We marry because"We all need a witness to our lives"? Yuk...

Rating: 6/10 (11 April 2009)

Come off it!That is exactly the sort of psychobabble that gives wealthy middle class American women like Mrs Clark(Miss S.Sarandon) a bad name. In "Shall we dance?" she utters it straight-faced and with every appearance of deadly earnestness.No one in the movie questions this statement so we are left with the impression that the producers actually believe it and that Mr Clark (Mr R.Gere) not only needs Miss Sarandon to witness his life but also Miss J.Lopez to witness it as well and to hope that Miss Sarandon doesn't witness Miss Lopez witnessing Mr Gere's life........I could go on but life(witnessed or no)is too short....... So,apart from some cringe-worthy dialogue,what does "Shall we dance?" have to offer?Perhaps surprisingly,quite a lot.Mr Gere exhudes charm as the lawyer slightly bored with the apparent perfection of his life.Spotting the winsome Miss Lopez on a balcony from the passing El,this aspirant Romeo leaves the train and joins her Dancing Class with a motive that is not Strictly Ballroom.She rebuffs him and he settles for learning to dance instead. Later,warming to him,she is all dilated nostrils,half - closed eyes and heavy of breath whenever he is within ten feet,but it is too late by then;she has had her chance and lost it. Mr Gere's fellow students are a righteous mixture of race and gender so everybody in the audience except perhaps the odd Eskimo (sorry,Innuit) can feel comfortable. But it's easy to be hypercritical,and the raison d'etre for "Shall we dance?" is the wonderful music and the dancing that is made to seem accessible to even the least likely tyros. This is a movie awash with great tunes even though Mr Gere is shown to be sufficiently down with the kids to enjoy a sanitised Rap performer with his son and the son's girlfriend.And if it isn't really him dancing with such elan and grace,well,I don't have to believe it if I don't want to. Because of Mr Gere's charm I can forgive the crass dialogue,I can forgive Miss Lopez's inadequacies,I can even forgive Mr Tucci for wearing a wig.Such forgiveness brings with it a heavy burden for his slim shoulders,but he bears it well. He is also carrying,like a torch,the hopes of many middle-aged men,wrinkly of skin and droopy of butt,that experience and wisdom can triumph over energy and youth.Ah,keep on dreaming lads...........