EXCELLENT and MEANINGFUL MOVIE

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2001)

I really enjoyed this film. Sean Patrick Thomas and Julia Stiles were wonderful in this movie which combined dancing, the reality of interracial relationships, and following your dreams.
I felt the depiction of Sara moving to inner city Chicago was fairly real. She attends a high school wherein she is only one of about 10 white students. She is open-minded enough to want to make friends and finds herself being taken under Chenille's wing. She find out that Derek, a boy she has already exchanged verbal sparring with, is Chenille's brother.
Sara and Derek find that they have some things in common, mostly that they have dreams that they aren't sure they can achieve. Through their friendship, they ultimately learn that you can do, or be, whatever you want if you just put your mind to it and work hard. Sara and Derek are color-blind and fall in love based upon a deep respect and admiration for one another.
However, all is not roses. They face negativity from most of Derek's family and friends. They don't understand how Derek can be with a "white" woman, and accuse Sara of "stealing" one of the few *good* black men left. They have to make a decision. Are they in it together? Are they strong enough to work towards their goals and be in a relationship? Can they get past that everyone else thinks they should not be together?

This movie contains phat dance scenes, a phat soundtrack, laughs, tears (I cried three times), some positive moral decisions (as well as a few negative), and most of all hope.
I would recommend this movie to anyone over the age of 16.