In Deconstructing Dirty Dancing, Stephen Lee Naish unpacks the enduring popularity of the film Dirty Dancing, released to mixed reviews in 1987 before going on to become a global hit. Offering a comparative study of the film with David Lynch’s Blue Velvet before a scene-by-scene analysis and reflections on the film’s personal resonance for the author, the book is an idiosyncratic and accessible take on this cultural phenomenon, finds Penny Montague.