Save the Last Dance - not just about race...

Rating: Null/10 (30 March 2002)

Okay - the husband is out of town, so I get to rent chick flicks for the next couple of weeks. I enjoy dancing - so this seemed like a natural. I must say that I liked it, but not because it made a "social statement" about interracial relations. Most of the reviews on this page seem to highlight the lack of character development, the cardboard stereotyping, and the lackluster romance between the two leads. THIS IS BECAUSE THE MOVIE IS REALLY ABOUT THE FEMALE LEAD. It is about what it takes to be a performer. As a professional cellist, I was pleased that this examination of why people succeed was handled with such care. The male lead was just there to be the "angel" on the girl's shoulder. There was not a future for them, if he was going to Georgetown and she to Julliard.
The guy had already succeeded in fighting his own fight for acceptance, and was admitted to a great college. This movie was about him showing the girl that you have to quit feeling sorry for yourself and get out and take control of your own destiny! That is what performing is all about! The best scene, and the one that was most true to life, was when the two of them attend the ballet. The thing that you want to do for the rest of your life SHOULD make you feel like the girl did as she watched the dancers on stage. I was even pleased to see that beautiful modern "pas de deux" at the end of the Joffrey show, because it made a statement by showing dancing that was just as close (and clothing that is more revealing) but socially acceptable.
All of the dialogue relating to this central theme was intense, well thought out, and it is obvious that it really came from the heart of the author who penned it. I think that the true measure of this movie is that you could make the same movie using a white guy, instead of the black male lead, and the central theme would be EXACTLY the same, - the movie would still exist.
The rest of the movie (the romance, the dancing scenes, the gang stereotyping, the "evil" girl) is JUST goofy window dressing. Of course, I would have preferred that the writer be allowed to explore this theme more, and that the subplots not be corny or overdone, but, hey, what are you going to do? Enjoy this movie - I give it 6/10 stars.