The Joy Luck (Dance) Club

Rating: Null/10 (18 October 2004)

SHALL WE DANCE? (2004) *** Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Anita Gillette, Lisa Ann Walter, Bobby Cannavale, Omar Benson Miller, Richard Jenkins, Nick Cannon, Mya. Pleasantly charming remake of the 1997 Japanese film of the same name with a never before better Gere (very carefree and letting down his guard), a decidedly cast-against-type, as a mild-mannered happily married family man and bored accountant in Chicago who one day impulsively gets off his commuter train to go to the beacon of a dance studio he passes each day featuring the lovely Lopez as a sad instructor who he attempts to get to know while rekindling his joy for life.
Well cast ensemble including Gillette as the owner of the studio, Cannavale and Miller as rookie dance students sharing Gere's time and Jenkins as a private eye Sarandon, Gere's beloved spouse, hires fearing the worst about the sudden change in her mate's demeanor. Tucci steals the show as a colleague of Gere's who gets in touch with his inner Ben Stiller, as a nerd with the heart of a Latin dancer and Walter gets in touch with her inner Bette Midler as a professional dancer who speaks her mind in all its brassy detail. A hoot and a holler with fine comic moments and some sweet stepping to the light fantastic. (Dir: Peter Chelsom)