Most Rewatchable Scene
The Lowenstein party, pinned to Julia Stiles dancing on the table to Hypnotize; Heath Ledger singing Can't Take My Eyes Off of You with the marching band in the stadium; Kat's poem at the end
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:47Read transcript
- The first pick is the whole Lowenstein party (Bowie Lowenstein, as transcribed), starting with the flyers thrown down the stairwell; after an objection that this selects a whole portion of the movie, the pick narrows to Julia Stiles dancing on the table to Hypnotize. — Andrew Gruttadaro
- Stiles has said in several interviews that the table dance got her the role in Save the Last Dance, which is called a backhanded compliment since she is thought to be a bad dancer there, a ballerina learning hip hop in Chicago; perhaps her dancing reflects the problems of that film's premise.
- The dance is remembered as the moment an older sister showed their mother as 'how teenagers dance'; it is a strong visual cue that would be a much-used gif today, memorable and awkward at once, with Kat drunk and hitting her head on the light fixture as a great coda.
- The second pick is Heath Ledger dancing along to Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, played as a clip. — Amanda Dobbins
- The song was learned either from this movie or from Lauryn Hill's cover released a year earlier, and only later recognized as a Frankie Valli song from the sixties; if someone says they were Heath Ledger'd, this strutting, bouncing-down-the-steps scene is the first one that comes to mind.
- The hosts are asked how they would have reacted in high school to a suitor hiring the marching band for a Frankie Valli song and dancing around the stadium: one would have loved it, another would have asked for a private conversation but thinks it would have worked if they tried it.
- At 33 the stadium serenade is a hard no and public confrontation is unwelcome, but the high school version of her would have been really charmed. — Amanda Dobbins
- The soccer team is into the serenade and clapping, so there is little embarrassment, and Kat (Cat Stafford, as transcribed) is really moved by it, which is believable; still, no flash mobs now.
- The third pick is Kat's poem at the end, which its picker often watches at a desk; the poem is played as a clip.
- Asked in what circumstances the desk viewing happens, the answer is around 3:15, a little tired and vulnerable and wanting to watch someone else be vulnerable; it is a great poem that nails the rhyme at the end, took one take with natural, improvised tears, and is a movie grand gesture.
- The Heath Ledger singing and the poem are both liked, along with Kat's antagonistic relationship with her teacher, who tells her to get out when she calls an assignment great.