Cinema Commons

Girls' Life, Feb, 2001 by Kelly White

What do all the coolest flicks coming out this season have in common? They all start with the letter S! Weird, huh?

SAVE THE LAST DANCE

Sara's whole world crashes when she has to go live with her practically-a-stranger father in Chicago's South Side after spending most of her life in small-town Illinois. Needless to say, she's slightly out of her element in the shift to urban from suburban--the new white girl in a mostly black school. Things get super sticky when Sara starts prancing with the prince of popular. Her stepping out with school stud Derek sparks a string of racial conflicts. Regardless, the two dance their way to romance. This is a film in which ballet's da bomb and hip-hop is haute.

SWEET NOVEMBER

Looking for a sappy love story to set you in the spirit of Valentine's Day? Keanu Reeves plays an uptight workaholic ad exec, and Charlize Theron is the free-spirited spitfire he meets one fateful fall day (think Dharma and Greg sans slapstick). She convinces him to spend a month with her so she can help him work through some unresolved issues--you know, personal probs. Of course, you guessed it, more than just leaves have fallen come November. These two have fallen--for each other.

SEE SPOT RUN

When James' mother needs a babysitter for the little darling, his mother gets... the mailman. Meanwhile, an undercover FBI canine jumps into the mail truck, and James names him Spot. Turns out, a mob king has a contract out on Spot--as in Spot's on the spot. But Spot's no sitting duck...um, dog...so watch him run for his life. Run, Spot, run!

SUGAR & SPICE

This silly spoof is a cross between Bring it On and Point Break. Five girls from Lincoln High School's cheerleading squad huddle together to make plans to pull off a bank heist. And because they have such Robin Hood-good intentions, you may be cheering them on. Pom-pons and savings bonds!

SPY KIDS

Seems espionage skills are passed down genetically. See, 11-year-old Carmen (played by Alexa Vega) and her little bro Juni have to go underground and incognito to rescue their parents, who were once spies, from grave danger. Don't expect the hokey-pokey pace of an after-school special. This one's chockfull of funky special effects, freaky geeky characters and high-tech fun on the run. With Antonio Banderas for a dad, it can't be bad, right?