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Save The Last Dance
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Paramount
Running Time: 112 minutes
Starring Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Terry
Kinney, Kerry Washington, Fredro Starr
Screenplay by Duane Adler and Cheryl Edwards
Story by Duane Adler
Directed by Thomas Carter
Retail Price: $29.99
Features: Audio Commentary with Director Thomas
Carter, Deleted Scenes, Cast and Crew Interviews, The Making
of "Save The Last Dance" featurette, "Crazy" by K-Ci &
JoJo Music Video, Theatrical Trailer
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Dolby Digital
English 5.1, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround,
English Closed Captions, English Subtitles, Chapter Search
(18 Chapters)
Released: June 19th, 2001
Teen movies have hit a slump lately. While "Scream"
launched the genre for a whole new generation nearly five
years ago, I have to say that movies aimed for the teenage
audience complete with their favorite actors and great
soundtracks are dying lately. So many horror films aimed for
the audience have been bombing, not to mention the usual
romantic comedies that once brought in millions and millions
for many studios. However, there have been a few exceptions
lately, and "Save The Last Dance" is one of them.
"Save The Last Dance" opened to some pretty strong
reviews and was truly one of the sleeper hits of last
winter. It went on to make around ninety million dollars and
opened with a really impressive twenty-eight million to much
shock. While I missed it in theaters, I must say I can see
why this movie is so likeable and is definently one of the
best films aimed at teens out there. The plot isn't stupid
and is original, there's some good writing as well as
directing plus some excellent acting. In a genre that's
overcrowded with the same old characters and stories, it's
refreshing to see something new and entertaining.
Julia Stiles plays Sara Johnson, an excellent dancer who
seems to have a bright future ahead of her in the dance
world. Sadly, however, as her dreams are about to become
alive with an audition at Juliard in New York City, tragedy
errupts. Sara's mother is killed in a fatal car accident on
the way to her audition. Sara then must kill off her dream
and moves in with her father (Terry Kinney) who she's not
really close to (she even calls him by his first name) in
Chicago. Sara begins school there and it's quite a change
from what she is used to. Sara originated from a little town
and now she's faced to adapt to the challanges of the big
city. Getting detected for weapons before entering school,
meeting new people and struggling to find her place in a new
place among other things. While Sara is ridiculued a little
at the start, she soon meets Chenille (Kerry Washington) who
shows her the ropes of her new school. However, the real
plot of the film finds Sara clashing heads with Derek (Sean
Patrick Thomas), an African-American peer of hers (and also
Chenille's brother). While the two don't exactly hit it off
at first, it turns out they have a lot more in common than
one may think. They both like to dance and from there, their
friendship blooms into something more. From there, the plot
also deepens beside the interracial romance... Sara used to
love to dance and everything, and lost her interest in it,
so it's up to Derek to help her rediscover her love and
everything that comes with it. Yeah, you probably know what
happens... I saw this trailer many times in the theater and
I always said to myself "Oh wow I saw the movie in two
minutes!". Still, besides how predictable the movie can be,
it's still really enjoyable to watch with a lot of great
situations and dialogue that further enhance the themes.
I was really surprised how much I enjoyed "Save The Last
Dance" and as I mentioned earlier, the film does have a lot
going for it. I really liked Thomas Carter's directing
style. He sets a nice pace for the movie not to mention his
unique way of dealing with things. I really liked how he
opens the film with Sara on the train. As she rides the
flashback sequences shift back and forth nicely. The movie
also has good editing, especially during the dancing
sequences so we can see a lot of the key moves and what's
going on.
The acting here really makes this film believable. I like
Julia Stiles as an actress as she has had a variety of
choices in the past in plenty of really good movies. She
takes the role of Sara and runs with it. There's a lot of
raw emotion with the character and she does justice with it.
Sean Patrick Thomas is excellent as Derek who brings a lot
of life to the character. The supporting performances from
Washington and Kinney just add more to the film.
What I liked most about the film was the story and
script. Once again, this isn't your usual stereotypical sort
of film. While I guess you can argue some of the characters
are a little, the script rings a lot of great truths that I
feel some films with these themes haven't gone deep enough
into them. A lot of dramatic stuff is handled realistically
and seriously. The romance between Sara and Derek is greatly
played out and handled really well between them and other
characters. It creates a nice conflict. The setting also
says a lot, especially toward the start of the movie where
Derek talks with a fellow peer about going back to school
instead of being in juvenille hall. Derek also has a little
shady past he tells Sara about about forty-five minutes into
the film. I won't mention every "real" scene that happens,
but there are quite a few and I was glad to see them. They
really bring a lot more to the movie.
