SHALL WE DANCE (2004) … 3.2***

The film is set In Chicago where the workaholic lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) is feeling bored with his routine life, limited to work and staying at home with his wife Beverly Clark (Susan Sarandon) and his teenage son and daughter. One night, while traveling home by train, he sees the beautiful face of Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) in the balcony of a dance school, and a couple of days later, he decides to visit the school and start taking dancing classes … Ballroom Dancing… which continues every Wednesday night after work. He’s shy about it so he doesn’t to tell his family his "little secret” . His wife Susan Sarandon becomes suspicious because he’s out so much and….. he seems happier. Let me pause here and interject that It probably helps if you’re over 40 years old to understand the yearning of the main character (Gere) who really has no reason NOT to be happy in his life, yet he cannot help but feel like he’s missing "something".


"Shall We Dance?" is an excellent movie about a recently neglected but otherwise beautiful pastime activity… Ballroom Dancing.. This is a feel good infectiously fun movie for those who like romantic comedies and especially dancing along with a charming story of a shy but kind-hearted middle-aged man who finds happiness in the joy of dance and opens others' hearts as well with enthusiasm.. Every year, there are dozens of films made that try so hard to reach a little deeper, to hold on a little tighter, and to leave us breathless. Every year there’s only one good one or (most often) none at all. This film was the exception. From the opening moment of getting to know this main character, we get the instant feel that is portrayed throughout the entire film…. a feeling of real life… of discovering the joy of a new found hobby. . This movie is excellent simply because it is so believable, and so filled with joy and love. It grabs you from start to finish and never lets you go. It is a story about real life, and the beauty that it holds. It is a sensible and decent story that provides a look into what our lives could and should really become.

This is the story of a man searching for a meaning throughout the film, only to realize that his meaning has been right in front of his eyes the whole time. An ensemble film at heart, this is one of the best and hardest working casts I've seen in years. AND THEY DO THEIR OWN DANCING… they practiced for 3 months before filming started. Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, and Jennifer Lopez all turn in fantastic lead performances.. It's the supporting cast that really makes the movie, though, Stanley Tucci and Lisa Ann Walter stick out in particular as two dancers made for each other.

Yes, it's a story about life as we all can live it. As Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez dance wonderfully and so gracefully in the dark studio alone at night, you worry, for a split second, that the film will slip into the old and used form of movies- but it stays better. Because life is not a fairy tale and it's not a passionate romance, we learn to appreciate what we already have around us, we can, in essence, find the fairy tale in our own lives. And that's what makes this movie so great. It teaches us to appreciate and love the beauty of our own lives, and it's a lesson we can all learn.