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Christian critics didn't have much use for the first new releases of 2001—Save the Last Dance, Double Take, and Antitrust—but had plenty of kudos for several 2000 releases now making their way into wide release: Traffic, Thirteen Days, All the Pretty Horses, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Christian critics admired the good intentions in Save the Last Dance, a drama about a ballet student (Julia Stiles) who has trouble fitting in with the hip-hop culture when she's forced to move to the city. Movie Reporter Phil Boatwright says it "teaches valuable lessons about the evils of bigotry and about the need for selfless acts in maintaining relationships." But the lessons remain rather shallow, he says: "Older folk, however, may snicker at viewing high schoolers on Hollywood's version of the road to self-discovery." Michael Elliott of Crosswalk.com agrees the potential was wasted. "Save the Last Dance tries hard to please on a number of levels: a treatise on the social stigma attached to interracial relationships which continues to exist in our day; a contrasting study of two different cultures existing side by side; and an inspirational message that one should never give up on one's dreams. It is therefore disappointing that its story is so contrived that each level is trivialized, and the film ultimately devolves into a rather average tale of love, friendship and dance." Movieguide also feels "the story is carried out in a way that comes across as synthetic, rather than bold," partly because "situations of implied fornication, underage drinking and other elements damage the movie's moral credibility." Preview was likewise disappointed that "inner city teens spout obscenities with ease" and that "although drugs aren't glamorized, they are part of the plot and lead to a few violent acts."

The social commentary in Traffic, a multi-story exploration of America's drug crisis, won over most Christian critics despite some caveats about narrative deficiencies and gritty content. Movie Reporter Phil Boatwright says "it's brilliant! Engrossing from start to finish … the film makes powerful statements about family responsibility and the need to care about our fellow man. And while its theme and plotlines tend to unnerve, director Steven Soderbergh entertains, teaches and touches the soul." The plotlines follow a Mexican police officer (Benicio Del Toro), a U.S. judge (Michael Douglas), a DEA agent (Don Cheadle), and a drug trafficker's unsuspecting wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), whose lives are all scarred by the buying and selling of drugs. The U.S. Catholic Conference says "Soderbergh's stunning visual virtuosity and the stellar ensemble performances create a stark picture of greed, corruption and social decay where for every triumph, there is parallel setback and the battle begins again." Movieguide says " the best lesson is the realization that the so-called 'war on drugs' must be fought at home first, with parents building good, moral relationships with their children." Reviewers debated over how appropriate the objectionable content was to the theme: Focus on the Family's Steven Isaac quotes Sen. Orrin Hatch (who makes a cameo in the film) as saying 'I don't see how they could have made it without violence and still accurately portray the drug culture—and how degrading it is,' but Isaac concludes that his reason still "doesn't make it right." Preview agreed that "Despite the anti-drug message and realistic story, excessive drug use, a flood of obscenity, some severe violence and sexual content make Traffic extremely objectionable." But Hollywood Jesus guest reviewer Scott Cripps has no stones to throw: "This movie is a gritty movie to watch but it is important because it in no way glamorizes the world of drugs which so many movies seem to do. Drugs are evil and bad, and for portraying that to us and to our youth we should be grateful." Other critics had quibbles with the narrative pacing: Holly McClure of Crosswalk.com says the film is "brilliant in the way it was executed, but it's still hard to connect emotionally since the pace rarely lets you settle in long enough with any one character to care." Jeffrey Overstreet of Looking Closer was happy to find that "Stephen Gaghan's script zips right along, keeping us slightly off-balance, digging deep into information and details," but felt it eventually gets "too busy telling us the facts, too busy showing off its superstars, and thus it fails to develop enough believable and engaging characters." The Phantom Tollbooth's J. Robert Parks criticized the film for the "lack of a credible, urban, black character. … Instead, the only inner-city figure is a highly-sexualized drug dealer, whose sole narrative purpose seems to be to scare the heck out of every suburban white parent in America." But Parks says there's plenty worthwhile in the film, too, including "some of the year's best acting and directing," and an "ultimate moment of grace brought a tear to my eye."

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January (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45