So the crew out at Lions Gate sent me a copy of the Dirty Dancing Limited Keepsake edition, a massive volume offering fans the opportunity of a lifetime.  Thus, today will be something of an abnormal review, for not only will we tackle the movie proper, we’ll also have a mention on just why this thing is an amazing value for fans.

The movie, meanwhile, features Jennifer Gray and the recently deceased Patrick Swayze in the classic tale of dance and romance–seventeen year old Baby finds herself drawn to free-spirited rebel dance instructor Johnny whilst on vacation for the summer.  Baby takes lessons from Johnny in most every respect…and in the process, grows, changes, and does all those things you’d expect in the kind of coming of age movie that was so popular back in the eighties.

And yes, love it or hate it, this is indeed the quintessential eighties movie: romance, a little comedy, a hint of drama just for variety.  Those who have already seen it will love it, those who haven’t will want to be VERY sure that they want to see a romance.

If you don’t want a romance movie, with lots of dancing, then this thing will BURN YOUR EYES LIKE FIRE.  If you’re not into this sort of thing you’ll be left extremely bored. I don’t know how many times I checked the timer display to see how much of this massive chunk of godawful was left.

The dullest part of this whole thing is that so much of it is singlemindedly devoted to dancing.  Johnny and Baby will dance most everywhere in this one; they’ll dance in lofts, in offices, at one point they’ll decide they need a change of scenery and dance on a log in the woods.  And then they’ll dance in the lake to practice lifts…before going off to dance at a hotel.  But then, that’s why they call it “Dirty Dancing” as opposed to “Decent Plot” or “Exposition”.

But the thing you absolutely must understand about the Dirty Dancing Limited Keepsake Edition is that it is an INCREDIBLE added value.  I’m not terribly fond of this particular title but I know a deal when I see one, and if you’re a Dirty Dancing fan, then you must have this.  It comes with–get this–a keepsake book full of pictures and brief anecdotes about the movie, a coupon for fifty dollars off a two-night stay at the Mountain Lake Hotel (also known as “the real Kellerman’s”, and a pamphlet about 80stees.com giving you an idea of what they’ve got on hand.  Plus you’ll get a second DVD in this set full of featurettes and such.

So while the Screenhead Ten Scale may give short shrift to Dirty Dancing, the Dirty Dancing Limited Keepsake Edition gets a seven out of ten for sheer added value.  There’s enough stuff in this thing to choke a hog, and fans will love Lions Gate for it.  Non-fans, however, will likely not be swayed no matter what’s in the package.