be assumed that this means that Swayze had some sort of magic powers that made the lift less dangerous for her. Though the most plausible action would be for us to chalk it up to their on-camera chemistry, as Grey was apparently confident enough to go through with the move. Honestly, if you're staring down the barrel of a daunting dance move such as this, it's hard to believe that even Patrick Swayze is going to keep you from crashing.
Believe it or not, the scene was never rehearsed, and Jennifer Grey did it all on the day of filming. She doesn't mention how many takes it actually took, but there's no mention of traumatic brain injury either. Maybe Grey was on to something with her "only with Swayze" theory. And don’t ask her to do it now, as she's not only never done her signature move again, but she's keen to stay away from it altogether. The actress is 55-years-old, and she says she’s, "too fucking old," to ever pull that stunt again. She held fast to her rule during her run on Dancing with the Stars, where she was asked repeatedly, but declined just as often.
A quick perusal of YouTube will show you exactly how out of hand this Dirty Dancing epidemic truly is. It apparently goes on at every wedding, house party and gathering of more than 10 dance minded people. Seriously, this can get be very funny, but dangerous. You've seen it happen without a hitch, now check out what happens when the lift goes terribly, terribly wrong.
We’re not looking to dash anybodies dreams here, and we hope everybody who wants to have that Dirty Dancing moment is able. That said, please remember that they practiced the lift in the water during a movie montage, and everything looks easier to achieve during a montage.
