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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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54 %
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Reviews Counted: 95

Fresh: 51

Rotten:44

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

Theatrical Release: Jan 12, 2001 Wide

Box Office: $90,696,166

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 her dreams of ever attending the country's... 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]

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Release:

Sep 26, 2006

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurettes - 1. SAVE THE LAST DANCE 2 Sneak Peak
  • 2. In Step: The Choreographer's Story
  • 3. The Writer's Story

Reviews for Save the Last Dance

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

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
Ratings Image

Ultimately, this talented twosome [Stiles and Thomas] can only do so much with a script that continually lets them down at about every turn.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Michael Dequina
Film Threat
Ratings Image

Performances throughout are solidly decent.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Susannah Breslin
Film Threat
Ratings Image

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
Film Blather
Ratings Image

Sara's got a sense of humor about how very uncool she is, and she proves to be a game girl.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly
Ratings Image

To the film's credit, it tries, and while it never really sings, it does deliver the dance.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle
Ratings Image

Tries to squeeze in a few too many plot elements into too short a time.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
03/02/03
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image

Stiles and Thomas redeem this film over and over. And the dancing is fun to watch, too.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
Ratings Image

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
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

Carter has given us a pleasant enough, if not especially original film.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/21/02
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan
Ratings Image

There are enough respectable social messages here.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
10/10/02
Ralph Brave
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image

If "Dance" stumbles into a few too many subplots and a couple of cliched characters along the way, it also makes some strong points about contemporary attitudes toward the idea of interracial romances.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
06/10/02
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
Ratings Image

A refreshingly friendly view of a romance between people of different pigmentation, an area where more respectable pictures still wimp out.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Told with a refreshing lack of sensationalism.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
03/07/02
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine
Ratings Image

The leads shine and the relationship really grew on me. There’s not much more to ask for in a movie like this.

Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
02/26/02
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies
Ratings Image

An interracial romance between an aspiring ballerina and a hip hop devotee that sets off sparks within the African American community where they live.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
02/13/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
Ratings Image

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
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

Lo que salva a la película de ser un fracaso total, son las sólidas actuaciones de Stiles y Thomas.

Full Review Source: Moviola | comment Comment
10/08/01
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola
Ratings Image

A surprisingly effective piece of work.

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

As MTV movies go, it's got decent work in it, thanks entirely to Stiles, Thomas, and the fact that there are almost no adults in the picture.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
06/14/01
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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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...

See More Topics...

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