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Movies / On DVD / Save the Last Dance
Save the Last Dance

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Save the Last Dance (2001)

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Reviews Counted:96

Fresh:51

Rotten:45

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: This teen romance flick feels like a predictable rehashing of other movies.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Sara's life is devoted to dance -- she wants nothing more than to make it into New York's famous Julliard School. But when tragedy strikes and she loses her mom, her hopes are dashed and she buries... Sara's life is devoted to dance -- she wants nothing more than to make it into New York's famous Julliard School. But when tragedy strikes and she loses her mom, her hopes are dashed and she buries her dreams of ever attending the country's best dance school.

Without her Mom to support her, Sara moves to the tough streets of Chicago's South side to live with her Dad -- a down on his luck jazz musician who she barely knows. Her new school's a totally different world from the small town she grew up in, but Sara's quick comebacks and sassy attitude earn her the quick respect and friendship of straight-talking Chenille. But it's Chenille's brother, Derek, the cool and good-looking star of the school, who grabs Sara's attention. He plays it up tough, but he also has the smarts and a plan to go to medical school.

When Chenille takes Sara to Steppes, the neighborhood hang, she gets her first taste of hip-hop -- and Derek's the one to show her the moves. When they discover they share a passion for dance, they discover that there's something deeper going on -- a passion for each other. But they soon find out the hard way that they must not only overcome their own differences, but the resentment and bad blood of their friends and family. As the school year goes on, the couple finds that their affection and devotion to each other could ultimately threaten Derek's hopes for a better life and Sara's rediscovery of her dance.

Yet against all the odds they overcome the obstacles to their dreams, and discover that ultimately the only person you have to be is...yourself. [More]

Starring: Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Terry Kinney, Fredro Starr

Starring: Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Terry Kinney, Fredro Starr, Kerry Washington, Bianca Lawson

Director: Thomas Carter

Director: Thomas Carter
Producer: Robert W. Cort, David Madden
Screenwriter: Duane Adler, Cheryl Edwards
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Paramount Pictures

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Save the Last Dance

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Patronising hybrid of a myriad of other teen movies. Don't bother, just watch them instead.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/30/01
Colin Kennedy
Colin Kennedy
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's just a pity for the actors and the audience that the theme of conquering one's background, prejudices, and limitations has to be spelled out in block capitals.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/16/01
Michael Thomson
Michael Thomson
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As teen melodrama, well, Carter's film is what it is; but for such a mainstream black-consciousness movie, at least it doesn't shy from addressing some touchy issues about masculinity, parenthood, and black attitudes to whites.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A surprisingly effective piece of work.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
07/03/01
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Likeable teen romance that overcomes its inevitable predictability thanks to its talented cast and its avoidance of both clichés and syrupy sentimentality.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Ballet meets hip-hop in this warmly enjoyable yet unambitious teen romance.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

A strikingly unsubtle film.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
01/12/01
Arthur Salm
Arthur Salm
San Diego Union-Tribune

It is like a 12-step program on how a square hick from the sticks can get hip.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/12/01
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

What is it about dancing that inspires such rotten movies?

comment Comment
01/12/01
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Seems more concerned with pushing demographic style buttons than creating a story with any depth.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/11/01
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News

Thomas Carter's direction is flavorless.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
01/11/01
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Citysearch

Squanders nice performances by Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas by confining them and the supporting cast to cookie-cutter roles and hackneyed inner-city subplots.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
01/12/01
David Germain
David Germain
Associated Press

The film has a lot of surface complication but no attention span; it's a centimeter deep.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/12/01
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As one might expect from a film credited as an 'MTV production,' Save the Last Dance is one-half realistic portrayal of youth, and one-half pure cinematic pablum.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
02/07/01
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

As a film, it's no great shakes, and except for the reverse racism subplot, it's been there done that.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
01/11/01
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

The production disappoints both as modern-day dance film and Jungle Fever redux.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/07/01
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

It's not courageous enough to deviate from the teen movie formula more than a smidgeon.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Like a series of Problem-of-the-Week TV movies crammed into a single two-hour span.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
01/11/01
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for Save the Last Dance

February 13, 2008: Total Recall: It's a Dance Dance Revolution
Audiences have been historically dismissive of all the critical contempt, pushing dozens of fancy-footed extravaganzas to the upper reaches of the box-office charts. For this... More...

July 11, 2007: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Set to "Make It Happen" In Burlesque Flick
If you watched "Live Free or Die Hard" and thought, "Gee, what I'd really like to see is Mary Elizabeth Winstead with less clothing and more dancing," this... More...

August 09, 2006: Critical Consensus: A Brave New "World," A "Step" Down, And No Screenings for "Pulse" and "Zoom"
This week at the movies, we've got Oliver Stone paying tribute to the heroes of 9/11 ("World Trade Center," starring Nicolas Cage); two youngsters trying to start a... More...

August 10, 2005: "The Omen" Scares Up Two Stars
Not long ago we informed you that John Moore ("Flight of the Phoenix") was hired by Fox to helm their remake of "The Omen," and now comes word (from Variety)... More...

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