Saturday Night Premiere: Shall We Dance?

Saturday, September 17, 2005

This week’s Saturday night premiere comes to us from the Starz network in the form of the movie, Shall we Dance? The film stars Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon. The film is a remake of a 1996 Japanese film, and it tells the story of man, John Clark, using ballroom dancing lessons in order to help him deal with his mid-life crisis. While he is dancing away, his wife thinks he is cheating on her, and she ends up hiring a private investigator in order to find out if this is the case.

It isn’t however. While developing a bond with one of the dancers, the only thing he does with his female partners is dance. The reason why he chose this manner to deal with his mid-life crisis? He was drawn to Paulina after seeing her in a dance studio window while passing by on the train one night. The movie then follows his months of dancing as he prepares to enter a dance competition. All kept hidden from his wife.

Shall we dance left me seriously wanting more. I’m a fan of Richard Gere’s work, and he has always impressed me before with his performances. He did well here, but the movie fell apart around him. It did nothing to keep my interest whatsoever. I found myself doing other things instead of watching, and I didn’t even remember some of the character’s names without looking it up.

The premise of the film was also lacking for me. Knowing that this is a remake of a foreign film does excuse that just a tad, but still there could have been something done to spice this film up. The worst thing John Clark does is not tell his wife of his new hobby. Most American women these days would laugh and go, “Oh is that all?” Yes, the character lied, but the lie isn’t something insurmountable or unforgivable. He took some dance lessons for God’s sake!

I know of worse ways a man could try to deal with a mid-life crisis - an affair being one of them. Even if there were a few moments of sexual tension between John and Paulina, it was clear nothing would happen between these two individuals. He did love his wife, and by the end of the film the couple is back on track.

I definitely think this film was lacking. It may have tried to be successful as a remake of from what I hear is a wonderful Japanese film it failed. The answer to question of shall we dance here is no we shall not.

If you would still like to check this movie out for yourself check the following retailers: J & R, Amazon or rent through Netflix.com.