Shall We Dance? (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(Mirimax)
Directed by Masayuki Suo
Written by Masayuki Suo
Cast Koji Yakusyo, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko
Watanabe, Akira Emoto, Yu Tokui
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 118 minutes
Reviewed at The Rialto, Raleigh, NC (08AUG97)
==
A bit of a long sit. This warm and fuzzy feel-gooder from Japan, about a 42 year-old Tokyo accountant (Koji Yakusho) who reawakens to life through secretive ballroom lessons, runs about, oh, twenty minutes too long. Sure, everyone clapped at the end, but I *do* recall hearing more than a few people squirming during the protracted finale. (At the Rialto, the to-be-replaced squeaky seats are far more telling than any after-show comments in the lobby.) Even with yawns, a reduced blood flow below the equator, and the ever-present threat of a knocked-over root beer bottle, I enjoyed reliving the life-cycle of the partner dancer: the hesitant attraction to the sport, often the result of a crush on a better dancer; those painfully awkward initial lessons; mixing and mingling with other dancers; the get-serious point of no return; the months of practice for competition or exhibition; the cruel reality and partner incompatibility; and, of course, the alienation and subsequent reclamation of a non-dancing spouse. (To try the latter, just hang out at the Longbranch for a few months. Then, tell your sweetie.) If you've never waltzed, rumbaed, or quick-stepped, this may be the movie that lands you on the dance floor. One two three, one two three...
Grade: B-
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell
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