I really wanted to love Out Of The Corner by Jennifer Grey. I have watched Dirty Dancing at least fifty times and can’t pass it up when I accidently stumble across it on television, but although her life story was interesting and at times shocking, I sort of felt like she had a bit of a repetitiveness to how she was feeling and what she wanted to do with her life.
Yes, she has quite a bit to say about growing up as the daughter of Broadway veteran Joel Grey, how they moved from the East Coast to the West Coast constantly depending on his jobs, how when she was a very young child, she spent every Saturday afternoon with her father at the matinee of Cabaret watching and learning and solidifying her choice of wanted to entertain when she grew up.
But then there would be bits of what I felt should have been very impactful life changing issues such as when her parents decided to divorce, and her father came out as gay which I felt she glossed over. But perhaps she felt that was his story to tell, not hers.
She does go into great detail about getting both the Ferris Bueller and Dirty Dancing movies which of course she became known for as well as her relationship (or lack thereof) with Patrick Swayze and how she regrets not seeing him then for what he truly was. She tells stories of how the shooting of Dirty Dancing was extremely difficult between the weather, people getting sick, and not enough money for a clothing budget. So much so I feel the need to go back and yes, watch the movie again! One particular interesting tidbit was the fact that Grey was scared to do the lift during the final scene, so much so that she did it only once and of course it was perfection.
As for her romantic relationships, she was engaged twice, once to Matthew Broderick whom she had a very volatile relationship with and whom she was in a car accident while vacationing with him in Ireland in which two people were killed, Broderick was in the hospital for months and Grey was left emotionally and physically scarred for life.
Of course, she starts the book with her infamous nose job in which she became unrecognizable as herself and how it came about and pretty much ruined her then career.
She goes into great detail about marrying her now ex-husband and having a child in her forties never thinking she would be lucky enough to become a mother, only to discover that she began to lose herself in becoming a stay-at-home mom (just like her mother who left a budding career and perhaps regretted having to do so).
Enter Dancing With The Stars and her decision to take on the challenge… and challenging it was! Not only not having danced in years but discovering the car accident she was involved in years ago had unknowingly destroyed her neck!
There are a few surprises hidden throughout the book. Who her best friends are and who else she dated and was even engaged to which I will not spoil here.
But overall, Out Of The Corner was a good read but sometimes I had the feeling I was reading a rant from perhaps a bit of a spoiled child. Not to take away from her story which is powerful in so many ways.
I will just let you decide for yourself.
Lisa's Cubby 