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Save The Last Dance Reviews

2001 Certificate 12
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 6293 members

With her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina decimated by the accidental death of her mother, Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) is forced to move from her quiet Midwestern town to her father's ghetto apartment on the south side of Chicago. The stark urban environment's contrast of race and class compound Sara's loss and her .. Read more

Starring Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington, Terry Kinney
Director Thomas Carter
Genres Drama

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  • Critics' reviews (6) of Save The Last Dance

    View all
  • 3 stars out of 5

    Flashdance meets Boyz N the Hood in this crowd-pleasing dance movie from director Thomas Carter. Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate about You) plays the aspiring ballerina who gives up her ambitions after her beloved mother dies in a car crash while speeding to an important audition. Consumed with guilt, Stiles goes to live with her estranged jazz musician father on Chicago's depressed South Side. There she finds herself part of the minority in a mainly black school, coping with racial slurs when she starts dating model student Sean Patrick Thomas. The course of true love doesn't run smoothly, but nights out at the local hip-hop club allow Stiles to broaden her horizons and regain her passion for dance. With its optimistic view of ghetto life, and a ridiculous drive-by shooting subplot that threatens to lure Thomas back to petty criminality, this is fantasy melodrama pure and simple, its fresh hip-hop milieu barely disguising its formula roots. But Stiles and Thomas are attractive leads, the dance sequences make all the right moves, the soundtrack hits the spot and the expected payoff is as uplifting as it is sentimental. This is a perfect example of the Hollywood dream machine at its inoffensive, effortless and engaging best.

    • Radio Times
  • "...Well-crafted and smoothly paced, SAVE THE LAST DANCE benefits most strongly from its predominately youthful cast....Lawson and the most appealing Washington make impressions as vivid as those of Stiles and Thomas..."

    • Los Angeles Times
  • "...[The film has] smart performances and pulls off the rare trick of tackling some thorny racial issues without becoming blandly moralistic..."

    • Total Film
  • Most helpful members' reviews (3) of Save The Last Dance

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  • 23 out of 33 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star

    Zero Stars

    This film is hardly a surprise, it?s very outdated and the `shock? of the Black / White relationship falls very flat as a result.

    One or two dance numbers, but that?s it.

    There is nothing radical about this film in the year 2005.

    Imagine if it had been cast with a traditional Asian girl, a Black rapper, or a Black rapper and a Korean girl. That might hold some shock value, and that is the angle the film makers are aiming for, and miss by a mile.

    If they truly wanted a unexpected `minority? angle in the plot, the could have written the story around either a racially conscious Black or White couple, now that would have truly been out of the `mainstream?.

      • A.S from Wales
  • 5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    Enjoyable

    A film about a white ballet dancer moving into the black area. Sarah (Julia Stiles) has to fit in with her new school classmates and find a way to connect with them. This connection is dance and the popular boy whom she falls in love with.

    Follow her story of trying winning over Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas) whilst trying to settle down in a new life and new town.

    An enjoyable film that all the family will love.

  • 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Dance drama with a little extra

    This film is far from a new release and in truth I had seen this film a few years ago and having remembered enjoying it I decided to add it as my wife had not seen it. Save The Last Dance is a modern day dance drama with a little extra, in a similar style to the classic movie Dirty Dancing upper class ballet star Stiles has her world turned upside down when her mother is killed and she is forced to live with her father in a rough down town neighbour hood. I do not understand the comments from other reviews about the film only appealing to teenagers, neither my wife or I are close to teenagers, the film goes beyond your regular chick flick dance movie by including plenty of ghetto life drama with a racial undertow whilst still holding the main story line, Save The Last Dance is full of drama, dancing, romance and action, it’s not an epic by any stretch of the imagination and not a radical new idea but if feel it was directed a lot better than others in this genre we would both thoroughly recommend this as an easy and enjoyable film. 4 Stars..

      • Graham from UK
  • Most recent members' reviews (2) of Save The Last Dance

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  • 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    This movie was great

    After getting a tip off from my mate to watch this I hired it out and it was super. If you like rap, hip hop style music then you will love this as there's loads of good songs on this and it has a very emotional storyline to it as well.

      • Tanz from co antrim
  • Rated - 5 stars

    Great Film

    I loved this film, watched it at the cinema and had to buy it when released on dvd. It is a bit of a tear jerker but at the same time its a really good love story and feel good film. One to watch.

      • A customer from Ipswich
  • 23 out of 33 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star

    Zero Stars

    This film is hardly a surprise, it?s very outdated and the `shock? of the Black / White relationship falls very flat as a result.

    One or two dance numbers, but that?s it.

    There is nothing radical about this film in the year 2005.

    Imagine if it had been cast with a traditional Asian girl, a Black rapper, or a Black rapper and a Korean girl. That might hold some shock value, and that is the angle the film makers are aiming for, and miss by a mile.

    If they truly wanted a unexpected `minority? angle in the plot, the could have written the story around either a racially conscious Black or White couple, now that would have truly been out of the `mainstream?.

