Dunham16
Thie original DIRTY DANCING built fame on its name stars including Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach and Wayne Knight not counting a magnificent supporting cast some well known. its portrayal of the Borscht Belt in its heyday is unparalleled yet the storyline itself waxes thin leaving too many scenes in the long movie in some ways unfullfilling. The sequel is set in Havana in the same era about the daughter of a resort hotel guest pursued by a respectable fellow she rejects and pursuing an employee who can be fired for dating her is much stronger and with a half hour shorter running time is also tighter The elements of the Castro Revolution in Havana add depth to otherwise romantic plot. Patrick Swayze has a supporting role in this movie which is otherwise without name stars.
SnoopyStyle
It's 1958, high school senior Katey Miller (Romola Garai) follows her family (John Slattery, Sela Ward, Mika Boorem) to pre-revolutionary Cuba. They're staying in a fancy exclusive hotel. She bumps into local waiter Javier Suarez (Diego Luna) and eventually befriends him.There are great actors at work here. I love the location shoot in Puerto Rico. The story is strictly fantasy cheese. It doesn't have the fun and charm of the original namesake. It's better than expected but not anything great. The one thing that does stand out is that Romola Garai is quite a big tall gal. Diego Luna is barely taller than her, and he's definitely skinnier. It's a different feel to the franchise.
sylus_5
If you're a die-hard 80's movie snob, then you'll hate this edition of Dirty Dancing. Its character relationships are rather underdeveloped, which is disappointing, and the script is certainly less than brilliant.That being said, if what you're looking for is a sweet love story with some sexy moves you'll be absolutely mesmerized by Havana Nights, I know I am! True, it throws most effort to make detail factual out the window, but it's still just so much fun! And to the people I saw complain about it being shot in Puerto Rico rather than Cuba.....did we forget that Cuba is an isolated communist island? Good luck trying to shoot an American film there. Garai is adorable, Diego Luna is so sexy it's ridiculous and overall it's just a really fun flick:) Also kinda cool that it's loosely based on the life of the writer
imogen-15
This is a film which takes you by surprise...in a good way! I had never heard of it, but caught it late one night on an insignificant TV channel - I was instantly hooked. It's a great film - visually beautiful, interesting romance, fantastic dancing - it really deserved to be more successful. It probably suffered from being the sequel to DD - would have been fine in it's own right I think. Don't be put off by the cheesy exterior - everyone I know who has seen it started out with uber low expectations, but ended up loving it. May I even venture to say that I prefer it to the original (shock horror!). I think it's the Latin thang. Mmm!
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