Save the Last Dance (2001)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Thomas Carter

Writers (WGA):

Duane Adler (story)
Duane Adler (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

The Only Person You Need To Be Is Yourself.

Plot:

A white midwestern girl moves to Chicago, where her new boyfriend is a black teen from the South Side with a rough, semi-criminal past.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Dancing | Ghetto | Hip Hop | Slang

Awards:

6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Julia Stiles	...	Sara
Sean Patrick Thomas	...	Derek
Kerry Washington	...	Chenille
Fredro Starr	...	Malakai
Terry Kinney	...	Roy
Bianca Lawson	...	Nikki
Vince Green	...	Snookie
Garland Whitt	...	Kenny
Elisabeth Oas	...	Diggy
Artel Great	...	Arvel (as Artel Jarod Walker)
Cory Stewart	...	Lip
Jennifer Anglin	...	Glynn
Dorothy Martin	...	Momma Dean
Kim Tlusty	...	Lindsay
Felicia Fields	...	Woman on Train

Also Known As:

Pasión y baile (Argentina) (video title) (Mexico) [es]
Bizim dansimiz (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
El último baile (Venezuela) [es]
Espera al último baile (Spain) [es]
Née pour danser (Canada: French title) [fr]
No Balanço do Amor (Brazil) [pt]
Save the Last Dance (Finland) [fi]
Save the Last Dance (Germany) [de]
Save the Last Dance (France) [fr]
Save the last dance - viimeinen tanssi (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Szívem érted rapes (Hungary) [hu]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug references.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

CTA Rail System, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Cort/Madden Productions

Trivia:

According to an early draft of the script, Sarah lived with her mother in Pennsylvania before moving in with her father in Baltimore. By the time the film was shot, the locations were Lemont, IL and Chicago, respectively.

Goofs:

Continuity: On Sara's first day at the new school, she is walking up the front stairs and there is a guy with braids outside. After she goes through the metal detector, she walks past a door in the hallway, and the guy is there again, this time with his jacket off.

Quotes:

Sara: It's about me and him, not about us and other people.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Soundtrack:

Don't Stop Get It

Breaking down the barriers of racism.

This movie does what few movies over the past year or so have been able to do. It takes you to a place which actually exists and it takes real issues head on. Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas give real performances they do not come off as "cardboard" characters but as real human beings. The plot was simple enough to be good, it didn't require you having a past knowledge of the world of dance but yet didn't rule you out if you weren't black with a bunch of "black talk". This movie talks to teens. We are able to understand the pressures that surround us, the music we listen to, and just our world. Sure, you have your typical characters but what movie doesn't. Go see the film and then make up your mind. It is one of my favourite new films for the past few years.