SD Movie Review!

Hey kiddos, Adaham here. It's Thursday night, I have no class on Friday and my normal plans for Thursday night were canceled (the TV shows I watch were repeats). So I had to think quickly when looking for something to do tonight. People were using the washer and dryers, the Australian Open was going live for hours and I'm not going to do something productive.

I searched and searched and channel surfed until I found something, and boy did I. It was looking bleak for a while, then I came upon "Save the Last Dance," the Julia Stiles- Sean Patrick Thomas vehicle about growing up and trying to overcome the odds stacked against you to get out of your shitty neighborhood while everyone else stays behind and throws their life away, while trying to find love, in high school, with someone of a different race. As you can see, it deals with some heavy topics.

Now, you're most certainly thinking, "But Adaham, you're a man who likes to laugh. Why are you doing watching that kind of movie?"

I know. It's odd. But here's where life imitates art, as always. Next year I'm looking to move off campus, mostly because as a senior I'm not guaranteed housing on campus. After searching far and wide, it looks like I'm going to be living in a house with three fellas, all of whom are of the black-skinned variety. So before next fall, I plan to take in as much pop culture as I can about their culture, and about integrating myself into it to make a really easy transition. This was probably the best movie that I could've watched.

Basically, Julia Stiles is white. She moves to Chicago, where there are a lot of black people. They mingle, but she's so awkward and white and not down! OH NO! A black girl befriends her, teaching her da slang and taking her under he wing. But wait, this black girl in high school has a baby already? Crazy! Well, Julia Stiles falls in love with the girls brother, played Brando-like by Sean Patrick Thomas. He's also black, and waiting to get an acceptance letter (hopefully) from Georgetown, where he hopes to study to become a pediatrician. But wait a minute, he lives in a rundown neighborhood and hangs out with a bad crew, so he ends up in some crazy situations often. He's stuck between two worlds.

Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas meet and their chemistry together is so hot I had to open my window. They can't help but flirt, they're just so perfect for one another! When making plans to go a (black) night club one evening, Sean Patrick Thomas lets Julia Stiles know that this night club is going to be off the chain (not his words), and asks if she can keep up. She says she'll dance circles around him (her words).

Later at the night club, Julia Stiles is intimidated because she sticks out quite a bit... because she's white. And she's all stiff and like "Well hiya pals? This here dance party is just swell. Thanks ever so much for inviting me." And they're like "Gurl, chile, you don't belong here." And she's like yeah I do, and they're like nah. Then her two friends run off to the dance floor with some with fellas, leaving her alone, defenseless, scared and practically asking to be robbed. Well, just like the black knight in armor, Sean Patrick Thomas swoops in, reminding her of their prior agreement. "Shouldn't I be dizzy," he says, then pausing for two seconds, "because you said you'd dance circles around me." Julia Stiles doesn't want to dance, because she's white and awkward, but Sean Patrick Thomas drags her out to the floor (not literally), and she's dancing all white. Step, step, clap, head jerk, step, step, clap.

Other clubgoers watch on in horror. "What is she doing, two-stepping?" one girl from the balcony says. I'm not sure what happened after that because I was too busy cracking up. "Oh no she didn't!" I exclaimed. I ran around my room yelling and flailing my arms, then ran into the hall and yelled, "She's two-stepping ya'll!" "Oh hells nah," some guy yelled from his room. "Two-stepping?" He then burst into laughter.

When I came back, Sean Patrick Thomas was teaching Julia Stiles to dance in a classroom somewhere. Cool. Then I turned it off because I'm pretty sure this was a good start to my training. All I have to do is not two-step. Done. In no time I bet my roommates don't even realize I'm white. We'll all just three-stepping (?) together, looking like this:





Thanks "Save the Last Dance." I certainly plan on it.