Save the Last Dance

Save The Last Dance

Certificate: 12A

Starring: Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas

Release date: 2001

3 out of 5

3

A follow-your-dreams drama for girls who love dance (and don't mind that the leads don't do their own dancing). Young Sara (Stiles) gives up her dream of being a ballet dancer when her mother dies in a car crash en route to Sara's audition at prestigious arts school Julliard. Moving to Chicago to live with her dad, she enrols at the local high school in an African American neighbourhood where she meets Derek (Thomas), who introduces her to hip-hop and street dance and encourages her to get her groove on (and her clothes off, if he's lucky).

While this features a few gritty subplots involving Derek's gangsta pal and his single mom sister, in the main this is a romance with dance moves thrown in that works best when the leads (or their doubles) are strutting their funky stuff. A missable straight to DVD sequel, Save The Last Dance 2, was made in 2006, and catches up with Sara at Julliard, sans Derek (and featuring a whole new cast).

Is Save The Last Dance suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...

None.

If you like this, why not try: Fame 1980, Fame 2009, Footloose, Step Up, Honey,