REVIEW A movie for girls in early teens

The film is based on events in the life of the co-producer-choreographer.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Never having been a big fan of the original "Dirty Dancing," the quasi remake "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" sounded like much ado about nothing. Turns out I was right. While not unpleasant and certainly innocuous, this "reimagining" is more than a tad boring.
Unless you're an 8- to 14-year-old girl, that is. If "Dancing 1" was the preferred date flick for young adults back in the summer of 1987, "Havana Nights" seems to have been designed solely for the "too-young-for-Eminem" crowd.
Considering the strong "sloppy seconds" vibe, I was more than a little surprised to learn that the movie was actually "based on true events." In 1959, co-producer-choreographer Joann Jansen moved to Havana with her family (Jansen's dad managed a plant for Reynolds Aluminum) and fell in love with a Cuban boy.
Their affair was tragically cut short by the country's impending revolution and Jansen never saw her Cuban lover again. (The movie's press materials don't mention whether the couple spent a whole lot of time dirty dancing, though.)
The opposites-attract couple of "Havana Nights" are repressed daddy's girl Katey (Brit Romola Garai subbing for Trivial Pursuit answer Jennifer Grey) and exotic, beat-loving Javier (the immensely charming Diego Luna from "Y Tu Mama Tambien").
It's November 1958 and 18-year-old American Katey has just moved to Cuba with her Ford executive dad (John Slattery), mom (Sela Ward) and bratty kid sister (Mika Boorem). Because her parents are former ballroom dancing champs, Katey already knows how to foxtrot. She's just been too busy reading Jane Austen novels and preparing for Radcliffe to boogie down.
What happens
After sparking a love connection with hotel waiter Javier, Katey persuades him to be her partner in a local dance competition where the grand prize is $5,000 and a trip to America.
Naturally everyone is shocked that goody-two-shoes Katey has taken up with a Latino hunk from the wrong side of the tracks.
Even more alarming are their sexy dance moves which combine Katey's formal ballroom training and Javier's improvised Afro-Cuban/salsa specialties. (Their big number actually looked a lot like the lambada to me, but what do I know?)
Just like in Jansen's "true" story, Castro's revolution eventually squelches Katey and Javier's budding passion. But, considering how superficial virtually every aspect of the film is, not even their star-crossed romance makes much of an impression.
Some of the blame can be attributed to Garai's icy performance. Garai, so good in art-house hits "Nicholas Nickleby" and "I Capture the Castle," seems to have spent more time mastering her American accent than developing any tangible chemistry with Luna.
The sole remnant from the 1987 film is Patrick Swayze, who plays a dance instructor at Katey's hotel. Is Swayze's character supposed to be Johnny Castle from "Dirty Dancing"? It's hard to tell since the screenplay never bothers identifying him by name.
Since my preview audience burst into applause whenever Swayze made an appearance, I'm guessing there are still a lot of "Dancing" groupies out there.
XWrite Milan Paurich at milanpaurich@aol.com.