Gere shines in 'Shall We Dance?'

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

SHALL WE DANCE? (PG-13) Three Stars (Good) Richard Gere stars as a lawyer who finds new spark in his stable but stale life when he discovers ballroom dancing. Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon co-star for director Peter Chelsom in this remake of a Japanese art-house hit. Miramax, 106 minutes.

That's what lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) steps into in "Shall We Dance?" an amusing Americanization of a Japanese art house hit of 1997. Fans of the effervescent original may be disappointed because it was quite the gem.

Then again, fans of subtitled, art-house Japanese films are but a tiny percentage of the potential audience for this multiplex remake. Clark is a probate lawyer who has calculated a few too many wills for his emotional well being. Riding home from his Chicago office one night, he spots a window of a dance studio from inside his elevated train. And, in that window, he sees a lovely but forlorn woman (Jennifer Lopez). He keeps thinking about her all the way home to his suburban life with his wife (Susan Sarandon).

The memory is enough to entice Clark into Miss Mitzi's Studio. True, Clark's first response is hormonal — triggered by the stunning Jennifer Lopez, who plays a dance instructor named Paulina. But, once inside, Clark gradually develops an appreciation for dancing and for the escape and joy it provides.

The modest charm of this modest film is Clark's affection for the waltz and the tango, instead of a devious, romantic attachment to his dance instructor. It might help make the film a crowd-pleaser for mainstream audiences and especially for women.

Once at Miss Mitzi's, Clark encounters a handful of eccentric characters who are a bit too obviously constructed to provide comic relief: There's Chic (Bobby Cannavale), whose anti-gay jokes aren't very successful at hiding his own true sexual identity.

Vern (Omar Benson Miller), a heavy-set fellow who dances as an exercise regimen for an upcoming wedding; Bobbie (Lisa Ann Walter), an exuberant dance contest veteran who thrusts her behind everywhere and then complains when people look at it; and Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette). She's the dance studio owner who sneaks off for a hit from her flask before every beginner's dance lesson.

Most flamboyant of all is Link Peterson, who hides his bald head and white-collar life under the longhaired wig and silk shirts of a dance-floor Romeo. He's played by Stanley Tucci, a wonderful actor who tries too hard in this role.

Still, the Clark character holds us because Gere makes us understand the frustration of a guy who simply needs a new spark to rejuvenate a good but stale life. Watching him kick up that spark on the dance floor provides the answer to shall we dance. It's yes.

Rated PG-13, with profanity, innuendo.