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| SHALL WE DANCE? (2004) | |
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Accommodating someone else can be helpful to maintain peace, happiness, and joy in a relationship, but it can also affect the person in a relationship negatively.
Many find themselves sinking into a mundane lifestyle while being helpful toward their partner, which often is the result of meeting the partner halfway.
This routine can turn into a monotonous journey where the person in the relationship could forget personal joy in the pursuit of keeping the partner happy.
Sometimes this leads to a break up, or divorce, as the person seeks alternative ways outside the relationship to find a route back to personal happiness in life. In Shall We Dance the audience finds the estate lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) pondering existential purpose in life. Often John thinks about life and his existence, as he reflects over previous meetings with clients due to someone’s written will. This pondering often takes place on the “L”, which is the local train system within the Chicago area. Recently has John’s contemplations drifted toward happiness, which his wife Beverly (Susan Sarandon) prompted after having celebrated one of his middle age birthdays with his family. John is not unhappy, but he feels that there is something missing -- something better in life. One evening on his way home on the “L” he sees a woman standing by a window. Intrigued by the woman’s face he keeps seeking her every evening with his eyes on the way home from work. He notices that the woman stands in a dance studio and one day he musters up enough courage to visit it. John enters the dance studio gazing at the mysterious woman, who he later finds out is named Paulina (Jennifer Lopez). In the dance studio John is pushed into taking ballroom-dancing lessons through which he meets Chic (Bobby Cannavale) and Vern (Omar Benson Miller). They all have different motives to take dance lessons, but the theme is the same as they all are there because of an attractive partner. Vern is getting married and wants to impress his fiancé while Chic wants to use his skills in dancing to impress the girls. However, as they learn how to take the proper steps, they also find out that dance is something sensual, expressive, and artistic. Secretively John continues to dance as he pursues Paulina, however, Beverley is getting suspicious, as he appears more joyful. Beverly hires a private detective to find out what John is doing that is making him so happy, as she suspects that he might be having an affair. One evening when John advances on Paulina, she expresses firmly that she does not see students. Mildly hurt John decides not to go back to the studio, but against his decision he returns to the dance studio, as it actually appears to bring him joy. The story is directed by Peter Chelsom who also made Serendipity (2001) and Funny Bones (1995), but this time he is making a remake. Shall We Dance turns out to be another Japanese story, as the big production companies in Hollywood have recently decided to turn to the east for new material. This has given the audience films such as Ring (2002) and Grudge (2004). The tradition to make remake is not new in Hollywood, as Three Men and a Baby originated from France while Last Man Standing was based on Kurosawa’s story Yojimbo (1961). The question is whether the audience needs to see remakes, which might be argued from both sides of the issue. Nevertheless, Shall We Dance provides a good cinematic experience, which offers joyful tears and cheering laughter. The film gives a Western version of this story, and it still provides valuable lessons in regards to family, happiness, and self-actualization. |
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| Peter Chelsom | |
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USA |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 2/2/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
