A movie about ballroom dancing starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere should not be this good.
Make no mistake-\Shall We Dance?"" will not solidify Richard Gere as some sort of 21st century Fred Astaire. Nor will it rejuvenate Jennifer Lopez's film career-the fact is, her success depends far more on public perception of the entire ""Bennifer"" saga than it does on her acting (the definition of mediocre). But all in all, despite a bevy of reasons that will drive hetero-males to deride the film as nothing more than a bad chick flick, ""Shall We Dance?"" hits all the necessary notes to be considered a solid date film.
The film is a remake of a 1996 Japanese film by the same name, which had incredible box-office results both in Japan and as a small foreign film in the United States. The plot is fairly straight forward; Gere plays lawyer John Clark, an older man worn down by his years working on his clients' wills. In his clients he can see a quiet dissatisfaction when they're faced with finishing a will-a disappointment that their lives are so easily summed up. This dissatisfaction is creeping into his own life, and when he spots young Paulina (Lopez) at the window of Miss Mitzi's Dance Studio, Clark hops off the train and impulsively signs up for beginner's dance lessons.
The ballroom dance part of the film progresses quite conventionally from there, following the tried and true plotline of sports films: Beginner learns the ropes, a large contest looms, beginner makes amazing progress towards the big day. The film's secondary characters are composites, lacking in much depth or complexity. Surprisingly, Clark and his wife Beverly (Susan Sarandon) are the focus of this film, despite J.Lo being portrayed as an integral character.
Ultimately, the film works by avoiding the pitfalls that most viewers will anticipate. The relationship between Paulina and Clark never moves into the romantic; although Clark may have sought out the dance school because of an attraction to Paulina, the film turns Paula and Clark into inspirations for one another. They find excitement in each other and in dance, but ultimately this excitement rejuvenates Clark's marriage, instead of destroying it like one would expect. Given Jennifer Lopez's mediocre acting skills, the film restricts her to what she does well - dancing. Most of the real depth is within the Clark family, as the film explores why John has kept dancing a secret and how that will impact his wife.
Stanley Tucci as the wannabe Latin dancer Link is hilarious, and Omar Benson Miller garners a few smiles as the overweight Vern. The most caricatured character is Bonnie ""The Bonninator,"" played by Lisa Ann Walter. She plays the overweight, blond, and hyper-aggressive routine to the hilt, and while it gets some laughs, it does wear on the viewer after awhile. On the whole, ""Shall We Dance?"" is a little light as a comedy, but the humorous moments are incredibly funny. At one point, Link and John are practicing a step in the law office bathrooms and a colleague walks in. Link collapses into John's arms and John screams at the colleague to dial 911-the moment seems improvised and is absolutely hilarious.
Director Peter Chelsom has not crafted a landmark film by any means. The cinematography and sets look fine enough, and Gere manages to carry the movie fairly well. However, the plot's direction is what makes the film. As a sweet and realistic look at a man dissatisfied with his average life, ""Shall We Dance?"" avoids the ridiculous hooking-up arcs and instead makes for a surprisingly decent date movie.