Though I liked the pace of the movie, sometimes I felt
things moved too quickly and could have been expanded more.
Overall however, I must say I was surprised how much I
enjoyed the movie. There's some great issues in here that
are dealt with maturely. Top it off with great acting, great
dialogue and great direction and you have yourself a pretty
fantastic movie that won't only appeal to the teens. Check
out "Save The Last Dance", it may be aimed at one
demographic but certainly works for a lot of others as well.
Once again, Paramount delivers a transfer that everyone
will be pleased with. "Save The Last Dance" is presented in
1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and the result is simply
astounding. This is one of the best transfers from Paramount
I've ever seen. While I did see some slight shimmering and
some slight edge enhancment during the film, everything else
is picture perfect. Black levels are dead on while hues and
colors are incredibly accurate with bold colors. The streets
of Chicago truly come to life while the interiors of the
school look really realistic. Detail is also excellent and
there was no noticeable grain to speak of. But what really
impressed me is that I didn't notice many blemishes on the
print. They appeared sometimes (mostly about twenty-two
minutes into the film) but were so small they didn't
distract and I doubt anybody will notice them. Another fine
effort from Paramount that is simply mesmerizing.
"Save The Last Dance" features an English 5.1 Dolby
Digital mix as well as English and French Dolby Surround
tracks. The 5.1 Dolby Digital suits the material here really
well and was a lot better than I expected it to be.
Surrounds are not constantly used and places I expected to
hear them I didn't get them, but overall I found myself
feeling like I existed in the atmosphere and hearing it all
unroll before me. The sound here has a nice, sharp edge that
will bring you in. The background noises sound particuarly
good and when the music starts, it lights up the channels
with some great mixing (that also includes the great Mark
Isham score). Dialogue is crisp and clear and does not
overlap with the music and other sounds. The .1 LFE is
pretty active which I was glad to hear. English subtitles
are included as well as English closed captions.
It's nice to see Paramount packing their films with a lot
more extras lately, and in this department "Save The Last
Dance" does not disappoint. A Audio Commentary with
Director Thomas Carter is included, and overall this is
a pretty great session. Though he is a little quiet at
times, Carter is soft-spoken and reflects on his experiences
and ideas of the movie. He talks about the themes of the
film and how people responded to them. Some of the things he
says are obvious but I was always happy to hear the choices
he made and their effects. Overall, he has some interesting
things to say on this track and fans of the movie should
listen to it.
Four Deleted Scenes are included on the disc, even
in anamorphic widescreen (yes!) and two channel sound.
Though there's no optional commentary from Carter, you can
see why these were cuts. But they are enjoyable to watch and
even have English subtitles with them. The scenes total up
to a little more than ten minutes. One of these scenes is
actually more of an alternative one, but I feel the one used
in the film is more effective.
The Making Of "Save The Last Dance" is in full
frame and lasts for nearly twenty minutes. It has clips from
the movie in addition to interviews with Thomas, Stiles,
Washingtona nd others. This featurette is a bit promotional,
and features behind the scenes footage. I was glad to see
that Paramount is continuting their trend of subtitles on
supplement materials. I hope studios in the future follow
suit with this.
Cast and Crew Interviews lasts about twelve and a
half minutes and also features clips from the film.
Subtitles are here too (yay!) as well as behind the scenes
footage. The interviews here were less fluffy and more
informative then the featurette, though sometimes I felt it
was more of the same. Oh well, still quite enjoyable.
Rounding the disc out is the "Crazy" Music Video,
which is by K-Ci and JoJo. It features the actors from the
movie as well as clips from the film. The video is in
non-anamorphic widescreen and two channel sound. Rounding
the disc out is the spoiler-filled Theatrical Trailer
in non-anamorphic widescreen and two channel sound. See the
movie first then watch this. Finally, Paramount has also
included some really nice animated menus that reflect the
film perfectly and nicely. Sweetness.
Paramount delivers quite a good release for "Save The
Last Dance". An incredible transfer with a well suited 5.1
mix all topped with some very nice extras, this is a really
good package. Fans of the film are going to love this, but
if you haven't seen the movie and just labeled it as yet
another teen film, check it out... you'll be surprised how
much you'll enjoy it.
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4/5)
 (2.5/5)
 (3.5/5, NOT an average)
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