I work in a mall that is in walking distance to a dollar theater. I have
often taken advantage of this fact when going to the mall with my
family or friends, capping off a shopping trip with a movie. But it also
came in handy the other day when I closed up my store on New Year’s Day
with an hour or so to go before I could get a ride home. I just headed
over to the theater and bought a ticket to whatever happened to be
playing closest to my time of arrival. The movie, as it turned out, was Shall We Dance,
which my parents had just seen two days before. They had liked it, so I
had no qualms about going in. And though my friend at work urged me to
opt for Shaun of the Dead - which didn’t start for another half
an hour - I think I slept easier with this zombie-free romance bouncing
around in my head.
The film stars Richard Gere, who already proved his worthiness as a soft-shoe in Chicago,
as estate lawyer John Clark, a man vaguely dissatisfied with his life
without quite understanding why. Each night during his ride home on the
train he passes by a dance studio and sees a beautiful but
forlorn-looking woman (Jennifer Lopez) through the window. Intrigued, he
decides one day to stop and investigate, taking the first step in an
experience that will change his life.
Upon his arrival, he
learns that he will not be spending much time with Paulina, the woman he
saw from the window, during the ballroom dancing lessons she signs him
up for. Instead, he will be under the tutelage of Miss Mitzi (Anita
Gillette), a mildly frazzled older woman with years of experience. His
fellow pupils are Chic (Bobby Cannavale), a man whose grace on the dance
floor is matched by his apparent homophobia, and Vern (Omar Benson
Miller), a big teddy bear of a guy who hopes to impress his girlfriend
with his newfound skill (and the pounds he will lose because of it).
Thrown into the mix is Bobbie (Lisa Ann Walter), an abrasive wannabe
diva who spends the bulk of her time at the studio practicing for a
tournament she can’t enter without a dancing partner, and Link Peterson
(Stanley Tucci), John’s eccentric coworker who secretly does Latin
dancing by night.
While the bulk of the movie follows John’s
growing love affair with the art of ballroom dancing, the subplot
focuses on his wife Beverly’s (Susan Sarandon) concerns that he is
engaging in an affair of a different kind. His long absences and
secretive behavior, not to mention the unfortunate experience of a
coworker, lead her to hire an investigator, uber-casual Devine (Richard
Jenkins), to scope out the situation. With the help of his quote-spewing
assistant Scottie (Nick Cannon), he uncovers the not-so-adulterous
nature of her husband’s activities. But is the marital rift that has
already developed reparable?
Shall We Dance is a simple
love story that comes to a somewhat unexpected climax. While this movie
was advertised as a Gere / Lopez collaboration, her part in the film is
smaller than anticipated. In fact, Sarandon’s role is just as
important. But Lopez brings suitable depth to a character who obviously
has darkness in her past that she hasn’t been able to evict. While Gere
is the film’s focal point, and we are treated to several shining
examples of his character’s newly acquired skill, it is the supporting
cast who make the film so much fun. Tucci brings delightful zaniness to
Link, also letting the audience in on the pain the derision of his
coworkers causes him. Jenkins makes his detective crusty but lovable,
and Cannavale introduces a comical imbalance between Chic’s machismo and
obvious delight in gliding across the dance floor. My favorite
character, though, is easily Miller’s gentle Vern, which was reminiscent
of Forest Whitaker’s turn as Nate in Phenomenon. Though he may
not ever be Fred Estaire, Vern has a heart to match his girth; he’s
easily the most huggable fellow in the film.
Shall We Dance
was never on my must-see list, but I’m glad circumstances conspired for
me to watch it. It’s a sweet film that will leave you smiling.
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