Powerful

I'll tell you why so serious

Expected more

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Shall We Dance? (2004): Dir: Peter Chelsom / Cast: Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins: Romantic comedy about invitation or risk. Richard Gere is bored with his routine life and marriage. He arrives home by subway but always gazes upward towards the dance studio where Jennifer Lopez stands motionless. He secretly enrolls in ballroom dancing thus giving him fulfillment but his wife suspects foul play and hires an investigator. While repetitious the setup is catchy and the ending is rewarding. Director Peter Chelsom does a fine job at examining ballroom dancing within the relationship established but Jennifer Lopez is disappointing in a stiff performance. She begins the film as an image observed in a window with a blank gaze on her face. From there it is pretty straightforward for her. Gere has fun as a guy stepping into a hidden passion that will ultimately prove rewarding. Susan Sarandon is well cast as his suspicious wife who is speechless to the sudden new behavior from her husband. Stanley Tucci steals scenes as Gere's boss who secretly dances donning a wig. That of course, gives way to lame homosexual stereotypes but Tucci wings it. Richard Jenkins plays a private investigator hired by Sarandon, who will be flustered at the facts he unearths. Celebration of dancing and its inner circle relationships result in a charming film. Score: 8 ½ / 10

John Clark (Richard Gere) lives a life of quiet desperation. Coming home on the commuter train, he sees beautiful Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) in the window of a dance studio. He gets off the train to take dancing lessons. His teacher turns out to be the older Miss Mitzi, and he falls in love with the dancing. His wife Beverly (Susan Sarandon) gets suspicious and hires Devine (Richard Jenkins) to investigate.Richard Gere is too suave for the role. I think he should be a meek office drone. He should at least be somebody more adept at comedy. Stanley Tucci is insanely hilarious as one of the students. That's the tone that the movie needs more of. I love that Hollywood didn't try to force Gere and Lopez into a romance. As it stands, it's a light charming little movie with big star names.

Wanting to get more out of life, Richard Gere, estate attorney, signs up for dance lessons. Of course, wife Susan Sarandon, believes he is having an affair and hires a detective to pursue this situation.This is basically a feel-good movie that depicts when life becomes tedious, you have to set your sights on something new. At the ballroom, Gere meets up with some unusual, but very interesting people as he becomes quite an accomplished dance.His dancing gives new meaning to his life and when Sarandon finally finds out what he is doing, all are relieved.Jennifer Lopez, as one of the dance instructors, is a very interesting character, with a story of her own. Her teaching to Gere gives her a new meaning to life and she allows herself to set her goals and reach for beyond.

"Shall We Dance" succeeds because it avoids predictability and goes in a direction you don't expect. Richard Gere is John Clark, a lawyer who leads a safe life. His wife, Beverly, played by Susan Sarandon, calls most of the shots in their marriage, and the people in the office where he works pick on people who do not conform to the norm. Each night as John Clark commutes home on the train, he notices a woman sitting in the window of a dance studio. One night when she isn't there, he gets off the train to investigate. He enters Miss Mitzi's dance studio, and almost despite himself, enrols for lessons.Miss Mitzi's is a rather run-down establishment, and not as funky as the popular studio downtown. However, from the start John becomes involved in the lives of the other students and the teachers. Everyone at the studio is pursuing a dream of one kind or another. This is true of Jennifer Lopez's character Paulina, the overly serious dance instructor. Although Gere's character was initially drawn to the dance academy because of her presence in the window, there is no romance between them. "I prefer not to socialise with students, she tells him, I take dance very seriously and if I was your goal, you have wasted your time". However, she isn't, he loves his wife and he has another agenda altogether. John's wife, Beverly, suspects he is having an affair and hires a private detective.The detective quickly discovers that John is not having an affair and forces Beverly to accept that he is trying to find some hidden aspect of himself. The movie does not dwell on this element for long; the real themes of the film are discovery and fulfilment. Eventually, John goes to the department store where Beverly works and takes her away in a scene that is reminiscent of the ending of an "Officer and a Gentleman".Although the overly quirky Stanley Tucci as Link threatens to overbalance the story, his character becomes more rounded as the story unfolds, providing some uplifting moments when he conquers personal fears.Music is an important element in the movie and although it features recognisable standards such as "Moon River", "Sway" and "Book of Love", they have been given a contemporary twist.Jennifer Lopez's character, Paulina, lives only to dance, but has been rejected by her lover and dancing partner. She is attractive enough to catch the attention of men, but is aloof and lost in her own world. J.Lo fits the role perfectly with a low-key performance that also allows her to display her genuine dancing skills.At first it is a little hard to accept Richard Gere playing a somewhat repressed man. Although he is a lawyer, he is not dominant at work or at home. However, this is probably his best performance since "Pretty Woman", but very different. "Shall We Dance" is an engaging movie, and the two powerhouse stars play against type, making their performances all that more effective.