Shall We Dance? Blu-ray Review (2008)

This remake of Masayauki Suo’s 1996 Japanese romantic comedy of the same name is essentially the same movie charged with an American sensibility.

In this case, that means more drama, more gloss, less grace, less sophistication. It’s a small movie that’s been supersized, but not in a bad way.

Richard Gere is John Clark, a disenfranchised Chicago lawyer unhappy with life’s daily grind and the fact that his wife (Susan Sarandon) is too busy to spend time with him. It’s then that he discovers the joy of dance via Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette, excellent) and her dance studio.

What he finds there is twofold--the beautiful Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), who’s as cold as a Chicago winter, and his dancing destiny.

A groundswell of schmaltz with no surprises unfolds, but this well-acted, crowdpleasing movie doesn’t fail. It isn’t as rich as the original and the ending slumps into a sleigh of suburban whining, but the dancing has chops, as does the excellent supporting cast.

Read the full, unedited review here.

Rated PG-13. Grade: B