We spent a weekend with friends recently who are big Richard Gere fans. I couldn’t believe they hadn’t seen this movie, so we watched it. I enjoyed it when I saw it in the theatre and in fact, later purchased a copy for myself.
Richard Gere does gentle and charming befuddlement to perfection. He plays John Clark, a family law attorney specializing in
estate planning and wills. He’s middle aged and feeling dissatisfied with his life but also feeling guilty for feeling dissatisfied. He knows he has a good life. He’s drawn to a woman who he sees looking out a window during his evening train commute. He impulsively stops by and meets Miss Mitzi, owner of the dance studio where the mysterious woman Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) works as a dance instructor.
Susan Sarandon plays his wife Beverly who suspects John of having an affair. She hires a private investigator with a philosophy major assistant.
This movie wasn’t a big hit when it came out, but it deserved more attention than it got. The dancing is fun to watch. The characters could be stereotypical, but the caliber of acting talent elevates it from schmaltzy to authentic.
I like it because it shows that you can take responsibility for your own happiness in your relationships. John is faithful to his wife, while exploring his new dance hobby. I like that, too.
It’s worth a watch. SHALL WE DANCE is available on Netflix.
Writer of Sweet Small Town Stories of Love and Family 
This movie is an American remake of a Japanese movie by the same name. The Japanese version is beautifully shot, and rich with the awkwardness of someone from a different culture embracing ballroom dance. It is an outsider movie in many ways. Gere and Lopez are fun to watch, but the American version lacks the depth of the Japanese version. I encourage everyone to suffer through the subtitles and compare and contrast. The original version is also currently on Netflix.
I did not know, that! Thanks and I will definitely watch that one.