LIFE should be perfect for Chicago lawyer John Clark (Gere). He has a good job, a loving wife and two great kids. Yet on his journeys home each day he feels sad that something seems to be missing in his life.

And it is on one of those journeys that he sees something that might just make a difference. As he sits on the city's famous elevated railway, he glances up at a building and there, gazing mournfully out of a window, is a beautiful young woman.

The building has a huge, glittering sign inviting people in for dance lessons.

And on another trip home, John makes a snap decision he gets off a the next stop, races back to the building, and signs up for dancing lessons. The dance school is run by Miss Mitzi (Anita Gilette) and Paulina (Lopez), the woman he saw looking out of the window, is one of the teachers.

As the lessons begin and as the weeks pass by, John's two left feet gradually sort themselves out and he begins to enjoy himself. But back home wife Beverly (Sarandon) becomes suspicious. Why is John always late back on Wednesdays? Why is he behaving so strangely? She believes he is having an affair and hires a detective to confirm it. But what she discovers is far more shocking.

Despite all the warning signals Shall We Dance? is a Hollywood remake of a successful Japanese film, it has Richard Gere dancing, and Jennifer Lopez is in it this movie is not as horrible as it could have been.

The film is silly, soppy romantic fluff and about as predictable as a Viennese waltz. It's Dirty Dancing for fiftysomethings, if you like.

It is also difficult to swallow Gere's mid-life crisis. Everything is there money, love, family to make his character as happy as can be, so what's he got to complain about?

But put that to one side and Shall We Dance? becomes a guilty pleasure. There are some fun peripheral characters Stanley Tucci's closet ballroom dancer, Richard Jenkins's seedy private detective, Lisa Ann Walter's blousy dreamer and the film builds to a climax that will surprise no one, but is satisfying all the same.

And any Hollywood movie that name checks Blackpool more than once can't be all bad.

Rating 6/10

Stepen Webb