Share a Movie with Your Valentine

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so today I’m going to take a look at my favorite love stories. These are ranked in no particular order, other than the way they come to me as I’m writing.

1. Noah & Allie – The Notebook – The love story of Noah and Allie is impressive because it’s based on Noah spending day after day after day at the nursing home, reading their love story to Allie, who now has Alzheimer’s Disease. Most days, Allie doesn’t remember who Noah is, but that doesn’t stop him; he’s there every day to read to her, because to him, it’s worth it for that one time that she will remember. For those of you who have only watched the movie, I suggest you read the book. The movie wasn’t bad, but the book is a whole lot better. Especially the ending.

2. Scarlett & Rhett – Gone with the Wind and Scarlett – Again, if you’ve only watched the movie, you’re missing a huge part of the story. You cannot truly appreciate Scarlett’s selfishness if you haven’t read the books. Both rogues (yes, I just called Scarlett O’Hara a rogue), these two star-crossed lovers deserve each other, and much to everyone’s surprise, by the end of the saga, they have actually learned something and realize they really do love each other.

3. Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy – Pride and Prejudice – It takes some time but Elizabeth finally overcomes her prejudices against Mr. Darcy. It’s really no surprise that he overcomes his pride before she overcomes her prejudices, though. You know those strong, female characters. They can be a bit stubborn. In the end, though, it all works out, and Elizabeth is pleased to find that she really can marry for love and not money. It doesn’t hurt any, though, that the man she loves has money.

4. Baby & Johnny – Dirty Dancing – Patrick Swayze is my all-time favorite actor; it’s easy to see how socialite Baby fell for wrong-side-of-the-tracks Johnny. Unlike the others on the list, there’s nothing to indicate that Baby and Johnny stayed together forever, but I’d like to think they found their way back to each other. I certainly believe that neither of them was the same after their summer at the Catskills.

5. Sally & Harry – When Harry Met Sally – Based on the title of this movie, the movie could have ended about five minutes into it, when Harry met Sally, but it goes deeper than that. Harry and Sally met when they had a common goal, a destination to reach and carpooling was the logical thing to do. Of course, their paths continue to cross, and they eventually become friends who cross the line. It takes some time, but they realize they were meant to be together.

So if you’re in need of a feel-good love story this Valentine’s Day, check out one of the ones above, and you won’t be disappointed. Do notice, however, that I purposely left Romeo and Juliet off the list. It’s not Shakespeare’s best play, and it’s not the greatest love story in the world. They are a couple of teenage kids who met, fell in love, married, and committed suicide in about the span of a week. It’s Shakespeare so there are some good lines in the play, but it’s not the place to look for a great love story.

This News Doesn’t Make Me Feel Like Dancing

I’m aghast. I’m speechless. But what I really want to do is just scream, “NO!”

I just saw the announcement that Lionsgate has authorized a remake of Dirty Dancing, one of my all-time favorite movies. While the announcement also includes the fact Kenny Ortega, the choreographer of the original movie, has been hired as director, and he plans to include many of the songs from the original while adding some new ones, I still just want to cry.

Patrick Swayze is Johnny Castle. Nobody can replace him or fill his shoes.

I fell in love with Patrick Swayze when I was fourteen and he played Darrel Curtis in The Outsiders. I fell in love all over again two years later, when he played Orry Main in the TV mini-series North and South. He’s been at the top of my favorite actors list ever since. Nearly every character he played was one a girl could easily fall in love with, and the ones that weren’t, well, with the twinkle in his eyes and that smile that could melt ice, you could fall in love with his character anyway.

It wasn’t just the characters he played that made Patrick Swayze somebody to be loved. In a time when most of Hollywood was marrying and divorcing only to do it all over again, he was married to Lisa Niemi for thirty-four years. While their book The Time of My Life reveals that everything was not perfect during that time, you can clearly see how much they loved each other. Patrick Swayze was just a class act.

Lionsgate and Ortega can remake Dirty Dancing. They can find a new cast. They can teach them how to dance. The characters can be brought to life. They can probably even make a pretty decent movie. I, for one, will not be looking forward to it, and even if it is a pretty decent movie, it’s likely I’ll never know. Right now, I’m still in shock, and I’ve been told I shouldn’t make decisions when I’m emotionally distressed. So, considering that, I won’t say that I won’t watch the remake. I can say that if I do, every comparison to the original that can be made, will be made. The odds are the remake will, as a result, fail. A pretty decent movie is no match for an extraordinary movie.

And that’s what the original is to me. Patrick Swayze was an extraordinary person. While I’m a sentimental person, and I get sad when I hear of the passing of some of the Hollywood greats, very few get my tears. When I heard the news of Patrick Swayze’s death, I cried. It broke my heart.

Patrick Swayze is Johnny Castle. Nobody will be able to bring the life to the character that he did. Nobody will be able to deliver those memorable lines like he did. We remember “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” not because it’s a great line, but because a great actor delivered it.

Remakes always make me nervous, and I’ll be watching the news to see who’s cast for the characters. I have approximately two years to decide if I’ll actually watch the remake, but for now, I’m going to get out my DVD and spend the next couple of hours at the Catskills with Johnny and Baby.