53
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago TribuneMark CaroChicago TribuneMark CaroSure, you've seen some of these moves before, but Save the Last Dance triumphantly passes the audition.
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThis 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.
- 63Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrThe most traditional of Hollywood romances, in that it's resolutely about nice people with nice problems.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaWhile it flirts with "After School Special"-ness, at least has the courage to address racial and cultural cliches with a degree of honesty.
- 60Dallas ObserverBill GalloDallas ObserverBill GalloThis 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.
- 60L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyIt's pretty good, really.
- 50SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorFor 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.
- 50Village VoiceJessica WinterVillage VoiceJessica WinterThe disjointed plotting and afterschool-special dialogue offer scant opportunity for the charismatic leading duo to work up much chemistry.
- 50USA TodaySusan WloszczynaUSA TodaySusan WloszczynaThomas' 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.
- 50VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerGrounded in bedrock formula and earnestness.