Post by Soulfyre on Feb 15, 2005 16:13:59 GMT -5
This is a difficult decision. I recently watched Shall We Dance?, a pleasant confection with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez, Stanley Tucci, et al. Understand, first, that I truly love ballroom dancing. As you many have read in my blog, I would recommend it as a form of couple's therapy, for when done well, it provides an excellent parable for Christian marriage. This movie, in fact, tends to underscore this issue.
Richard Gere plays a man who truly loves his wife and daughter, but feels that there is something missing in his marriage. On a whim, he goes to a dance studio, attracted to it by seeing the pensive face of Jennifer Lopez in its windos every night as he passes it while taking the "el" home from work. When he finally visits, he decides to learn how to dance, accmpanied by a group of eccentric but fun individiuals who have their own reasons for taking dancing lessons. The climax of the movie is when Richard Gere enters a dance contest, which his wife (who figures out his deceit by hiring a private detective) attends. The touching part of the film is when Richard explains to his wife how much he loves her, and how guilty he felt about any thought that could imply that he desired more. He agrees to teach her to dance, and the movie ends with he and his wife attending a going away party for Jennifer Lopez, who is flying to England to continue her professional career as a ballroom dancer.
All in all, I found the movie pleasant. There were some spots that could have benefited from a little more subtlety (the brash waitress with the in-your-face, honest-till-it-hurts personality who was in class with Richard Gere was just a little over-the-top, as was some of the mugging by Stanley Tucci, certainly a far better actor than his part implied). The seemingly inevitable conversations at the urinals in the Men's Restrooms (don't men ever talk by the water cooler anymore?) just seemed superfluous, although there was one scene which was cleverly done, but, again, didn't really require the porcelain surroundings. And the now obligatory homosexual scene near the end was completely unnecessary to the plot. But I was pleased that the movie was not about an adutlerous affair. There was clearly some sexual tension created between Gere and Lopez, but there was never the suggestion of an affair. And nowadays, that is unusual.
I don't give this movie an unqualified "thumbs-up". It is a pleasant enough movie, although I certainly wouldn't pay to see it in a theatrical release. But it was marred by some of the unnecessary crudeness that always seems to get thrown in to assure at least a PG-13 rating. Pity. Because the theme of the movie was truly great.
God bless and keep you and yours,
Matthew (soulfyre)
Richard Gere plays a man who truly loves his wife and daughter, but feels that there is something missing in his marriage. On a whim, he goes to a dance studio, attracted to it by seeing the pensive face of Jennifer Lopez in its windos every night as he passes it while taking the "el" home from work. When he finally visits, he decides to learn how to dance, accmpanied by a group of eccentric but fun individiuals who have their own reasons for taking dancing lessons. The climax of the movie is when Richard Gere enters a dance contest, which his wife (who figures out his deceit by hiring a private detective) attends. The touching part of the film is when Richard explains to his wife how much he loves her, and how guilty he felt about any thought that could imply that he desired more. He agrees to teach her to dance, and the movie ends with he and his wife attending a going away party for Jennifer Lopez, who is flying to England to continue her professional career as a ballroom dancer.
All in all, I found the movie pleasant. There were some spots that could have benefited from a little more subtlety (the brash waitress with the in-your-face, honest-till-it-hurts personality who was in class with Richard Gere was just a little over-the-top, as was some of the mugging by Stanley Tucci, certainly a far better actor than his part implied). The seemingly inevitable conversations at the urinals in the Men's Restrooms (don't men ever talk by the water cooler anymore?) just seemed superfluous, although there was one scene which was cleverly done, but, again, didn't really require the porcelain surroundings. And the now obligatory homosexual scene near the end was completely unnecessary to the plot. But I was pleased that the movie was not about an adutlerous affair. There was clearly some sexual tension created between Gere and Lopez, but there was never the suggestion of an affair. And nowadays, that is unusual.
I don't give this movie an unqualified "thumbs-up". It is a pleasant enough movie, although I certainly wouldn't pay to see it in a theatrical release. But it was marred by some of the unnecessary crudeness that always seems to get thrown in to assure at least a PG-13 rating. Pity. Because the theme of the movie was truly great.
God bless and keep you and yours,
Matthew (soulfyre)