‘Dirty Dancing’ With Abigail Breslin TV Musical Remake Fails To Impress

ABC created a remake of Dirty Dancing as a television musical, but the project fell flat.

DIRTY DANCING ABC REMAKE FAILS

The remake aired on Wednesday and featured contemporary performances and a longer runtime. The original film was an hour and 40 minutes, while the new TV version ran for three hours, including commercials. “This thing hasn’t been expanded in order to tell a richer story,” said Jen Chaney of Vulture. “It’s been padded for more ad breaks.”

In addition, critics were not impressed with the timing, spectacle, or acting of the new film. USA Today suggests just watching the original 1987 musical on various streaming sites. “Or, if you prefer, just sit in a dark room and hum “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” to yourself — which would still be a better choice than watching the miscast, misbegotten remake of Dirty Dancing.”

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly couldn’t help compare the new to the original either, commenting on the leads, Abigail Breslin and Colt Prattes. “Instead of the indelible Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, we have Abigail Breslin as sheltered daddy’s girl Francis “Baby” Houseman, and improbably named newcomer Colt Prattes as smoldering, wrong-side-of-the-tracks Romeo Johnny Castle,” she writes. “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.)”

It appears the Twitter-verse was just as unhappy with the remake as the critics. “What a way to ruin an 80s classic,” writes one user. “Did the writers and directors EVER see the original move? Suppose to be about Baby growing up not the parents midlife crisis!” said another.

“Netflix and Amazon Prime must be getting bombared with searches for the original #DirtyDancing to cleanse everyone’s soul of this disaster,” said another user dramatically. And another added, “If ABC was smart, they’d run the original #DirtyDancing the next three nights in primetime without commercials, as penance for their crimes.”

Even worse for some, ABC decided to change the ending of the original, and have the main characters not end up together in the end.”Just when I thought they couldn’t ruin Dirty Dancing enough they change the ending….” wrote one user.

And of course Twitter couldn’t resist a pun on the most iconic line from the film. “Somebody should put this Dirty Dancing remake in the corner,” wrote one user, with many others following suit.