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Movies / On DVD / Havana Nights
Havana Nights

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Havana Nights (2004)

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Reviews Counted:105

Fresh:24

Rotten:81

Average Rating:4.3/10

Consensus: Cheesy, unnecessary remake.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Set against the decadent glamour and escalating danger of revolution-eve Cuba, Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights re-imagines the 1987 film phenomenon from an exciting new perspective. Havana Nights... Set against the decadent glamour and escalating danger of revolution-eve Cuba, Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights re-imagines the 1987 film phenomenon from an exciting new perspective. Havana Nights tells a timeless story of a young woman's discovery of love, sensuality and independence - but with a sizzling style and rhythm all its own. In planning this new chapter in a beloved franchise, Artisan Entertainment and Miramax Films have put together a team of creative dynamos from worlds of film, music and dance. Among them: maverick independent producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting); Academy Award® winning screenwriter Ron Bass (Rain Man, My Best Friend's Wedding); director Guy Ferland (TV's award-winning "The Shield"); choreographer Joanne Jansen; music industry legend Clive Davis, whose hot new J Records imprint will release the soundtrack; acclaimed actor Diego Luna, a rising star following his performance in the sexy sensation Y Tu Mamá También; and, in what promises to be a breakout role, gifted young actress Romola Garai (recently seen in Nicholas Nickleby). The resulting film is certain to give audiences - from newcomers to those who cherish the first Dirty Dancing - the time of their lives, and then some.

Havana: November, 1958. 18-year-old Katey Vendetto (Romola Garai) brings an innate curiosity and a smattering of Spanish to her new life in Cuba's lush capital, where her father has taken an executive posting at Chrysler. Schooled by her parents in the art of ballroom dancing, Katey is expected to join the smart set of American teenagers who are the Vendettos' neighbors at the exclusive Hotel Miramar. But Katey finds herself drawn instead to the proud, purposeful Xavier (Diego Luna), a pool boy who also happens to be brilliant dancer. Determined to learn the slinky, spectacular moves that Xavier seems to know in his bones, Katey persuades him to partner with her in a prestigious national dance competition at a local country club. Meeting secretly in an out-of-the-way Havana nightclub, Katey and Xavier practice their steps, their bodies aligning in a sensual harmony that mirrors the growing passion between them. As the night of the contest finally arrives, Katey and Xavier are ready to take their place as a couple on the dance floor - unaware that the country club, and the streets of Havana itself, are about to erupt in revolutionary violence. -- © Artisan Entertainment [More]

Starring: Diego Luna, Romola Garai, Patrick Swayze, John Slattery

Starring: Diego Luna, Romola Garai, Patrick Swayze, John Slattery, Sela Ward, Mika Boorem

Director: Guy Ferland

Director: Guy Ferland
Screenwriter: Boaz Yakin, Victoria Arch
Producer: Lawrence Bender, JoAnn Jansen, Sarah Green
Studio: Artisan Entertainment

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Reviews for Havana Nights

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

It challenges its audience to ask questions, namely, 'Why?' Why was this movie even made?

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
Film Threat

Aside from the triteness of the dialogue, the mathematical predictability of the script and the muddling of numbskulled politics, DD: HN is a fairly enjoyable experience.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Provides entertainment sophisticated enough to entrance a sophomore in high school.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
10/07/04
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
08/10/04
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Although based on choreographer JoAnn Jansen's experience, the script was written by a committee of eight; each writer seems to have contributed every cliché in the memory bank.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
05/22/04
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/05/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

It's hardly ever a good idea to remake a beloved movie.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
03/26/04
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

It's been 17 years since Dirty Dancing took the world by storm, and all these years later, Havana Nights is here to remind everyone just how to strike when the iron is ice cold.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
03/16/04
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

It goes forward in an entirely predictable way and everyone lives happily ever after. *YAWN*

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
03/16/04
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

The dynamics of Havana Nights haven't the urgency of the first Dirty Dancing.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/16/04
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Pure schmaltz, but not without its share of feel-good entertainment value.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/11/04
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

Where else but in a 1950s pre-Castro Cuba can you see joyous locals dancing the mambo in the streets?

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
03/05/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

It's just about what you'd expect from a dance movie: Not much of a plot, terrific dancing and enjoyable music.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
03/04/04
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

The film never establishes its explosive era in any believable sense -- despite some tacked-on moments of chaos, the movie might as well be set in 1986 Miami as 1958 Havana.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
03/03/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

This attempt to wring more money from a new generation has the glossy, tired feel of a Lifetime Channel TV movie.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/02/04
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

It's not nearly as groovin as the 1987 original, but 13-year-olds will probably find a lot to like. BTW, what's up with all the petite leading men?

Full Review Source: Roanoke Times (Virginia) | comment Comment
03/02/04
Beth Jones
Beth Jones
Roanoke Times (Virginia)

Next to Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, the first picture is like something out of the golden age of Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
03/01/04
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
03/01/04
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Havana Nights

November 23, 2002: I was expecting very little from this script, and it raised my expectations for the film greatly...It molds a great deal of the franchise's first film and makes an even more compelling film than the original. Opens in new window
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