Shall We Dance ***½ (2004, Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Richard Jenkins, Bobby Cannavale, Stanley Tucci) – Classic Movie Review 1058

Richard Gere steps lively in director Peter Chelsom’s very entertaining, heart-warming 2004 remake of the 1995 Japanese movie.

Married, workaholic lawyer John Clark (Gere) enrols at a dance studio, lured there by lovely Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) looking sad out of the window. Jo-Lo’s Paulina teaches Gere’s John and his fellow novices to dance so well that they are entered into a contest. But his suspicious wife Beverly Clark (Susan Sarandon) suspects an affair and hires a private eye called Devine (Richard Jenkins) to follow him.

Exhilarating dance sequences, sparky performances and the movie’s warm heart make this a toe-tapping feel-good winner. Gere gives a nimble performance and is fleet-footed on the dance floor, Lopez dances gracefully, Jenkins is effective as the PI, Bobby Cannavale is appealing as Chic and Stanley Tucci steals the film flamboyantly in a perfectly judged turn as Gere’s mousy, bald co-worker Link, who becomes a sequinned devil on the dance floor.

Audrey Wells’s expert screenplay is based on the earlier 1995 screenplay by Masayuki Suo. Wells is also known for The Truth about Cats and Dogs (1995), George of the Jungle (1997), The Kid (2000) and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Film Review 1058 derekwinnert.com