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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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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

For my money, it's the girls' friendship that holds the film together.

Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
01/15/01
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Nitrate Online

A tepid movie with a few decent dance sequences and a lot of frustrating sexual tension.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment 1 Comment
01/12/01
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

When Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas find a connection in music, dancing and love, the lesson in race relations is a solid one.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/12/01
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It pays knowing respect not only to high school social politics, but also to racial politics among today’s young people.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/12/01
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Filled with too many issues.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
01/12/01
Kim Morgan
Kim Morgan
Oregonian

The intent is a feel-good film, sort of an American version of Billy Elliot and I didn't believe a minute of it.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
01/12/01
Glenn Giffin
Glenn Giffin
Denver Post

That rare modern romance that is actually trying to say something, even though it comes in a purified and derivative package.

Full Review Source: Ottawa Citizen | comment Comment
01/12/01
Jay Stone
Jay Stone
Ottawa Citizen

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

A surprisingly flat-footed dance film that doesn't stray far from the formula.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
01/12/01
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

The high school repartee has snap, crackle and pop, but the romantic drama is strictly cornflakes that have been left in the milk too long.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/12/01
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday

An admirably heartfelt story with more on its mind than the glory of self-expression.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/12/01
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle

A recycling of the cliches created by Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, Footloose and Saturday Night Fever.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/12/01
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

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

Looks at interracial relationships from a fresh perspective and gives the audience something real to think about.

comment Comment
01/12/01
Damon C. Williams
Damon C. Williams
Philadelphia Daily News

A sometimes predictable, but mostly enjoyable tale.

comment Comment
01/12/01
George Thomas
George Thomas
Beacon Journal

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

Predictable teen-dream drama.

comment Comment
01/12/01
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

Sweet teens and near-teens who don't know any better will probably flock to it. Smart parents who know better, however, will smartly stay away.

comment Comment
01/12/01
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newhouse News Service

The routines have been so chopped up -- apparently to disguise Stiles' only limited dance ability -- that they're incomprehensible.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
01/12/01
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Stiles and Thomas are good together, in a warm and fuzzy, as opposed to hot and heavy, sort of way.

comment Comment
01/12/01
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; 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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