Movie Review – Shall We Dance (2004)
Principal Cast : Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Lisa Ann Walter, Stanley Tucci, Anita Gillette, Bobby Cannavale, Omar Miller, Tamara Hope, Stark Sands, Richard Jenkins, Nick Cannon, Karina Smirnoff, Mya Harrison, Ja Rule.
Synopsis: A romantic comedy where a bored, overworked Estate Lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
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Sentimentalist claptrap masquerading as a ballroom dancing movie, 2004’s Shall We Dance is sugary sweet nonsense led by a charming but unbelievable Richard Gere, a sultry Jennifer Lopez at the absolute peak of her cinematic powers, with Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and Richard Jenkins forming parts of the ensemble cast. Mixing the tropes of the dance competition movies genre – yes, we all know who will win in the end – and the gentle comedic style of Richard Gere’s Pretty Woman-esque obliviousness in full force again, Shall We Dance hobknobs its way into your hearts with a buzzy soundtrack, some very iffy central motivations and some risible character arcs, all of which coalesce into the wholesomely tepid romantic comedy best described as “watchable”. Gere plays an overworked lawyer type who, after passing by a local dance studio, signs up for lessons in order to bring some spark to his life – naturally, his wife (played by Sarandon) thinks he’s having an affair and sets a private investigator (played by Richard Jenkins) onto the matter, only to be shocked when she learns he not only has learned to dance ballroom quite well, but inexplicably refuses to hit on his stunningly hot instructor, played by megastar Jennifer Lopez.
Based on the 1996 Japanese film of the same name, Shall We Dance parlays its gorgeous cast into a emotionally strident yet intellectually vacant dramatic comedy in which apparently nobody is attracted to Richard Gere, something so totally impossible it ruins the whole thing. Gere sleepwalks through the whole thing, although his usual schtick is to look utterly bored by every role he ever takes on so who knows if he’s actually trying or not. Supporting turns by Bobby Cannavale and Omar Miller as his fellow dance class students, Stanley Tucci as one of Gere’s work associates who tries to be a serious contender in the ballroom scene despite a distinct lack of deportment, and Lisa Ann Walter as the loudmouthed but lovable Bobbie, enable the film’s warmly inviting comedic sensibility to shine as strongly as it can, but the writing on this one lacks a special electricity to make it all believable. I mean, if Gere’s John Clark really took on Ballroom Dancing he’s snap a kneecap for sure, at his age. Okay, I’m being overly sarcastic, but the believability factor and lack of authenticity to much of what transpires undercuts any chance the film has to be received in a similar fashion to, say, The Full Monty or Strictly Ballroom. This is mawkish sentimentality of the highest Hollywood standard, and if it’s the Hallmark-style romantic clichés you’re after then boy, does Shall We Dance hit all the marks along the way.
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