I'm not really the target audience of Save the Last Dance, which is aimed more at teenagers, but I liked it a lot. It is not without flaws, but I liked it because it believes in its characters and treats its audience with respect.

It's one of those movies that can be sappy if done wrong and rewarding if done right: two characters, as different as they could possibly be from each other, discover that they have a lot to give each other and grow to be good friends. They face adversity from the world around them, because none of their friends want them to cross the unspoken social lines that even the most open minded of us often unthinkingly cling to. I like the message of this movie. It's more than one of tolerance; it's one of brotherly love and good will.

Not that the delivery of a message is this movie's primary purpose. First and foremost, it seeks to tell a good story about characters we hopefully care about. I did. I enjoyed, too, the chemistry between them. I liked the gentle humor, and I liked the dance sequences. This is not a great movie, and it's far from perfect, but it finds just the right lighthearted, heartwarming note and sustains it to the end. That's something to treasure.