Eleanor Bergstein Movies
Native New Yorker Eleanor Bergstein began her creative life as a dancer, participating in racy mambo competitions during her parents' yearly vacations to the Catskills when she was a teenager. The controversial hobby was known as "dirty dancing," and the hobby would later have a prominent role in Bergstein's career. She began writing novels as an adult and later transitioned to film, writing the screenplay for It's My Turn, which starred Michael Douglas. While the film was shooting, producers cut a sexy dance sequence from the movie, and Bergstein was struck with the idea to devote a whole film to the saucy dancing from her youth. Bergstein drew from her own experiences to write and co-produce 1987's Dirty Dancing, and the movie became a major hit. She would later return to film to write and produce 1995's Let It Be Me, before revamping Dirty Dancing as a stage musical in 2008. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi- 1995
- PG13
Wanting to learn some dance moves in order to cut a mean rug with his beloved at their upcoming wedding, a young man finds nothing but trouble after he starts taking lessons from a gorgeous teacher. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
A sleeper hit that received a lukewarm reception from critics but was a success with audiences, Sister Act (1992) was star Whoopi Golberg's first bona fide smash after her Oscar victory for Ghost (1990). Goldberg stars as Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno lounge singer who accidentally witnesses a brutal murder carried out by her gangster boyfriend Vince (Harvey Keitel). Under the protection of a detective (Bill Nunn) who's trying to bring down Vince's criminal operation, Deloris is placed in protective custody at a San Francisco convent. Masquerading as a nun renamed Sister Mary Clarence, Deloris shakes up the established order of the sisters' lives, particularly enlivening their choral efforts. Although running constantly afoul of the Mother Superior (Maggie Smith), the new, jazzed-up musical act becomes a huge hit in the community, even drawing the attention of the Pope, but also alerting Vince to Deloris' whereabouts. Although credited to the pseudonymous Joseph Howard, Sister Act was actually written by Paul Rudnick and Carrie Fisher. The film was followed by a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, (more)
A teenage girl learns about love, adult responsibility, and how to do The Dirty Boogie in this romantic drama. In 1963, "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is a 17-year-old spending the summer with her family at a resort hotel in the Catskills; she plans on being in the Peace Corps next summer, so this is expected to be her last summer as a carefree adolescent. Baby doesn't get along with her older sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker), and she's bored to tears by most of the older guests at the resort. However, one night Baby hears what sounds like a party going on in the employee's dormitory, and she pokes her head in to discover most of the hotel staff enjoying the sort of close dancing that would get you kicked out of the senior prom in no time flat. Baby is particularly struck by handsome Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a dancer in the resort's floor show, and falls head over heels in love, wanting to be near him. When Johnny's dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Dirty Dancing was a surprise box-office hit, and the soundtrack album was an even bigger success, spawning several hit singles and inspiring a top-drawing concert tour featuring several of its artists. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, (more)
- 1980
- R
Claudia Weill's second feature is a romantic look at the humorous and tragic sides of love, starring Jill Clayburgh as Kate Gunzinger, a mathematics professor who lives with perpetually sunny architect Homer (Charles Grodin) in Chicago. But during a trip to New York City, Kate becomes romantically involved with handsome hunk Ben Lewin (Michael Douglas), a recently retired professional baseball player who is trying to adjust to a life outside of professional sports. The son of her father's fiancee, Ben, in spite of uncertainties about his future, actively pursues Kate, and Kate, much to her surprise, willingly permits Ben to make his amorous approaches. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, (more)
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