Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)

In November 1958, the American teenager Katey Miller moves with her parents and her younger sister to Havana. Her father is an executive of Ford expatriated to Cuba, and Katey is an ... See full summary »

Director:

Guy Ferland

Writers:

Kate Gunzinger (story), Peter Sagal (story)

Stars:

Diego Luna, Romola Garai, Sela Ward

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diego Luna	...	Javier Suarez
Romola Garai	...	Katey Miller
Sela Ward	...	Jeannie Miller
John Slattery	...	Bert Miller
Jonathan Jackson	...	James Phelps
January Jones	...	Eve
Mika Boorem	...	Susie Miller
René Lavan	...	Carlos Suarez
Mya	...	Lola Martinez (as Mya Harrison)
Polly Cole	...	Polly (as Polly Cusumano)
Chris Engen	...	Steph
Tommy Kavelin	...	Señor Alonso
Wilmer Cordero	...	Teacher
Charlie Rodriguez	...	Grandpa Suarez
Donato Poveda	...	Troubador (as Donato)

Storyline

In November 1958, the American teenager Katey Miller moves with her parents and her younger sister to Havana. Her father is an executive of Ford expatriated to Cuba, and Katey is an excellent high school senior student that misses her friends. The family is lodged in a fancy hotel, where Katey accidentally meets the local teenage waiter Javier Suarez. Later she sees Javier dancing in a public square and they become friends, but he is fired from the hotel because her acquaintances have seen them together. Katey invites Javier to participate of a Latin Ballroom Contest in the local Palace club to help him to raise some money, and she secretly meets him in the La Rosa Negra nightclub for rehearsals. Later they fall in love for each other in times of revolution.

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Plot Keywords:

dancing | revolution | cuba | love | nightclub | 

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Taglines:

Have the time of your life... all over again.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2

Filming Locations:

Puerto Rico

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,811,325, 29 February 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,161,590

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,685,016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films,Miramax,Lawrence Bender Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot is loosely based on the life story of Producer JoAnn Fregalette Jansen, who moved to Cuba with her family in 1958. Thus, the "Based on True Events" title.

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Goofs

After the Christmas Eve dance at the Palace, when Katey enters the hotel suite, she places her black shawl down on the table and walks away from it, yet it is in her hand when her mother slaps her during their argument.

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Quotes

Katey Miller: [Narrating] Here's what I know about Cuba; My high school French wasn't going to help me. I didn't know a single person, and though no one would talk about it, Fidel Castro was leading the people in a revolution against president Batista. Not that you would know it from this place.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Inglourious Basterds/Post Grad/World's Greatest Dad (2009)

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Soundtracks

Satellite
Lyrics by Itaal Shur and Rob Thomas
Music by Itaal Shur
Published by U Rule Music/EMI April Music Inc., Itaal Shur Music/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Performed by Santana featuring Jorge Moreno
Produced by Lester Mendez for Living Stereo, Inc.
Courtesy of Arista Records, Inc.

User Reviews

I enjoyed it

When I went in to see Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, I expected it to be really bad with all the bad reviews labelling it as corny and ridiculous etc. So I was surprised when it turned out to be a better film that I expected. The acting was good and the dancing was hot. And even though the plot may have been unoriginal and predictable, nothing these days is really that new.

I thought Romola Garai (as Katey Miller) did a good job of keeping up an American accent. And Diego Luna (as Javier Suarez) does a great job of dancing and being a charismatic character, not to mention that he's pretty hot!

I haven't seen the original Dirty Dancing, but I think you should let this film stand on its own. Just because it uses the name, it doesn't mean they're linked.

On the whole, if you want to see a nice movie with lots of hot dancing, Havana Nights is for you. But if you're looking for something equal to the original, you may not like this one as much.