Shall We Dance? [DVD] [2004]

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Product Description ------------------- Romantic comedy starring Richard Gere as John Clark, a man with a wonderful job, a charming wife (Susan Sarandon) and a loving family, who nevertheless feels that something is missing as he makes his way every day through the city. Each evening on his commute, John sees an entrancing young teacher (Jennifer Lopez) staring with a lost expression through the window of a dance studio. Haunted by her gaze, John impulsively jumps off the train one night and signs up for dance lessons hoping to meet her. At first, it seems like a mistake. His teacher turns out to be not Paulina (Lopez), but the older Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette), and John proves just as clumsy as his equally clueless classmates on the dance-floor. Even worse, when he does meet Paulina, she icily tells John she hopes he has come to the studio to seriously study dance and not to look for a date. But, as his lessons continue, John discovers that his attraction to Paulina pales in comparison to the invigorating effects of falling in love with dancing. Now, keeping his new obsession from family and co-workers, John feverishly trains for Chicago's biggest dance competition. His friendship with Paulina blossoms, as his enthusiasm rekindles her own lost passion for dance. But the more time John spends away from home, the more his wife becomes suspicious until she hires a private detective to uncover a possible affair. With his secret about to be revealed, John will have to do some fancy footwork to keep his dream going and realise what it is he really yearns for. .co.uk Review ------------- Something got lost in translation from 1996's critically accled Japanese comedy, but the American remake of Shall We Dance? is not without charms of its own. In being transed from Tokyo to Chicago, the original version's subtle humor is shaken out of its cultural context, but this is an otherwise faithful adaptation in which a weary lawyer (Richard Gere) battles his mid-life crisis with ballroom dancing lessons, while his wife (Susan Sarandon) hires a private detective to see if he's cheating. Those expecting a Jennifer Lopez showcase will be disappointed; her role as the melancholy dance instructor keeps the beautifully lovelorn J-Lo on the sidelines, while a cast of standard-issue supporting characters (especially Stanley Tucci's clandestine faux-Latin dance lover) provide a generous dose of Hollywood-ized comic . All of this gives Shall We Dance? a polished sheen of mainstream entertainment that many viewers---and especially ballroom dancers--will find delightfully irresistible. --Jeff Shannon, .com