Good acting, great music and greater dancing!

Rating: 7/10 (11 April 2005)

My wife and I really enjoyed "Shall We Dance". I appreciated that Richard Gere's and Susan Sarandon's marriage was portrayed as realistically as possible given the plot circumstances. She wasn't a movie-style shrewish wife and he wasn't a sarcastic, smart-aleck husband. Jennifer Lopez acted surprisingly well. Not only is she gorgeous, but her dancing was excellent. (I was shocked to learn that she had never ballroom danced before filming "Dance"). As I am a Black man from Chicago (and the movie is set there), I appreciated that there were two likable, African-American characters in the movie. Nick Cannon (who was great in "Drumline") had a small, but smart and well-written role. Addressing the comedic side of "Dance", Stanley Tucci was very funny! I think it took a lot of guts to play his "two" characters. Aside from one major F-word (from Tucci) my wife and I liked that there was very little profanity in "Dance". People do actually talk without cursing every sentence. Also, since Gere's character truly loves his wife, I REALLY liked how Gere's late-night dance scene with Lopez concluded. I enjoyed "Shall We Dance" more than I thought I would. And if you like good acting and great dancing, you'll enjoy this movie too. [7 out of 10]