Shall We Dance?

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Shall We Dance?

PG-13

Released Oct 15, 2004

1h 46m

Romance

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

156 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Despite having a great career and a loving family, lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) is missing something in his life as he meanders listlessly from day to day. On his commute back home one night, Clark notices a stunning woman (Jennifer Lopez) in a dance studio and decides on a whim to join a class for ballroom dancing. While Clark finds a new spark in his life, his wife, Beverly (Susan Sarandon), grows suspicious of his frequent absences, since he decides to keep his dancing a secret.

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Critics Consensus

The cast is warmly appealing, but with the loss of cultural context and addition of big-name celebrities, this American version loses the nuances of the original.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Cute romance that is marred by homophobia.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 28, 2010

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Angie Errigo

Empire Magazine

It's rather cute, but only the truly girly will fall for the decidedly Officer And A Gentlemanly denouement that injects a belated sexy note.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2006

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Amy Simmons

Time Out

Offers attractive, inoffensive characters and a smattering of broad laughs, but it fails to use its potential to explore weightier themes such as John's mid-life crisis.

Jun 24, 2006

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

A sunny, life-affirming celebration of simply hoofing it, any old how.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 21, 2020

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Miles Fielder

The List

British director Peter Chelsom proves to be an inspired choice. Dressing the film with an eye-pleasing kitsch retro look and sprinkling the proceedings with moments of eccentric humor, he recalls his fine earlier films.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 23, 2019

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Deborah Hornblow

Hartford Courant

"Shall We Dance?'' celebrates marriage, self-renewal, the benefits of acting on impulse and the courage to dance to your own mambo beat. Audiences susceptible to its charms will be dancing down the aisles.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 2, 2018

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mark g

Wow, this was a ridiculous film. One of those American remakes that says "this is corny, but you'll think heartwarming." Actually, I thought awful and cringe. So many scenes are run-ons, where, if they had to be shot, the director should have screamed cut a dozen times. Nothing wrong with corny, feel-good films, if there is skill behind the camera, there's not here. This movie is just dumb and silly. Wasted cast.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/24/25

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Michele B

Wonderful and emotional.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

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Viviana C

This is a movie to spend the afternoon and watch it, the characters are not fully developed but it is a good story if what you want is to spend some time with a good movie

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/14/24

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Norma D

Romantic comedy about ballroom dancing and relationships of all sorts. Ensemble acting by many fine actors. I also loved the Asian original. It helps that one of my daughters is a ballroom dancer.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

Full Review

Cleveland E

In typical Hollywood fashion, by taking big names, big stars to guarantee audience turnout, they meanwhile ruin the movie in the process. It lacks all the simple & subtle nuances of the original Japanese film — How can the director & produces be given a great script and movie & somehow manage to do everything wrong? Only Hollywood can f something up so badly.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

Full Review

David G

Found myself smiling through much of this movie. A wonderful tale of the mundane in life's routines, desires, lust, love, and outright joy . There's always a "this doesn't happen in real life" feeling about a movie like this, but I didn't care. Great cast, and great to have a movie like this! Pure entertainment with heart!! Loved it!!!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/24

Full Review

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Peter Chelsom

Director

Richard Gere

John Clark

Jennifer Lopez

Paulina

Susan Sarandon

Beverly Clark

Stanley Tucci

Link

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Synopsis

Despite having a great career and a loving family, lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) is missing something in his life as he meanders listlessly from day to day. On his commute back home one night, Clark notices a stunning woman (Jennifer Lopez) in a dance studio and decides on a whim to join a class for ballroom dancing. While Clark finds a new spark in his life, his wife, Beverly (Susan Sarandon), grows suspicious of his frequent absences, since he decides to keep his dancing a secret.

Director: Peter Chelsom
Producer: Jessica Kane Berman, Simon Fields
Screenwriter: Masayuko Suo, Audrey Wells
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual References|Brief Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $57.9M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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