Save the Last Dance (2001) Reviews

• Clichéd, but better than I expected it to be

  bob the moo2002-05-21

  When Sara's mother is killed in a car accident she comes to live in a predominately black area in Chicago. She is befriended by black Chenille and starts to fall for her brother Derek. Derek teaches her the latest hip-hop dances to help her fit in and together they begin to fall for each other. However a white girl seeing a clever black man is never going to be popular and the couple must overcome many obstacles to see their dreams and be true to themselves. Did someone say `a black Dirty Dancing?' Essentially that's what this is, although the story is naturally a bit more urban than that film. The story is about overcoming to reach your dreams, and it does it quite well – better than I expected. The love story is nice without being too romanticised. The obstacles are the usual things in an `urban' film – the challenge of mixed race relationships, the temptation to back up your crew instead of getting out etc. These are quite cliched but are still well done. My main problem came with the strength of black culture in the film…not every black person (even in a poor area) talks like a gangsta…and not everyone says `aiiiirite' – and why did Sara only become accepted when she started to imitate black culture and speak in that way. It may be realistic, but I felt that Sara should have been allowed to be herself rather than be seen to be assimilated into the hip-hop culture (I don't mean that she shouldn't have got involved with the scene – but did she have to lose part of herself to get there?). However these are minor side issues that many people won't even think about. The cast are good for MTV teens. Julia Stiles is cool and Thomas is cute and charming. The rest of the cast fall into so many black stereotypes – we have gangsta friend, baby mothers galore, useless baby father, jealous bitchy ex-girlfriends etc. However they are just what you expect so I wasn't too upset. Fredro Starr was cool as Malakai – even if the character was just one big hood cliché. The soundtrack is hot and the dance scenes are sexy – I wish I could do it! They are much more enjoyable than Dirty Dancing's scenes – although some day this will feel dated too! Overall I expected another piece of MTV teen tat, but I was pleasantly surprised by a story that, despite being ridden with clichés, is actually very involving and enjoyable.

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• Too clichéd to be really interesting

  AKS-62001-04-28

  [This comment contains SPOILERS!] The main problem with Save the Last Dance is that it is too clichéd. We've been there, done that several times before. Also, some scenes were very embarrassing because they were so silly. E.g. when Sara is auditioning and Derek runs up on stage. Oh please... The same point could have been made in a more subtle way. Having said that, though, I must say that the film was also very entertaining, the music was great and the acting was more than just okay, especially Julia Stiles was impressive. (5/10)

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• People Liked this movie???!

  alissaroode2001-02-18

  **maybe spoilers** I can't believe the number of positive reviews i have seen for this tragic excuse for a movie. OK, maybe it's not that bad, but at the very best, it is mediocre. It boasts some grand overacting from the normally very likeable Julia Stiles, an oversimplistic plot, and to top it all off, eveyr actor in the film seems bored with their stereotypical character. There is no chemistry between any of the characters, even the hatred between Stiles' character Sara and her 'nemesis' Nikki, seems forced and tired. The dancing in uninspired (except for the big finale scene at the end). The pace is slow, and most of the story telling techniques used are stale and obvious. The characters are flat and worthless, for example Derek's friend Malaki, whom Derek says 'has a good heart'. This 'good heart' is nowhere in evidence in this movie, because he is played as a standard "bad guy" with absolutely no redeeming qualities. It is impossible for the viewer to understand why the bright, intelligent, and kind Derek would remain loyal to his jerk of a friend. What does any of this have to do with the plot of a dancer struggling to get along in a new world? Nothing. That's another of the problems with Save The Last Dance: there are too many sub plots that are not dealt with in an interesting and entertaining way. Instead of weaving the sub plots together to create a coherent story, the sub plots are cut and pasted crudely so that it looks like this: Sara moves to the ghetto, must try to fit in; Sara doesn't like her dad; Sara makes friends with Chenille; Sara falls for Derek; Sara learns how to be hip hop; Derek must choose between Sara and the evil Malaki; Sara gives up on everything; Sara tries again; Sara makes friends with her dad; Sara triumphs over all her difficulties with one astounding blow. The end. There is very little correlation between different aspects of the plot, leaving me the audience feeling bored and hollow. This is not a good movie. It does not realistically show life. It is not inspiring (becuase it is uninspired). It is vaguely entertaining, but don't have high expectations. I went in thinking it would be energetic and funky, and left yawning and wanting to go to bed and forget that i saw it. Wait for the video... don't waste the cash on the big screen... it's not worth it.

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• A very touching story, with some good points

  stefaffi2001-02-20

  I really wanted to see this movie, I like Julia Stiles in her other movies (Down to You, 10 Things I Hate About You) and think that she is a very talented actress. I was not disappointed. As for this movie... I am very impressed. I feel that Julia portrayed very real emotion and reactions to losing her mother, and placing the blame for losing her mother firmly on herself is the reaction that most people would have in that circumstance. The train scene in the beginning sets a very good foundation for the rest of the movie, and it goes from there. To those who would say that her acting is overdone, I say put yourself in those shoes: you've lost your Mom, best friend, confidante, and the foundation your entire world rests on, and think how it would affect you. There are some parts of the movie that are slightly cliched.. dancing as she walks under the L - we saw Jennifer Grey dance her way up a flight of stairs in "Dirty Dancing" - but then again, not much in life hasn't been done before, so I don't count that against it. Even Nikki is a believable character - I know there were quite a few like her when I was in high school! While it seems improbable that Sara would instantly fit in with her new crowd, it is made believable by Stile's portrayal of Sara as a slightly self-conscious, but not shy person, who will take a person at face value while still believing in the inherent good of people in general. The match with Derek is natural, since they share these traits. There are a few unbelievable parts - the empty studio (complete with barre) that she practices in with Derek, Steps, Sarah offering to walk the 5 blocks home alone, Sara dancing ballet (not that she didn't dance well, just that Stiles body is not standard for classical ballet) but all in all, I feel that this is a very touching movie, and would recommend it to everyone female, even my Grandmother (the language may be shocking, but she was in the Army, I know she's heard worse :)

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• Trite and poorly written

  segacs2006-08-12

  This movie is a sort of updated Romeo and Juliet- meets- Dirty Dancing, and attempts to take on the complex issues surrounding racism and stereotypes while showcasing some fun dancing. Unfortunately, it fails on every level, thanks to a poor script that allows this movie to lapse into the many stereotypes it was hoping to dispel. The two leads - Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas - do what they can, but nobody could sell this drivel. The writing is cringe-worthy in many, many spots. At times, even the actors seem to be unable to believe that they're actually require to say some of the things that they say. Everyone in the film besides the leads speaks in the sort of "gansta" talk that seems like a Hollywood/MTV notion of how kids really speak. Then there are the clichés: the teenage mothers, the drive-by shootings, the drug dealers and pretty much everything else you could think of. Even the dancing - the film's supposed highlight - is poorly shot, so you don't get to see the sequences properly. Stiles insisted on doing all her own ballet, rather than using a body double - an admirable sentiment, perhaps, but someone should've noticed that it made the whole subplot of her being good enough to audition for Julliard rather unbelievable when she's shown stumbling over even simple steps. The dance scenes at the club were so chopped up that the audience is denied even the simple pleasure of some great dance scenes to break up this saccharine, eye-rolling plot. Save The Last Dance could never have been a truly excellent movie, but it could have at least been fun and entertaining. But the writing was so terrible, it doesn't even achieve this goal.

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