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The Movie: If not without some definite flaws, "Save The Last Dance" at least is a teen movie that at least occasionally succeeds due to strong casting, while the cliches of the genre keep it going over familiar terrain instead of breaking out into something more engaging. Sara Johnson(Julia Stiles) finds herself forced to live with her father in Chicago's inner city, which is a definite change from her formerly suburban life. Sara, formerly interested in persuing a career as a ballet dancer, finds enjoyment in hip-hop and dancing with new friends like Chenille and her brother Derek(Sean Patrick Thomas, "Cruel Intentions"), who she begins to fall for. The movie tries to be a lot of things, and doesn't particularly succeed at any one issue - if anything, the unorganized nature of the movie often ends up slowing the pace up. Stiles and Thomas are very good together - I would have liked to have seen a genuine, engaging romantic comedy/drama with the two, but the film seems intent on pulling in too many subplots involving the supporting characters and taking its time to finally get things really going. Director Thomas Carter does a fair job here, which is more than I'd expected from the director of the terrible "Metro". Stiles has done quite a few movies lately, not quite "saving" them, but certainly bringing a great deal to the proceedings - enough to make films like "Down To You" and "10 Things I Hate About You" at least mildly watchable. She does the same with "Save The Last Dance", providing a mature, enjoyable performance that often impressed me. While sitting through "Save The Last Dance", I actually felt similar to how I did while watching last year's teen film "Loser". A film that had a romance between two college kids, the film threw enough obstacles and subplots in front of the characters to make for a less-than-enjoyable experience. You almost want to clear everything out and start over again with the two lead characters here, as well. As for the dancing that's featured intensely in the trailers, it's fine, but not spectacular. Stiles proved to be a good dancer in one of the more memorable scenes in "10 Things I Hate About You", and her scenes here provide a similar spark. There's films where you can walk out without much opinion because they're not good and didn't have the potential to be. I'm dissapointed in "Save The Last Dance" not because it's a bad film - it's simply an occasionally entertaining one - I'm dissapointed because it had the potential to be better than it is.
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