Julia Stiles Recreated An Iconic Save The Last Dance Moment On SNL

The holiday season is upon us, so according to Saturday Night Live’s Dec. 9 Weekend Update, it’s time to start coming up with “intimate gift ideas for that special someone.” Fortunately for us, Chloe Fineman knows exactly what the “sexiest gift” is and she gave viewers a demonstration — with the help of ’90s teen queen Julia Stiles.

The off-the-wall segment started with Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che bringing Fineman out to share her ideas. Although Jost expected her to join them at the desk, she stood in front of it, ready to put on a show. And that’s exactly what she did.

“The perfect holiday gift this year is the dance that Julia Stiles does at the end of the 2001 movie Save the Last Dance,” she said. Heedless of Jost’s hesitations, she unveiled her outfit inspired by the finale scene and started doing an exaggerated version of the dance.

The Famous Dance

As Fineman explained while dancing, the 2001 teen drama centers on Sara Johnson (played by Stiles), a promising young ballerina who learns hip-hop after being forced to move to the South Side of Chicago following the loss of her mother. However, the movie’s “street ballet,” as Fineman describes it, was… a little questionable. She captured its essence enthusiastically, but the audience’s biggest cheer came when Stiles made her surprise appearance.

Stiles gamely joined Fineman on the dance floor, wearing an outfit just like the one she wore in her fictional Juilliard audition. Together, they recreated some of Stiles’ choreography from more than 22 years ago, and nostalgic fans loved it. One viewer called it “comedy gold” on X (formerly Twitter), while another wrote that they were “loving the Save the Last Dance recognition.”

Others applauded Stiles for being “in on the Save the Last Dance joke.” The playful spoof made at least one viewer realize “the plot is kind of insane the moment you think about it.” Still, Stiles and Fineman’s performance inspired people to revisit the movie.

Nostalgia, Stiles Style

The SNL cameo wasn’t Stiles’ only walk down memory lane in recent days. Earlier in the week, she attended the Mash-Up Americans Book Festival in New York City, where she reenacted the touching scene in 10 Things I Hate About You when her character, Kat, reads a poem about her love interest, Patrick (played by Heath Ledger).

Between her reading and her SNL dance scene, Stiles is keeping ’90s teen movie lovers well fed right now.