Shall We Dance?

What's that moment? Well it has something to do with Richard Gere in a tux, holding a rose and riding up an escalator to his wife's place of employment where she and the rest of her teary eyed staff are just gonna be thrilled. He's going to finally teach her to dance and well, their lives will never be the same. Ugh.

Now, before you start calling me a sourpuss cynic who probably hates movies that involve the romance of dancing, let's just clear things up—nothing could be further from the truth. This critic loses her marbles every time Alan Bates asks Anthony Quinn "teach me to dance" at the end of Zorba the Greek. And this very same critic counts Singin' in the Rain, The Bandwagon and Top Hat as some of cinema's most sublime. Hell, this critic gets kinda teary eyed when Sandy and Danny do their hot little number at the end of Grease. So the problems with Shall We Dance? have nothing to do with dancing--in fact, dancing is the only element that keeps the film afloat.

But then there's the story. Adapted from the superior (though certainly no masterpiece) 1996 Japanese film of the same name, here, Gere switches roles from the original's more pointed rebellion against Japanese conformity with a suburban bore who's life is missing that extra spice. Injecting his world with more verve, John Clark (Gere), married to his overly busy wife Beverly (Susan Sarandon), spies a beautiful dancer in the window of Miss Mitzi's Ballroom Dancing Studio. Impulsively, he jumps off the L and signs up for classes.

There he meets gorgeous, though guarded Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), an instructor who will eventually grow to like John even if his falling on his face attraction is met with cool, quizzical looks. The film's most refreshing twist is that, it's not set up to be a sexual affair (though John is certainly tempted and smitten) but rather, an affair of the new--something every person needs in their lives once they become stagnate. But it is an affair of sorts in that he conceals the recreation from his suspecting wife who hires a private detective to investigate. Yep, she wonders just what the heck her husband is doing every Wednesday at 7 PM--and we wonder just how he, an upstanding family man would be able to get away with this as long as he does.

But then, this film isn't working within any sort of logic. It's all poofy romance, dance metaphors and terrible voice over narration. There's also the wacky side-stories--must have those. Here it's the other dance students and teachers, chiefly two hapless guys and the full bodied Bobby (Lisa Ann Walter) a loudmouth. There's also Stanley Tucci as one of John's co-workers who's discovered to be a talented dancer but has been hiding it under a ridiculous wig and false teeth. Tucci is an adroit comedian with some funny moments, but his broad comedy feels out of place in the supposedly gentle story of John, Paulina and Beverly. Still, at least some color was added to the picture, otherwise we'd be stuck with the tepid, almost aggressively beige Gere and a beautiful but surprisingly uptight Lopez.

Directed by Peter Chelsom (he made the greater Funny Bones), the film has a director for hire feel with Chelsom constrained by his project. Even in this DVD release, you can feel it through his commentary where he discusses the production without much passion. And you know he had to think for a moment when Gere and company stop by a store window where Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse are dancing to the brilliant Mickey Spillane-esque "Girl Hunt Ballet in Vincent Minelli's The Band Wagon. If you're any fan of dance, right then, you'll want to pop out your DVD and put that one in. This is kind of unfair but really, why watch Gere when you've got Astaire?

The DVD:

Video:

Buena Vista presents Shall We Dance? in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen in a nice transfer highlighting the picture's grim, Chicago look coupled with the flashier segments of ballroom competition.

Sound:

The English audio comes in Dolby Digital 5.1—since music is important here, the sound does not disappoint.

Extras:

The extras are pretty standard and uninteresting. The commentary track with Chelsom is informative but uninvolved—you'll really wish he'd just admit that he wanted the cash. There's also deleted scenes (with optional director commentary) including an alternate opening which is much more colorful and fun than the picture was allowed to be. Also included on the disc is a standard "Behind the Scenes" featurette that basically has the actors discussing their roles and how tough it was to dance. The "Beginner's Ballroom" featurette proves to be the most interesting with choreographers and actors discussing their training as well as some brief mention and archival footage of the history of ballroom dancing. There's "The Music of Shall We Dance?" and a really stupid video for the song "Sway" by the Pussycat Dolls.

Final Thoughts:

Oh, God, cringe. Watch the Japanese version instead.Or rent a musical.

Read More Kim Morgan at her blog Sunset Gun