Does it stand the test of time?
Does Save the Last Dance have the saddest opening in teen movie history?
The first few minutes are pretty depressing, especially for a teen movie.
In the opening scenes, we see Sara taking the train to live with her dad in Chicago.
This sounds harsh, but hear us out.
Juilliard is one of thetop schoolsfor the arts.
Students who are accepted to the institution are at the top of their game.
The school’s famous alumni includeViola Davis, Nina Simone,Robin Williams, andYo-Yo Ma.
The dance program is incredibly competitive, acceptingonly 24 studentseach year.
How will she manage performances if someone isn’t there to hold her hand?
Fresh foodshave a lot more nutritional valuethan frozen foods.
This is especially important since Sara is a teenagerwhose brain is still developing.
Why isn’t Save the Last Dance’s Sara in therapy?
Sara has been through some pretty traumatic experiences, as evidenced early on inSave the Last Dance.
She lost her dream of going to Juilliard.
Her mother died, and she feels like it’s her fault.
Just one of those huge life changes would be enough to significantly stress out a person.
So why isn’t Sarain therapy?
At the very least, Sara should be in grief counseling to cope with her mom’s death.
What’s with the school’s racial segregation in Save the Last Dance?
InSave the Last Dance, the school Sara attends in Chicago is primarily black.
Instead, it seems that white kids more or less stick to themselves.
Sara protests that the young woman is fat and ugly which is a pretty gross judgement call.
This is a really good way to get an ear infection.
Fans ofSave the Last Dance, take note.
The stereotypes are so strong throughoutSave the Last Dancethat criticspanned the outdated clicheswhen the movie was released.
Why can’t Sara dance to hip hop in Save the Last Dance?
And things get weird the first time Sara goes to STEPPS.
As she hits the dance floor, she clearly has trouble dancing to hip hop music.
Were interracial relationships really this taboo in the 2000s?
“We spend more time defending our relationship than actually having one,“Sara tells Derek.
Absolutely no one in the film is rooting for this couple.
All the hate would have made more sense if the film took place in 1961 instead of 2001.
How does Sara get an audition spot in Save the Last Dance?
How are Save the Last Dance’s Sara and Derek going to manage a long distance relationship?
To top it off, they’re both super young and are about to head off to different colleges.
Sorry, Sara and Derek, but this relationship seems doomed.
Why doesn’t anyone else get a happy ending in Save the Last Dance?
ThroughoutSave the Last Dance, we get pretty attached to two of the supporting characters, Malakai and Chenille.
Given his persistent unwillingness to turn his life around, it’s likely that he will never graduate.
Chenille’s future looks like it will be tough, too, as she’sa single teen mom.
It would have been nice if we could see her storyline end on a more optimistic note.
Unfortunately, it seems that only Sara and Derek get happy endings as they merrilydance off into the credits.
