Shall We Dance? Blu-ray delivers great video and solid audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
For longer than he can remember, John Clark (Richard Gere) has led a dull existence... and even with a successful career, charming wife (Susan Sarandon) and loving family, he still feels something is missing as he makes his mind-numbing commute through the city each day. But one night, on his evening ride home, he looks up to see a beautiful woman (Jennifer Lopez) staring through the window of a dance studio. Haunted by her gaze, John impulsively jumps off the train and signs up for dance lessons... and his whole life begins to change. Now, he's entering a world he never imagined - the colorful world of competitive ballroom dancing. It's a place filled with grand passions, bitter rivalries, great friends and strange couples and it's about to reignite the excitement in John's life - not to mention the lives of his family, dance instructors and fellow classmates - in ways he's never dreamed.
"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug." Such is the life of a Blu-ray
reviewer. Sometimes you get Sunshine and sometimes you get Shall We Dance?. I really
have
nothing against these types of movies, (see 27 Dresses and Enchanted), but this particular one didn't click, at least not until the end.
Despite not being
a real fan of any of the leads -- Richard Gere (First Knight), Susan Sarandon (Mr. Woodcock), or
Jennifer Lopez (Maid In
Manhattan) -- I must admit that each nonetheless brought a heart to their characters
that made the entire
movie worth watching, but by the time each one finds themselves and the meaning of the film
comes to light, it's almost too late to care. Perhaps becoming a bit too sentimental at the end,
the movie works
nevertheless and ultimately delivers audiences a worthwhile message and a solid, cheerful
ending.
One look says it all.
John Clark (Gere) is your everyday attorney who rides the elevated train to and from work, his
commute a part of the daily, colorless drudgery. One the return trip home, out his port side
window is Miss Mitzi's Dance School, and in
its
window is a mystery woman whom Clark decides he has to meet. He's already married to
Beverly
(Sarandon), but its clear their marriage is going through a rough spot. She cannot think of
anything to buy her husband for his birthday, and they never seem to have time for one
another.
One day after work, John enters the dance studio and clumsily manages to sign himself up for a
beginner's dance class starting that very evening. His instructor is the aged Miss Mitzi (Anita
Gillette, She's the One); the girl John was interested in meeting, the mysterious Paulina
(Lopez), remains both an object of intrigue and wonder to John (and his fellow students).
Meanwhile, as John is keeping his
wife in the dark about his newfound passion for ballroom dancing, she becomes convinced all is
not right with
their
relationship, and hires a private investigator to get to the bottom of John's odd and
secretive
nights out. Will dancing rekindle John's marriage, or will the secret and his newfound love for the
activity tear them further apart? Just
who is the mystifying Paulina, and will John ever come to know more about her than her outward
beauty?
Shall We Dance is a standard-fare movie that lacks any spark or mystery. The
open-ended questions asked throughout are answered at the end just as we expect them to be.
The last leg of the journey, when the movie begins to come together, is certainly the
best part of it, delivering several heartwarming scenes sure to have mushier audience
members (and at least one on-screen character) shedding copious tears. What comes from the
beginning until
we reach the end is formulaic and an
exercise in what defines lost opportunity. The characters are far too bland to really care about,
and while their status as novice ballroom dancers is exploited to a degree, several opportunities
ripe for some good slapstick comedy never make their way into the end product. Granted, the
movie is definitely not a comedy, but a bit more humor may have made the movie somewhat
more bearable. Despite his status as a secondary character, I liked Vern (Omar Benson Miller,
Things We Lost in the Fire) more than any of the leads. He's
the overweight dancer whose motives and heart are true, but he's too ashamed to admit
why he is really taking dance lessons (not to mention he's demeaned by one of the more
unscrupulous-until-the-end characters). Even more so than the main character (John), I felt
that
Vern was the "every man" through whom the audience could relate, allowing us to connect more
completely with the
this little-seen on-film world of ballroom dancing. All in all, while the movie is mostly watchable (I
must admit to needing a 10 minute break in the middle to recharge), it's ultimately forgettable,
definitely a lesser example of its classification.
This 1080p high-definition Blu-ray transfer of Shall We Dance definitely shows that it
has
been busy dancing, because it is definitely no slouch (see the movie to understand). Presented
at
1.85:1, the movie looks very good, sporting an above
average, pleasing look that really shines on Blu-ray. While not the best transfer on the market
by an means, Shall We Dance? ranks right up there with the "better" transfers, far
surpassing many and looking at least somewhat better than most. A major accomplishment,
this
is nothing to sneeze at and even for a still-young catalogue title, the results are impressive.
