'Dance' if you got the time

A midlife crisis usually consists of learning to dance, right? OK, that might not be so common. What is common though is for a midlife male to have an attraction to a younger female, or so pop culture says. This 2004 adaptation of "Shall We Dance?" has a very 1930s feel to it with a new twist.\nRichard Gere plays John Clark, an overworked accountant who needs something new in his life. While riding the subway home everyday he sees an attractive young female, Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) at Ms. Mitzi's Dance Studio. John decides to pursue her and signs up for dance lessons. Luckily for John, he doesn't have to go solo. A co-worker, Link (Stanley Tucci), has been ballroom dancing since 1985. \nWhere things start to get interesting is when John's wife, Beverly (Susan Sarandon) starts to wonder what John is doing all these nights he's out dancing, so she hires a private detective to figure out what is going on with her husband. The detective turns out to be a nut and ends up hitting on Beverly. Everything leads up to a dramatic dance competition where John shows off his talents and Beverly is secretly in attendance. \nThis movie is the definition of light-hearted comedy. So many subtle jokes are included in the movie that it starts to get cheesy. At times it is very convincing that Paulina and John have something going on. To the detective's dismay, though, he can only find dancing. The choreographer in the movie did a decent job of making the actors transition from bad to good dancing. \nJennifer Lopez's character is always on the defense in the movie. We are led to assume she might be hiding something really big that happened to her in the past. This turns out to be false foreshadowing which is a disappointment. This minor flaw is covered well by the smooth-moving storyline. \nThis is director Peter Chelsom's first movie since 2001's "Serendipity." It's obvious that he has experience with this sort of film. The story does a good job of character development and conflict resolution; this all leads up to a decent movie.\nIf you are a fan of romantic comedies this movie is good because it isn't the average run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. The movie keeps with the traditional happily-ever-after ending but brings it to you in a compelling way. If you're not a sucker for romance, cheap comedy or even dancing, then this isn't the right movie for you.