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

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: The first scene at Steppes has several shots of the dance floor that are from the final scene of the movie. You see Diggy in the pink pants and Nikkie in the black skirt as well as the individual dancers.

Quotes:

Derek: "Stepps" ain't no square dance.
Sara: That's ok, I'll dance in circles, probably around you.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dance Flick (2009)

Soundtrack:

When It Doesn't Matter

More Than I Expected

Okay, so it won't bring home a little golden guy. . .it's from MTV Films for crying out loud. But who says everything has to? I will say this; this movie actually had a little more substance than what I walked in expecting. I went to the theater on opening night with 5 girlfriends expecting to hear some good music and see some good choreography and scenery of Chicago--a city I dearly love. I got all of that. But I also got a glimpse of broken homes, the dynamic between a father and daughter who don't know each other, friends who've gone by the wayside that you still don't want to let go of, I could say more. Oh, and the thing that really still pisses people off though it's 2001. . .interracial relationships. I'm not saying the plot isn't a little rehashed, but there's not a whole lot that's new out there. No, it's not a great film--I give it a B, but I'd see it again. In fact I did see it again with another set of friends on Saturday night. All in all, I saw this movie with 10 friends of varying sex, age and race and all of us liked it. I think that's a pretty good showing.