ABC was hoping to give fans the time of their lives by dusting off a fan-favorite film for its latest TV musical event.
ABC was hoping to give fans the time of their lives by dusting off a fan-favorite film for its latest TV musical event, but the network’s “Dirty Dancing” remake didn’t get the reception the network was likely hoping for with social media users and critics alike mocking the reboot.
The musical remake aired Wednesday and featured modernized performances and a significantly longer runtime.
Things didn’ t look good for “Dirty Dancing” prior to its broadcast, with many entertainment critics ripping it apart after early viewings. USA Today called it a “miscast, misbegotten remake” and joked that no one’s singing can be as tone deaf as this.
Entertainment Weekly took a dig at, what it perceived to be, the utter lack of chemistry between the two leads, Abigail Breslin and Colt Prattes, with its reviewer saying, “Together they dance like nobody’s watching, and kiss like strangers trying not to get mono. (Seriously, it is hard to understate how little electricity there is between them, considering how much screen time they share. Potatoes have more sexual dazzle than these two.) ”
Meanwhile, Vulture attacked the TV movie for its runtime.
“The original ‘Dirty Dancing’ is an hour and 40 minutes long. Wednesday night’s broadcast runs for three hours including commercials, with the movie itself lasting just over two hours, ” its review noted. “This thing hasn’ t been expanded in order to tell a richer story. It’s been padded for more ad breaks.”
With critics decidedly in the anti ”Dirty Dancing” camp, the next question becomes how regular viewers thought it stacked up against the original. It seems that fans weren’ t thrilled ABC’s modern adaptation either.
By and large, most couldn’ t help but notice that the remake lacked a certain chemistry that the original had and seemed upset at the network for even trying.”
Others had more specific, creative gripes with the movie:
A bright spot in the evening, for many, was the performance of “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland:
However, any silver lining the movie may have had for some seemed to quickly be dashed by the controversial decision to [SPOILER ALERT] not bring the two main characters, Baby and Johnny, together in the end:
In the end, however, many people seemed to unite around the ability to make the exact same joke about the remake: