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Save the Last Dance

5.5

16,884

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Sequel:

Save the Last Dance 2

Original title

Save the Last Dance

Year

2001

Running time

112 min.

Country

United States

Director

Thomas Carter

Screenwriter

Duane Adler, Cheryl Edwards. Story: Duane Adler

Cast

Music

Mark Isham

Cinematography

Robbie Greenberg

Producer

Paramount Pictures, MTV Films

Genre

Musical. Romance. Drama | Romantic Drama. Teen/coming-of-age. Dancing

Synopsis

Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) grew up in a suburban, Midwestern neighborhood where almost everyone was white and middle-class. The 17 year-old aspires to become a professional ballerina and studies toward that end. But when her mother is killed in a car accident, Sara is forced to move in with her father who lives in a rough part of Chicago. There, Sara enrols in a school that is virtually all black. Here she meets Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), a popular, handsome, gifted student who offers her comfort regarding her mother's death. As the two discover their similar interest in dance, romance flourishes. The couple faces hardship with their interracial relationship when both families oppose the match - especially when Derek's criminal history surfaces.

Critics' reviews

"Sure, you've seen some of these moves before, but Save the Last Dance triumphantly passes the audition."

Mark Caro: Chicago Tribune
"[It] begins with standard material but doesn't settle for it (...) the development is intelligent, the characters are more complicated than we expect, and the ending doesn't tie everything up in a predictable way (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"This is a spirited, dirty dance between the polished inauthenticity of Hollywood romance-musicals and hip-hop's central tenet: keeping it real. It's an intriguing combination, if nothing else"

Desson Thomson: The Washington Post
"The story comes full circle in a way that might seem overly schematic did it not have the courage to wear its heart on its sleeve without losing its head."

Kevin Thomas: Los Angeles Times
"Bland but poised, the romantic melodrama 'Save the Last Dance' seems tailor-made for tweens (...) The charms of the film come from its talented cast"

Elvis Mitchell: The New York Times
"Neither especially inspired nor unpalatably saccharine"

Robert Koehler: Variety

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Ranking Lists Position

85 My Favorite Teen Movies (17)

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Save the Last Dance

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