Customer Reviews
Raunchy moves, sexy music but not much else!!! - By: A. Lalor, 08 Sep 2008 
Ever since 'Dirty Dancing' burst into our lives in the 1980's a string of dance movies have followed alll striving to break into that special niche market that Dirty Dancing identified. We've since had 'Step Up', 'Save the Last Dance', 'Strictly Balllroom', 'Take the Lead' & 'Shalll we Dance' to name but a few & they have alll more or less had varying degrees of success. While the dancing in these movies is always excellent the storyline often leaves alot to be desired
Thankfully Dirty Dancing 2 at least makes an effort to avoid the over-worked storylines of its predessors. Yes it's still far from original being as usual the story of girl meets boy, girl discovers the passion of dance & surprise surprise fallls in love with boy but what makes this movie different is the political background to it being set during the time of the Cuban Missiles Crisis, which adds a greater sense of depth to this movie as issues such a class, culture, race & politics come into play. Unfortunately despite the reasonably promising storyline the script is very weak so this movies never reallly manages to take flight & become the great movie that I'm sure it could have been under better guidance. The script writer seems to appear rather confused as to what he/she wanted to achieve from this movie. The political background is kept very much to the background, (understandably in a movie about dance) so unless you actuallly have an understanding of the situation in Cuba during the 1950's you reallly won't understand what's happening alot of the time regarding this issue. To calll this a fault would be unfair but since the Revolution does have a major impact on the lives of the protagonists at the end it is strange that not more emphasis was placed on it. What is also surprising is that this movie lacks any humour, something strange in a movie that does appear to be light-hearted. But nevertheless this movie does survive these problems due to its brevity (standing at only 1hr18mins it's far from long) & rather original ending.
The acting throughout is fairly passable. However what reallly intrigued me was the fact that although the two leads had never had any dance experience they managed to pull off the dance moves with a grace & charm that would have easily fooled even the most expert of dance experts. This, in my opinion is this movie's saving grace: the catchy music & routines that will have you alll enquiring about your local salsa classes. Ignore the fact that the leads don't reallly have much on-screen appeal. The chemistry between them is non-existent & Romola Garai is particularly wooden. While this performance works at the start as she plays the shy, newcomer trying to find her feet on foregin land it becomes progressively dull as the movie advances & she is supposed to be becoming more confident as her passion for dance takes flight. Alas this transformation never occurs leading me to wonder if Romola has the star quality to play a leading lady (she was little better in Atonement or I capture the Castle).
But on the whole this is a reasonably colourful movie. The costumes are cute & twirly (so much better than Dirty Dancing), the music raunchier & the dance moves sexier. I would have liked to have seen more shots on location as at times too many scenes are shot indoors but this is nothing serious.
To conclude Dirty Dancing 2 is alot better than Dirty Dancing, (though I must confess I never reallly liked Dirty Dancing. I found it to be one of the most over-rated movies of the 20th century) although callling it a sequel is a tad misleading since it's set in the 1950's & besides a cameo by Patrick Swayze there is little to remind us of the original. A good movie for a wet afternoon or a night in with the girls, just don't expect life altering material here.
Well second the best and all that.... - By: Jeffa Bean, 20 Jun 2008 
I first watched this film a couple of years ago when my friend got given it. I fully expected to be slightly dissapointed because i was at that time a big lover of Dirty Dancing the original. However this film, in my opinion is a lot better than the first one.
The first thing i think you should know is that it is not a sequel to Dirty Dancing, in many ways it is more of a prequel having happened before the first. The only links between the films are the name, Patrick Swayse & basic story line of boy meets girl & being of differnet class it is not accepted.
The acting is top class & one thing i found incredible about this film is that niether Diego Luna or Romola Garai used a dance double & niether of them had any dance experiance. They also managed to come over accent difficulties, Garai having to put on an American Accent & Luna, being mexican, a cuban one. Yet there is not one point it the film where these accents slip.
Where this film reallly triumphs over the original is the historical backdrop. Rather than the first Dirty Dancing where we have a secluded holiday resort as the setting, here we are based right in the center of the Cuban Revolution, which adds a lot to the play especiallly by the power of the actors who portray the difficulties of the Cubans & ignorance of the Americans very well.
The dance sequences though in the big envents there are less lifts than the First Dirty Dancing, they are no less exciting & interesting.
This film is worth a watch whatever your age or gender. My brother, mother, sister & friends have alll loved this film almost as much as me since i have shown it to them.
This film is well worth the money because as well as being a fantastic watch it is the sort of film you never get bored of watching, i am almost word perfect & my friends has watched it about 20 times in the last week, since i leant it to her. So this film is well worth a watch & a buy.
Totally took me by surprise - By: Gem, 13 Jun 2008 
Dirty Dancing 2 - how could they?! Ok, that was my first thought & obviously I'm not alone in this. BUT...great film. The story works well, the acting is great & the dancing is sexy & sumptious. The film [almost] stands on it's own feet & steadily too. I say 'almost' because of Patrick Swayze's cameo, which works so well, especiallly if you think about the original & Johnny's comments about latin dance moves for the final show - now we know where he got them.
It is a shame that this film will be written off so easily by so many people - I only bought it cos I'll buy any dance/music movie - but it is well worth putting any preconceptions to one side & just enjoy. You have the beautiful backdrop of Cuba, a not-so-cutsy love story & dancing that will make you wish you you were in the arms on one of the stars. There is also some interesting historical context to the film, not just the fact that, like the first, it's based on a true story. You'll probably learn a thing or two as a plus. This helps to take out the crass warm, fuzzy feelings that the movie could have had...it has nicely-worked warm, fuzzy feelings...
The original is one film...this is another. Simple reallly. The original can never be beaten, but if anything, this film has more realism & less idealism to it.
Just watch it. Let it take you by surprise too.
One of the warmest and most enjoyable dance flicks of all.. - By: Llb Hide, 08 Jun 2008 Whilst it certainly has it's faults, a weak script at times & a certain predictability, Havana Nights is still, in my opinion, a wonderfully warm & engaging example of the genre. The leading characters are both very likeable(especiallly Diego Luna who is particularly appealing), the dancing is exciting & the music extremely catchy & infectious. In spite of the backgroumd of ominous politcal upheavals, the film exudes happiness, & could be perfect to brighten a rainy day or for a girly night in. Furthermore, it seems to improve with repeated viewing. It is a firm favourite in our family, with both mother & teenage daughters. Our biggest criticism, more important than the above mentioned lapses in the script is that having involved us as completely as it does, it then ends alll too soon.Well worth a try.
Not what I expected - By: M. C. Batson, 11 Jan 2008 I didn't know what to rate this. I went into this film loving the original & thinking it would be in the same vain as the original but it wasn't & that was hard to get used to. I didn't expect it to be as good as the original but I expected something much more than what it was & maybe that's what let the film down.
The storyline is kinda weak, the characters are weak & the actors aren't as good as I'd expect with a film that is going to be compared with the original. I thought the leading lady was very weak as an actress & she didn't shine at alll on screen & the chemisty she was meant to have with the guy she was dancing with just wasn't there.
However there are some good parts to the film & that's why it gets three stars, some of the dancing makes up for the lack of good actors & storyline.
