Julia Stiles hits another homerun with her latest release, Save the Last Dance. Frankly, there aren't many teen movies that don't insult one's intelligence. Often, they're either preachy or total fluff. Save the last Dance is one of the exceptions. Its main characters aren't "dumb kids" as we"re all too used to seeing; they are quite the opposite. This film is smart, real, serious and a lot of fun at the same time. Most importantly, it shows a strong and intelligent man and woman, a believable romance, and it has characters who are able to change and grow.

             As the film opens, 17-year-old Sara is moving from a white suburb to multicultural Chicago, where she'll live with her estranged father Roy (Terry Kinney). Her mother recently died in a car-accident as she rushed to see her daughter audition for Juilliard. When she didn't see her mother in the audience, she got confused, frustrated, and lost her confidence. Sara is now guilt-ridden, and blames herself for the death of her mother. Her future must look scary to her. How is she going to deal with life in a strange city with a father she doesn't know and a new school environment?.

             Don't expect Sara to be a crying mess. Her grief isn't expressed in a lot of weeping. She's a little depressed, has her guard up, and keeps tabs on her surroundings. This serves her well and she keeps her cool. In her new school she is one of very few Caucasian people. In her first English class she meets Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), and they debate the reading habits of "society".

             Sara befriends Chenille (Kerry Washington), who turns out to be Derek's sister. Chenille invites her to the hip-hop club "Steppes" where Derek dares Sara to dance -- talk about a fish out of water. Sara tries. She has rhythm, but not the moves to go with it. Derek offers to teach her and soon she can dance without being laughed at. .

             There are fewer dance scenes that one might expect and they aren't done very successfully.