Enough truth to make whites uncomfortable

Rating: Null/10 (22 February 2004)

I rate movies by whether or not I can remember what I just sat through and this was definitely memorable-yes, it was cliche'd but as with most cliche's if you take the trouble to shake them a little and peer under the cliche'-mat you'll find, in this case, enough truth to give pause for reflection.
Living as I do far removed from the cultural centre of this film, I found the juxtaposition of a white kid thrust into a black school a change from the opposite which seems to be a more popular play on the race scenario. Given some background in racially one sided schools I didn't feel uncomfortable with the flow of the storyline. Of course the script placed the actors in "cliche'd" story lines but there are few stories of any kind that don't. I don't think the movie suffered by doing this any more than Staying Alive did for the white disco subculture of the Seventies.
Save the Last Dance gave me an opportunity to peek, however furtively, into a social milieu of contemporary culture that would, in it's absence, be closed to me.
I loved the film and I respected the film and recommend it to anybody looking for a peek into another culture.