"Shall We Dance?" fits the mold of your standard romantic comedy. It is slightly predictable, but director Peter Chelsom hits the nail on the head with the balance between romance and humor. Chelsom also assembled an all-star cast including Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon.
Gere plays John Clark, a quiet, hard-working lawyer who can't seem to find happiness in anything - his job, his family, nor any part of his life. Every night John rides the infamous L-train home from work, and every night he stares into the eyes of a mysterious woman (Lopez) who is standing at the window of a downtown Chicago dance studio.
One night John gets off the train and signs up for ballroom dance lessons. Dance starts off as a distraction in John's unhappy life, but soon becomes the obsession he has been longing for.
John keeps the dance lessons a secret from wife Beverly (Sarandon), fearing she will think he is not satisfied with their marriage. John's secret behavior, which includes preparing for a dance competition, sparks suspicion in Beverly and causes her to hire a detective service. John soon realizes that he has been dancing alone all this time, and what he really needs is a partner, one he eventually finds in his wife.
Gere, Lopez and Sarandon give wonderful performances because they each play their typical role. What makes this film stand out, though, is the accomplished supporting cast. Stanley Tucci plays Link, John's very humorous co-worker, who also enjoys dance. Also, Richard Jenkins ("Six Feet Under") and Nick Cannon ("Drumline") team up to play a pair of witty detectives.
"Shall We Dance?" fulfills all goals set out by your mainstream romantic comedy. The audience can relate to the characters, cry and laugh all at the same time.
Though some people may find it hard to imagine their own fathers getting off a train one day and signing up for dance lessons, "Shall We Dance?" is believable because the audience can relate to John. On the surface people can appear happy, thought it may be far from the truth. Viewers admire Gere's character because he does something about it.
The romance in this movie is not what you might imagine. Don't expect an "Unfaithful" type love scene between Gere and Lopez, or you'll be seriously let down. Instead, there is delicate romance between Gere and Sarandon. However, there is a fiery dance number with Gere and Lopez, which is probably one of the sexiest scenes in a movie - minus the sex of course.
Most of the humor from this movie comes from how bad of a dancer Gere is in the early stages of the film. Gere's character reminds viewers of Jennifer Grey's in "Dirty Dancing" as Baby, an inexperienced dancer in need of an irresistible teacher. In this case, Lopez plays the part of Patrick Swayze very well.
"Shall We Dance?" is an above-average mainstream romantic comedy. The cast and the dancing carry the film to heights that surpass comparable movies. "Shall We Dance?" will delight fans of the romantic comedy genre. You'll laugh and you'll cry. What more could you want out of this film?
