Interracial romance was for a long time a taboo in Hollywood films. It took some time for such content to leave the ghetto of “edgy” films and enter mainstream, thus becoming part of the plot of teen films like Save the Last Dance, 2001 dance film directed by Thomas Carter.
Protagonist, played by Julia Stiles, is Sara Johnson, 17-year old aspiring ballerina who lives in Chicago suburbs and dreams of being accepted to prestigious Julliard Schools. Her life get shattered when she fails audition and when this coincides with her mother being killed in traffic accident. Sara is now forced to move to her father Roy (played by Terry Johnson), jazz musician who lives in South Side and transfer to predominantly African American school. As one of the few white students she has problems adapting to new circumstances, but soon she finds new friends that would inspire her to start enjoying new dance styles based on hip hop. She also meets Derek Reynolds (played by Sean Patrick Thomas), African American student who dreams of becoming a physician and who also impresses her with his dance skills. Derek and Sara become dance partner and, inevitably, a couple, but their relationship is threatened by Derek’s ex girlfriend Nikki (played by Bianca Lawson) and Derek’s friend Malakai (played by Fredro Starr) who is involved in street crime.
What used to be a nightmare for average US racist has, mainly thanks to MTV and 1990s popular culture, became something “cool” and “hip” enough to make young audience flock to theatres. Despite most of the critics being less than impressed and finding the plot formulaic and unoriginal, Save the Last Dance has very good results at the box office. Script by Duane Adler and Cheryl Edwards occasionally strays from cliches and even finds time to briefly address some of the racial issues in early 21st Century America. Former actor Thomas Carter does more than decent job as director, and the music and dance numbers are well done. The cast is also doing a good job, mainly thanks to some of the characters being multidimensional. Julia Stiles shines in the film, showing not only acting or dancing, but even uses rare opportunity to display her martial arts skills. Despite not being particularly deep or memorable, Save the Last Dance is mostly satisfying viewing experience. In 2006 a direct-to-video sequel Save the Last Dance 2 was released, with Izabella Miko replacing Stiles in main role.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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