Review of Save the Last Dance (2001) by David L — 16 Dec 2012

You could say this is a step up from the likes of the 'step up' movies as it brings in some credible storyline to the traditional get down n' dirty dance moves. It focuses on the difficulties that strike a young 17 year old teenager following the death of her mother, failure to get into ballet school, and then having to relocate to be the only white kid in her new ghetto style school.

Accepted by some, but not by others, our heroine has to fight for the right to fit in to her new surroundings whilst rediscovering her ballet talent in an arena dominated by underground hip hop beats.

Not only having to battle with her own fears and memories of the past, she also has to cope with seeing her new found friends and family suffering as they endure a life of poverty, single parenting and gang land culture.

With the help of some funky vibes playing all the way through, the entertainment remains a constant high and the highs and lows of the central characters keep the storyline gripping throughout. Admittedly this is your typical fairy tale plot so the ending is quite predictable and cheesy but it would probably be out of character with the rest of the film if it weren't.

It's a neat example of opposites attracting both in terms of races and dances, which have conjured up a memorable blend for this motion picture.