I went to see ’’Save The Last Dance’’ opening night. I was pleasantly surprised by the characters and their situations.
Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles)is a very cool person. I think that Julia Stiles was a perfect pick for this character. What I’m about to say may sound wrong or something, but I don’t care. But, here it goes. Usually, white characters in mostly black films are portrayed (and written) as very un-hip, ultra proper, extremely smart. Or, they’re deep into hip hop and have no white friends. What I like about Sara is that she’s not either stereotype. She’s just a girl who happened to have been brought up in a predominately white school system.
Derek Reynolds (Sean Patrick Thomas)isn’t the mold that movies and television show of inner city black guys. He’s smart, but also street smart. He’s cool. He’s popular. But, he doesn’t play sports (there was a small basketball scene), which is what movies seem to think that’s all black guys can do (’’Finding Forrester’’ anyone. Although I haven’t seen that one yet, I do know that the black guy plays basketball.). But, he’s going to go to college for actually being smart. The acting from Sean (you might remember him from ’’Cruel Intentions’’. Another movie that he was with a white girl and he wasn’t portrayed as the typical black sports playing guy. Be careful Sean, you might get typecast ;)), was adequate. But, the chemistry was so great. You can tell they had fun and deeply respect each other. You almost wish they weren’t acting and were actually in love.
Chenille Reynolds (Keri Washington) is Derek’s sister. I don’t understand if she was older or younger than Derek. Even though he was waiting on an acceptance letter, she would act like an older sister. Or, hmmm, maybe they were twins. I don’t know. But, Chenille was pretty cool. She was a teen mother who was raising her son without too much help from the father. I read another review on here that asked since she was so in need from the child’s father, why was she always out at Stepps instead of at home with her child. Good question. Don’t know the answer though.
Malakai (Fredro Starr) was a very tough guy. I didn’t like him. At first, I thought I might learn to love him, that he might change. But, no dice. To me, he cherished the friendship with Derek, but also resented Derek. He resented him because Derek was able to rise above the expectations of the inner city. Fredro Starr is fast becoming an actor instead of a rapper. I wish he was in another role one day.
Nikki (Bianca Lawson)was Derek’s ex. Bianca played this part very well. It shows that she can act. Remember her from Saved By The Bell: The New Class (she played Meagan). But, her character was very snotty. I don’t understand why Derek was ever with her in the first place. Maybe because she was pretty. Her attitude and personality was ugly though.
All in all, I really enjoyed the movie. It’s not going to win any awards, but good entertainment.