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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Hannah Marriott

‘Still feel a jolt of joy’: why Dirty Dancing is my feelgood movie

Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing
Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing Photograph: /Lions Gate Entertainment Inc.

There is probably a Swedish word for the emotional state engendered in me by Dirty Dancing. A kind of turbo-nostalgia which blends solace, joy and a sense of continuity with a yearning so acute I can feel it in my ribs.

I must have been around 12 years old when I first watched Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze) fall in love while bumping pelvises as dance partners (before Strictly Come Dancing, this trajectory felt more surprising.)

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