The original was better... still an okay chick flick...

Rating: 8/10 (18 October 2004)

Most of you already know that this movie is based on Masayuki Suo's 1996 Japanese "Shall We Dansu?". Most of the lines from the original film was used in this remake but somehow does not come across as well. The characters in the Japanese version were better developed and a lot funnier.
Richard Gere was adequate but J.Lo's performance seemed distant. Stanley Tucci's character was okay and the rest of the cast was adequate.
Still, it appeared most of the audience in my viewing enjoyed the movie but I think if they were to watch the original it would have been a lot funnier to them. Amazingly, the Japanese version is still NOT available on DVD, only VHS, especially since it won numerous awards in the Japanese "Oscars" that year. A bit of trivia, the film apparently was not eligible for any Oscar nominations for foreign film in the U.S. since it was aired on television in Japan before the Oscars. Oscars disqualify any film once it is shown on television.