Shall We Dance

Alright, so I like a movie with Jennifer Lopez that features a lot of ballroom dancing. I guess I’m going a little soft in my mid-’30s, because this generally dopey movie had me feeling all happy and sappy by its midpoint. It even had me getting all misty-eyed during a montage that featured Peter Gabriel crooning at his most anxious over snippets of couples enjoying renewed happiness in their relationships. (Yes, I feel like a major spaz.) Richard Gere plays John, a happily married man with a satisfying job who yearns to be a bit happier despite his luck. He rides a commuter train to work on a daily basis, and spies a beautiful, sad-looking woman (Jennifer Lopez) peering out the window of a dance studio. The combination of curiosity and monotony gets him through the door of Miss Mitzi’s Dance Studio, where he finds himself signed up for ballroom dance lessons. Some hackneyed characterizations drag things down from time to time, but great dance numbers and an overriding goodness make this a nice date movie.