Save the Last Dance

I was never a big fan of Julia Stiles, but after this movie it showed me a different side of her. “Save the Last Dance” is more than a love story but how two people of different cultures can have a relationship despite any controversy. Stiles plays a high school student named Sara Johnson who has to move in with her estranged father Roy (Terry Kinney) after losing her mother in a horrific car accident. Sara’s aspiration was to be a prima ballerina except she gave up her dreams of going to the Juilliard School as soon as her mother passed away. Once Sara arrived to Chicago’s South Side, she enrolled in a predominantly black high school where she befriended a girl named Chenille (Kerry Washington) and showed a love interest in her intelligent younger brother Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas). Eventually Sara and Derek grew closer together and had to face the issue of racism. Some people are still ignorant to the fact that two people from different cultures can have a relationship. Sara had confrontation with Derek’s African-American ex-girlfriend Nikki (Bianca Lawson) about their relationship. Another incident was while Sara and Derek were on the train traveling to a ballet; a white woman was staring in their direction, giving them a look of disgust. Even though it seemed the whole world was against them, including Chenille at one point, this didn’t stop them from seeing one another. At times it was rough and Sara felt “they spent more time defending their relationship than actually having one” but they overcame their obstacles and saw the beauty in one another. Writers Duane Adler and Cheryl Edwards did not develop stereotypical main characters. Derek wasn’t into gangs, guns and violence but rather into books (aspiring to be a doctor) and dancing. Sara wasn’t the typical Caucasian who dated jocks but liked men of a different culture. The movie isn’t much of a love story but how they were able to overcome the issue of racism and negative comments made by others. Teenagers as well as adults can appreciate the message within “Save the Last Dance.”

Written by: Stephanie DeLuca

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