Flesh tones can look a bit on the reddish side on occasion, this being the only fault (and certainly
not a major one) I found with the disc. The movie is generally brimming with rich, vibrant
colors,
notably red, and they all pass the Blu-ray test with, well, flying (or maybe in this case, better
said
"dancing") colors. Detail is natural and obvious, everything looking as it should, as one would
expect to see on the format that more closely represents real life in the home than anything
we've seen before. For example, clothing is immaculately rendered, and every single bead of
sweat on the dancers faces is clearly and easily seen. Black levels are deep and rich, definitely
proving to be one of the disc's strong points. The movie retains a natural film-like look to it, and
there is very little in the way of noticeable grain. While there is a bit of depth about the image, it
does not immediately and regularly "jump" off the screen, though it clearly looks as if it wants to
on many occasions. Shall We Dance may not be absolute
top-tier quality, but it approaches that level, and the image should easily please fans of the
movie
and Blu-ray owners in general.
Gliding across the soundstage between "good" and "average" is the PCM 5.1 uncompressed
soundtrack found on this disc. Subdued, reserved, and adequate are the
three words that immediately come to mind when trying to describe this soundtrack. Dialogue is
well-placed, centered, natural and clean, and is never lost or jumbled under even the more upbeat
music tracks heard at times during the movie. Some of the more vivacious sequences, such as
those taking place in a bar or at "Dr. Dance," are loud, making good use of the entirety of the sound
field, but it sounds somewhat muffled and lacking in clarity. For the most part, other than those
more rambunctious sequences, surrounds and the subwoofer are rarely employed, but the movie
doesn't really cry out for them to join the party, either. There is little need for discrete effects, and
the track on the whole is very basic one, even for a movie about dancing to various forms of music.
Generally, I felt that what I was hearing was what was intended to be heard, no one element
overplayed or under performed, just the right mix for a movie of this style and caliber. It gets the
job done, but leaves no real lasting impression, either.
Shall We Dance? brushes up to Blu-ray with a less-than-stellar selection of bonus
materials, though they will no doubt
please fans of the movie. First is a feature length commentary track with director Peter Chelsom.
The English director is a bit dry and dull, though he does go into quite a bit of detail about the
culture of dancing, and how it fits into this movie. He provides in-depth perspectives on the
motivations of the characters, digging pretty deep for a movie that's mostly superficial. While
slow
moving, the track offers a smart, intriguing approach to commentaries, not giving a
play-by-play or silly on-set anecdotes, but instead provides a rather intellectually stimulating
listening
experience.
Behind The Scenes of 'Shall We Dance?' (480p, 24:08) proves to be another in a very
long line of generic making-of features, with the actors and crew waxing poetic about the movie
and their characters, intercut with all of the good scenes from the movie. Beginner's
Ballroom (480p, 6:28) explains what exactly ballroom dancing is. I was hoping for a quick,
beginner's lesson on ballroom dancing, but alas, that is another disc (or twelve, to be released
someday on Blu-ray) I'm sure. The
Music of 'Shall We Dance' (480p, 3:55) examines each of the three styles of music heard
throughout the movie, from classical, to modern, to the film's score. Finally, a music video by the
Pussycat Dolls entitled Sway (480p, 3:24) and five deleted scenes (480p, 17:31),
including an alternate opening, conclude the supplemental features.
Shall We Dance? is a film that simply failed to speak to me. I came away from the
experience with little or no concern for the plot or the characters, despite enjoying the predictable
ending of the film. There is nothing wrong with this movie -- it's well acted (even if by a trio of
leads who don't rank as my favorites in Hollywood), well made, well scripted, and at times pleasant
to sit back and look at. Obviously, as a guy who grew up playing with G.I. Joe figures, toy guns,
Transformers, and Nintendo, I'm not the target audience for this film. Even so, my wife, the
epitome of the chick-flick lover through and through, didn't like this movie at all when she saw it a
few years ago, and wouldn't even watch it with me again on Blu-ray. That's not to say other fans of
this genre will be disappointed; one person's opinion is just that, an opinion, nothing to become riled
up over. Technically, the Blu-ray is fine, presented with solid video quality and decent audio
reproduction, and comes complete with an average set of extras. Shall We Dance is worth
renting for that chick flick or dance-lover in your life.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring 'Shall We Dance' to Blu-ray on May 6th. Pressed on a BD-50, video will be presented as 1.85:1 1080p AVC accompanied by 5.1 PCM audio. Extras include audio commentary with director Peter Chelsom, ...
