“Love Is Strange” Blog #10

I love classic 80s films like The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire so for this post I picked one of my favorite movies from that era- the original Dirty Dancing with Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Dirty Dancing has a scene where the music being played is not just for the benefit of the audience but is actually being played in the scene as part of the script https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxCDAs3kbAU.

When “Love Is Strange” begins we are seeing the tail end of scenes at the fancy resort that the movie takes place. There is a dance fitness class and a volleyball game taking place, all very wholesome. The music accompanies the action but is not part of the action. Then the film cuts to Johnny and Baby alone in the studio dancing the cha cha. Here the music is part of the scene, it is what they are listening to and dancing to. In this way the characters and the viewers are sharing a common experience juxtaposed to when music is played for the audience only.

The entire scene is set up to portray who the characters are and what their relationship to each other is. Bad boy Johnny is, as always, dressed in all black. Baby is dressed in cute denim shorts and a white top that manages to look sexy but still wholesome at that same time. The studio is light filled and simple, nothing extraneous. The mood, like the music, is fun as Baby playfully teases the frustrated Johnny. As the lyrics begin they sing the female and male parts respectively as they play along in character. The music in this case makes the scene, it doesn’t just accompany what is going on, it is the scene. “Love Is Strange” as a song choice perfectly supports and portrays the passion and new found interest that Johnny and Baby feel for each other in a way that includes the viewer in a lighthearted but genuine manner.