‘Dirty Dancing’ Fans Unite and Take Over

At Dirty Dancing’s twentieth-anniversary party last night, it was hard to tell the hired dancers from the girls who’d dressed up as Baby just for fun. (Don’t most people require cash to bare their midriffs when it’s 50 degrees outside?) Fans and Tribeca Film Festival–goers settled onto a chilly patch of concrete between the World Financial Plaza and the Hudson for an outdoor screening and other Swayze-related activities. (Karaoke! Contests! The wearing of tight pants!) If not for the impressive turnout, we might’ve called the film’s popularity overblown.

Cashing in on that adoration was R&B singer Lumidee, who performed her new single — a cover of “She’s Like the Wind.� Her version didn’t have much in common with the original: She mostly muttered “yeahs� and “alrights� through the verses, then Tony Sunshine sang the chorus in entirely the wrong key. But the duo won the crowd back by leading a sing-along to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.� (Without a TelePrompTer, most people just hummed along until “You’re the one thing … �) Given the evening’s celebratory tone, we admit the movie must be timeless — or long-lasting, anyway. Jennifer Grey’s perm aside, Dirty Dancing will forever stand on a pedestal. And if it can’t stand, we’ll just hoist it up by the hips and balance it precariously overhead. — Lindsey Thomas