Why are movies about dancing so terribly disappointing, but also frustratingly on point, as it were?The plot here is totally (mostly) predictable. Once you figure out the kind of guy that John Clark (Richard Gere) is, you know where the movie is going. But there are a couple of really interesting scenes along the way.
Beverly Clark, explaining why people get married: "Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet, I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything - the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things. All of it, all the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.'"
Later in the movie, John apologizes to Beverly for not telling her he was dancing. Beverly: "You could've told me about it though, couldn't you? You j-just completely left me out! Why didn't you tell me John? You've gotta answer that."
John: "I was ashamed."
Beverly: Ashamed of what? Of dancing?"
John: "No, no."
Beverly: "Then of what?!"
John: "Of wanting to be happier. When we have so much. ... The one thing I am proudest of in my whole life is that you were happy with me. If I couldn't-- If I couldn't tell you that I wasn't happy sometimes it's because I didn't want to risk hurting the one person I treasure most. I'm so sorry."
Now that is an apology. Sweet and sappy and well thought out - everything an apology should be. Another thing I can say for Shall We Dance? is that at least it has more actual dancing than Save the Last Dance. In fact, it has quite a bit of it, some of which is rather steamy. Bear witness to this:
And last, of course, there's Richard Gere. He's dashing, funny in a self-deprecating way, very much the Pretty Woman knight-in-shining-armor. How can you not like that?
Bottom line: totally boring and predictable story, but a feel-good movie if there ever was one.
Those two parts totally stood out to me too. Perhaps because they were so surprisingly deep in contrast to the general shallowness of the rest of the film. Now we know where Jennifer Lopez got her skills for the dancing scene in the high-quality film The Wedding Planner. Did you watch the previews for this film? There's a trailer for the Japanese version of Shall We Dance. Maybe we should try that one.
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