The Moves! The Romance! The Swayze! Yes, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights has everything a movie with “Dirty Dancing” in the title should have.
The film is set in 1958 Havana, with Fidel Castro’s revolution brewing. Apparently, all Cubans constantly burst into dance in the streets. It’s as if a gun-wielding madman is on the rooftops screaming “Balia! Balia!”
Katey Miller (Romola Garai) is a brainy, pretty girl whose dad has transferred to Havana. Repulsed by the snobby teens at her hotel, she is intrigued by Javier (Diego Luna), a waiter she sees dancing on a street corner, and the two spend a night dancing at a local bar.
After walking Katey home, Javier gets fired for mingling with a guest. Feeling guilty, Katey suggests they enter a dance contest to win $5,000. And let the sparks fly!
Katey and Javier seemingly spend every waking moment dancing, unbeknownst to her parents and their posh friends. All is revealed when they perform in the semi-finals at her country club. Katey and Javier battle society’s disapproval and the tension of the impending revolution. They must profess their love and win the contest in one fell swoop.
Though Luna (Y Tu Mam, Tambin) charms, unfortunately he’s not a professional dancer. The professional supporting dancers outshine the actors fumbling through a routine, and director Guy Ferland tries to hide this by quickly changing camera angles and colorful scenery. The dancing is very hot, sensual and, well … Latin, making the weak plot fly by much faster.
British actress Garai (I Capture the Castle) resembles a young Alicia Silverstone, but she’s simply the next skinny blond, with none of the chutzpah of a pre-nose job Jennifer Grey (who sadly is a no-show).
And where’s Patrick Swayze? He briefly returns as dance instructor Johnny Castle. Though Havana Nights takes place five years before the original, Johnny inexplicably looks 17 years older.
What’s most prevalent in Havana Nights is its self-righteous hypocrisy. Katey and Javier defy 1950s conventions: A white rich girl and a poor Latin boy become dance partners and eventually lovers.
But outside of the constant dancing vignettes, Katey and Javier rarely address their supposed romance, as their lip-locking sessions total about 10 seconds. Where’s the heat of the original?
Perhaps studio executives were afraid a steamy interracial tryst would offend “sensitive” viewers still mentally living in 1958. While the movie claims to defy old stereotypes, it actually perpetuates them. Katey’s mom’s feelings about Javier best sum it up: You can dance with him, but I don’t approve of a romance.
That’s exactly the mindset Havana Nights subconsciously portrays. Katey and Javier can bump and grind all they want, but they cannot hold an extended embrace or engage in a passionate kiss. Maybe 2004 is not as different from 1958 as we think.