      • A.S from Wales
  • 5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    Enjoyable

    A film about a white ballet dancer moving into the black area. Sarah (Julia Stiles) has to fit in with her new school classmates and find a way to connect with them. This connection is dance and the popular boy whom she falls in love with.

    Follow her story of trying winning over Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas) whilst trying to settle down in a new life and new town.

    An enjoyable film that all the family will love.

  • 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Dance drama with a little extra

    This film is far from a new release and in truth I had seen this film a few years ago and having remembered enjoying it I decided to add it as my wife had not seen it. Save The Last Dance is a modern day dance drama with a little extra, in a similar style to the classic movie Dirty Dancing upper class ballet star Stiles has her world turned upside down when her mother is killed and she is forced to live with her father in a rough down town neighbour hood. I do not understand the comments from other reviews about the film only appealing to teenagers, neither my wife or I are close to teenagers, the film goes beyond your regular chick flick dance movie by including plenty of ghetto life drama with a racial undertow whilst still holding the main story line, Save The Last Dance is full of drama, dancing, romance and action, it’s not an epic by any stretch of the imagination and not a radical new idea but if feel it was directed a lot better than others in this genre we would both thoroughly recommend this as an easy and enjoyable film. 4 Stars..

      • Graham from UK
  • 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    This movie was great

    After getting a tip off from my mate to watch this I hired it out and it was super. If you like rap, hip hop style music then you will love this as there's loads of good songs on this and it has a very emotional storyline to it as well.

      • Tanz from co antrim
  • 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Superb!

    I loved this movie... the dance, the songs, the actors... Even if Julia Stiles is not very convincing in the role of a ballerina .

    A must see!

      • A customer from UK
  • Rated - 5 stars

    Seen it 6 times and still going!

    I love this film. Budding ballerina is thrown into a new world and is taken under the wing of the hottest guy at school. Boyz'n'the Hood meets Flashdance. Great storyline and acting, fantastic soundtrack and brilliant dancing. Oh! and girls, Sean Patrick Thomas as the lead male will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end! I'm off now to find everything else he's ever been in.

      • M.B from Herts
  • 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    wow...what a brilliant film! i could watch this over and over again! this is definately a feel good movie....the acting is excellent,and the story line is even better!

      • emma#45 from NEWBURY
  • 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    excellent movie I watched it twice in one night. Good story great actors and it made me cry.

      • A customer from COLCHESTER
  • Rated - 4 stars

    Brill.........

    Great fun film to watch, modern hip-hop cross ballet dance, with a good storyline to keep you interested. The music and dance is great. Would watch again and highly recommend to anyone who enjoys films like flashdance, dirty-dancing etc.

      • A customer from S.London
  • Rated - 3 stars

    entertaining

    An interesting Black/white drama no real surprises in the story but well done. Worth watching

      • A customer from uk
  • Critics' reviews (6)

  • 3 stars out of 5

    Flashdance meets Boyz N the Hood in this crowd-pleasing dance movie from director Thomas Carter. Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate about You) plays the aspiring ballerina who gives up her ambitions after her beloved mother dies in a car crash while speeding to an important audition. Consumed with guilt, Stiles goes to live with her estranged jazz musician father on Chicago's depressed South Side. There she finds herself part of the minority in a mainly black school, coping with racial slurs when she starts dating model student Sean Patrick Thomas. The course of true love doesn't run smoothly, but nights out at the local hip-hop club allow Stiles to broaden her horizons and regain her passion for dance. With its optimistic view of ghetto life, and a ridiculous drive-by shooting subplot that threatens to lure Thomas back to petty criminality, this is fantasy melodrama pure and simple, its fresh hip-hop milieu barely disguising its formula roots. But Stiles and Thomas are attractive leads, the dance sequences make all the right moves, the soundtrack hits the spot and the expected payoff is as uplifting as it is sentimental. This is a perfect example of the Hollywood dream machine at its inoffensive, effortless and engaging best.

    • Radio Times
  • "...Well-crafted and smoothly paced, SAVE THE LAST DANCE benefits most strongly from its predominately youthful cast....Lawson and the most appealing Washington make impressions as vivid as those of Stiles and Thomas..."

    • Los Angeles Times
  • "...[The film has] smart performances and pulls off the rare trick of tackling some thorny racial issues without becoming blandly moralistic..."

    • Total Film
  • "...[Stiles'] performance, and her dancing, blossom in a pleasant, spirited way....Thomas projects a potently attractive self-confidence..."

    • Variety
  • In Footloose, if memory serves, young Kevin Bacon was the cool city kid who got toes tapping and pulses racing in some... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
  • "...SAVE THE LAST DANCE teaches that you should never give up your dreams and that love is all you need..."

    • Entertainment Weekly

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    • With her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina decimated by the accidental death of her mother, Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) is forced to move from her quiet Midwestern town to her father's ...

Rating breakdown

6,293 Member ratings
  • 100
878
  • 90
535
  • 80
1,129
  • 70
1,081
  • 60
1,139
  • 50
609
  • 40
395
  • 30
252
  • 20
183
  • 10
92

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