Chelson's atrocity against the Japanese

Rating: 3/10 (15 February 2005)

The central tension in the original Japanese Shall We Dance is that the main character is a dork, a nerd, a nebbish that has to overcome social taboos to pursue his passion.
Since neither apply to suave Richard Gere in the socially unfettered USA, Chelsom resorts instead to a commentary on materialism. A nice try, but a pale imitation. Without the central tension, the film is effectively castrated.
The large cast of quirky but likable characters don't quite work and come off as flat and stereotypical, the one exception is the PI's preternaturally wise assistant who gets far too few lines.
The only redeeming point of the adaptation is Susan Sarandon's performance despite the poor writing, and watching Jennifer Lopez dance. Lopez fully embraces the venerable dance of ballroom and truly invigorates it with her raw sensuality. A delight to watch.