Shall We Dance? (2004/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: C Film: B-
A film
that was trying to be a feel good sleeper hit that did not find its mark is
Peter Chelsom’s underappreciated Shall
We Dance? (2004) and a remake of a 1997 Japanese film all involved would
take flight. It did not and ironically
is the only bright spot on the resumes of its director, adaptive writer Audrey
Wells and among the few good works of the others involved behind the
camera. However, it is a good film that
I liked and Blu-ray is giving it a second chance.
The story
is essentially about an older married man (Richard Gere) who is sick of his
boring life, is having problems with his wife (Susan Sarandon) and one night by
accident stumbles on a dance school where he is drawn to both the activity and
a teacher (Jennifer Lopez) and gets involved.
This slowly breaks him out of his shell, but it also gets him involved
with the lives of the fellow dancers.
Still not
having caught up to the first film, it must have been decent, because the story
works very well here and there is some chemistry and intelligence throughout
the film that makes it constantly watchable.
Though it offers some of what we have seen before, it does its best to
not be predictable, is a mature work, has some comedy and the extended cast is
a joy to watch. The dancing is actually
fun to see for a change. This never
found its target audience, so I expect this will be a pleasant surprise for
those who catch it on Blu-ray.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is shot on film, is very solid, has good
detail, is colorful and Director of Photography John de Borman delivers his
best work since 1997’s The Full Monty. There are even some demo moments here. The PCM 48/24 5.1 mix is very nice, the sound
and music are nicely recorded, as are the dialogue and this easily outperforms
the Dolby Digital 5.1 versions. Extras
are fairly good, including an audio commentary track by Chelsom, deleted scenes
with his optional commentary, a Music Video for “Sway” by The Pussycat Dolls
used to promote the film and three featurette pieces.
- Nicholas Sheffo
