Save the Last Dance
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: January 12, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Sure, you've seen some of these moves before, but Save the Last Dance triumphantly passes the audition. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Above all, this is a movie where the characters ask the same questions we do: They're as smart about themselves as we are. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This is a spirited, dirty dance between the polished inauthenticity of Hollywood romance-musicals and hip-hop's central tenet: keeping it real. It's an intriguing combination, if nothing else. Read full review
70
Film.comGemma Files
Breaks virtually no new narrative ground, yet treads the familiar territory it does cover with grace, style, wit and fun. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
The story comes full circle in a way that might seem overly schematic did it not have the courage to wear its heart on its sleeve without losing its head. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The most traditional of Hollywood romances, in that it's resolutely about nice people with nice problems. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
While it flirts with "After School Special"-ness, at least has the courage to address racial and cultural cliches with a degree of honesty. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldSara Wildberger
All in all it's a decent, well-put-together romantic drama to hold hands to on the weekend. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
This sweet-tempered retelling of "Romeo and Juliet," which substitutes uplift for tragedy, gives off enough energy and light that the audience wants to believe in it even if society's impacted prejudices continue to say otherwise. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
It's pretty good, really. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Carter can't sidestep the script's cliches, so he wisely cuts to the fancy footwork whenever possible. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Bland but poised. Read full review
50
Washington PostRita Kempley
Takes its cues from the musical dramas of the '70s, but this otherwise engaging young-adult romance never quite catches Saturday night fever. Read full review
50
SalonCharles Taylor
For all its dumb clichés it offers the basic appeal of teen movies: the pleasure of watching kids be kids, acting as they do among themselves instead of how parents and teachers expect them to act. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
The disjointed plotting and afterschool-special dialogue offer scant opportunity for the charismatic leading duo to work up much chemistry. Read full review
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Thomas' easygoing warmth helps to melt Stiles' icy veneer, and one of Dance's few pleasures is an extended musical segment where she tries to ape his homeboy posturings. Read full review
50
VarietyRobert Koehler
Grounded in bedrock formula and earnestness. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
This teenage interracial romance runs hot and cold, sweet and silly, with many more fits than starts.
50
San Francisco ChronicleWesley Morris
The result is more like an epic "After School Special" -- preachy, runny and oddly warm. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
An utterly formulaic, teen-oriented romance whose greatest asset is charming leads Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
It's about as routine a movie as they come, but it features plenty of endorphin-releasing hip-hop choreography as Derek teaches Sara to get jiggy with it. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This wan, formulaic teen movie from ''Metro'' director Thomas Carter is afraid to pump up the volume on its own interracial, hip hop Romeo and Juliet story, lest it challenge even one sedated viewer or disturb the peace. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Filled with too many issues -- along with young motherhood, street gangs, city life, sex, peer pressure, grief and, oh yes, dancing, which is nearly lost in so many poorly written subplots. Read full review
38
New York PostLou Lumenick
Recycles every cliché of the genre to sleep-inducing effect. Read full review
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