Save the Last Dance (2001)

Regista:

Thomas Carter

Writers (WGA):

Duane Adler (story)
Duane Adler (screenplay) ...

Data di uscita:

12 gennaio 2001 (USA)

Genere:

Drama | Music | Romance

Slogan:

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:

Old Dark House | Cross Cultural Relations | Teen Angst | School Life | Club

Premi:

6 wins & 6 nominations

Recensioni degli utenti:

Clichéd, but better than I expected it to be

Cast

Julia Stiles	...	Sara Johnson
Sean Patrick Thomas	...	Derek Reynolds
Kerry Washington	...	Chenille Reynolds
Fredro Starr	...	Malakai
Terry Kinney	...	Roy Johnson
Bianca Lawson	...	Nikki
Vince Green	...	Snookie
Garland Whitt	...	Kenny
Elisabeth Oas	...	Diggy
Artel Kayàru	...	Arvel (as Artel Jarod Walker)
Cory Stewart	...	Lip
Jennifer Anglin	...	Glynn
Dorothy Martin	...	Momma Dean
Kim Tlusty	...	Lindsay Johnson
Felicia Fields	...	Woman on Train

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug references.

Durata:

112 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonoro:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Divieti:

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

Luoghi delle riprese:

CTA Rail System, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Cort/Madden Productions

Curiosità:

Made $27,526,443 it's opening weekend, the largest opening ever for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.

Errori:

Continuity: When Derek and Malakai leave Stepps through the back door after Malakai's fight, the door is alternately open/closed between shots.

Citazioni:

Chenille: They call him Snooky because Fool was taken.

Movie Connections:

Citato in "That's So Raven: Save the Last Dance (#3.32)" (2005)

Colonna sonora:

Tell Me What You Want

Clichéd, but better than I expected it to be

When Sara's mother is killed in a car accident she comes to live in a predominately black area in Chicago. She is befriended by black Chenille and starts to fall for her brother Derek. Derek teaches her the latest hip-hop dances to help her fit in and together they begin to fall for each other. However a white girl seeing a clever black man is never going to be popular and the couple must overcome many obstacles to see their dreams and be true to themselves.

Did someone say `a black Dirty Dancing?' Essentially that's what this is, although the story is naturally a bit more urban than that film. The story is about overcoming to reach your dreams, and it does it quite well – better than I expected. The love story is nice without being too romanticised. The obstacles are the usual things in an `urban' film – the challenge of mixed race relationships, the temptation to back up your crew instead of getting out etc. These are quite cliched but are still well done.

My main problem came with the strength of black culture in the film…not every black person (even in a poor area) talks like a gangsta…and not everyone says `aiiiirite' – and why did Sara only become accepted when she started to imitate black culture and speak in that way. It may be realistic, but I felt that Sara should have been allowed to be herself rather than be seen to be assimilated into the hip-hop culture (I don't mean that she shouldn't have got involved with the scene – but did she have to lose part of herself to get there?). However these are minor side issues that many people won't even think about.

The cast are good for MTV teens. Julia Stiles is cool and Thomas is cute and charming. The rest of the cast fall into so many black stereotypes – we have gangsta friend, baby mothers galore, useless baby father, jealous bitchy ex-girlfriends etc. However they are just what you expect so I wasn't too upset. Fredro Starr was cool as Malakai – even if the character was just one big hood cliché.

The soundtrack is hot and the dance scenes are sexy – I wish I could do it! They are much more enjoyable than Dirty Dancing's scenes – although some day this will feel dated too! Overall I expected another piece of MTV teen tat, but I was pleasantly surprised by a story that, despite being ridden with clichés, is actually very involving and enjoyable.