Not as good as the Japanese version

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2005)

I saw the Japanese version before this one. The Japanese one had an intro that explained why dancing, and even touching in public, is just not done. It made the movie that much more interesting. The characters are that much more interesting.
This movie, although cute and funny, was not as good as the original Japanese version. Seeing Richard Gere learn to dance with the other "two-left-feet" members of his class is pretty funny.
They do leave out an important fact in this version compared to the Japanese version and that is the main reason the dance teacher broke up with her dance partner and why Richard Gere did the right thing when he protected his dance partner.
If you can get a chance to rent "Shall we dance" in Japanese, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.