Review: Shall We Dance?

Light-hearted Japanese comedy with lots of dancing 

Many years ago in Hong Kong, my friend YTSL suggested I watch a 1996 Japanese film called Shall We Dance? and I remembered it was funny. Fast forward to today and saw it was being shown in Vancouver so I went to rewatch it and there were so many details I had forgotten!

A Japanese salaryman, Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) has just bought a house in the suburbs with his wife and teenage daughter, but he feels his life is missing something. On the train on the way home, he looks up to see a beautiful woman looking out the window of a dance studio.

A funny cast of characters with their own stories

Sugiyama works up the courage to go there and inquire about lessons; she is Mai Kishikawa (Tamiyo Kusakari), who turns out to be a professional competitive dancer, though he begins taking group lessons from an older, kindly woman.

Comedy ensues with the two other male students, and Sugiyama discovers his colleague from work has an alter ego on the dance floor, particularly when it comes to Latin dance.

But Sugiyama gets the hang of dancing and begins to enjoy it immensely -- but doesn't dare tell his wife and daughter. However, his wife gets suspicious when she smells perfume on his clothes and hires a private detective to find out what's going on...

The name of the film takes the line from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I in the film adaptation starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.

I had forgotten how amusing the various characters were, from the dance classmates, Sugiyama's colleague, and the bitchy Toyoko Tanaka (Eriko Watanabe), who seems to see through everyone.

Secretly practicing in the office bathroom

And it turns out every character also has a story to tell about why they became obsessed with dance, some delivering monologues that further reveal their personality and motivation to dramatic effect.

The light-hearted film gives a nice introduction to the world of ballroom dancing, the culture and what it takes to compete. Even Mai learns more about herself, coming to terms with her mistakes in the past.

The main message of Shall We Dance? is to not be afraid to demonstrate your passion for something, because that will make you happy. 

Even though the film is almost 30 years old, it has aged well (OK apart from few big shoulder pads). 

Shall We Dance?

Directed by Masayuki Suo

1996

136 mins