Shall We Dance? (2004 film)

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Shall We Dance?

Directed by	Peter Chelsom
Written by	Audrey Wells
Starring	Richard Gere Jennifer Lopez Susan Sarandon Stanley Tucci Lisa Ann Walter
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	October 15, 2004
Running time	106 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

Shall We Dance? is an American motion picture released in 2004. It was rated PG-13 by the MPAA. It has a runtime of about 106 min. The film had a US gross of just under US$60m during its run, but worldwide he gross to $180 million.

It was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and Chicago.

The film is based on a 1996 Japanese movie of the same name, produced by Masayuki Suo. It is a rather faithful remake, following the plot of the original version fairly closely.

Tagline: Step out of the ordinary.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 The Remake
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

John Clark (Richard Gere) is a man with a wonderful job, a charming wife and a loving family, who nevertheless feels that something is missing as he makes his way every day through the city. Each evening on his commute home through Chicago, John sees a beautiful woman staring with a lost expression through the window of a dance studio. Haunted by her gaze, John impulsively jumps off the train one night, and signs up for ballroom dancing lessons, hoping to meet her. At first, it seems like a mistake. His teacher turns out to be not Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), but the older Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette), and John proves just as clumsy as his equally clueless classmates on the dance-floor. Even worse, when he does meet Paulina, she icily tells John she hopes he has come to the studio to seriously study dance and not to look for a date. But, as his lessons continue, John falls in love with dancing. Keeping his new obsession from his family and co-workers, John feverishly trains for Chicago's biggest dance competition. His friendship with Paulina blossoms, as his enthusiasm rekindles her own lost passion for dance. But the more time John spends away from home, the more his wife Beverly (Susan Sarandon) becomes suspicious. With his secret about to be revealed, John has to do some fancy footwork to keep his dream going and realise what it is he really yearns for.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

Richard Gere .... John Clark
Jennifer Lopez .... Paulina
Susan Sarandon .... Beverly Clark
Stanley Tucci .... Link Peterson
Bobby Cannavale .... Chic
Lisa Ann Walter .... Bobbie
Omar Benson Miller .... Vern
Anita Gillette .... Miss Mitzi
Richard Jenkins .... Devine
Nick Cannon .... Scottie
Onalee Ames .... Diane
Tamara Hope .... Jenna Clark
Mya Harrison ... Vern's Fiancé

[edit] The Remake

Alternate poster for the film.

In the 2004 remake of "Shall We Dance?", changes have been made to the original characters to adapt them to Hollywood audiences.

Shohei Sugiyama becomes John Clark. He now is a lawyer, rather than an accountant. The biggest change is that his reason for not telling his wife about taking dance classes is his attraction to Paulina.
Mai Kishikawa becomes Paulina. One difference between the two is the fact that Mai's father owns the Kishikawa school while Paulina's father is a dry-cleaner.
Tomio Aoki becomes Link Peterson, a tough athlete-type who worries that if people knew he was a dancer they would think he was gay, even though he is not.
Toyoko Takahashi becomes Bobbie, still a loud and rude character.
Tokichi Hattori becomes the machismo-spouting Chic, who later accepts his own homosexuality.
Masahiro Tanaka becomes Vern, who's learning to dance partly for exercise/lose weight and partly to impress his future wife.
Tamako Tamura becomes Miss Mitzi. In the remake, she owns the school.
Masako Sugiyama becomes Beverly Clark. She has more screen time and we see that she is not a stay-at-home mom but a part of the work force. (In the original, Masako Sugiyama was not a stay-at-home mom either, but in the US release of the film, the scenes with her working were cut out).
Chikage Sugiyama becomes Jenna Clark. She now has a brother, rather than being an only child.