I think that “Shall We Dance?” was the first Japanese movie I’ve ever seen. If everything from Japan is as good, I may feel compelled to move there, just for the movies.
Since locally bred romantic-comedies are usually worthless, with the occasional exception of a “Truth About Cats and Dogs” or “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “Shall We Dance” was wonderfully refreshing, and was especially delightful for its clearly non-formulaic story.
Since the male lead is married, it seems clear early on that he won’t get the proverbial girl, but the film manages to remain quite pleasant and positive despite that difference that would crush just about any other film.
Koji Yakusyo stars as Mr. Sugiyama, a bored office worker with a dreary, repetitious life that only depresses him in its unfailing consistency. The one light in his daily life is the sight of Mai (Tamiyo Kusakari), gazing out the window of her dance studio as longingly as Sugiyama gazes back.
Despite his seemingly happy marriage, he develops something of a crush on Mai and, for lack of a better outlet, he decides to start taking dance lessons at her studio.
Now, a clarification must be made. In Japan, as the movie points out, public embrace, even when married, is highly frowned upon, so ballroom dancing, often involving embrace between a non-married couple, is even more shameful. So, this step is stunning and desperate.
It takes some time before Sugiyama gets the hang of dancing, but when he does, he gets very interested in it. Interested and talented enough that, when one of the instructors at the studio, Toyoko (Eriko Watanabe), wants to participate in a competition, she chooses him for his partner.
All the while, Sugiyama’s wife notices a significant difference in her husband’s moods, and also quickly becomes aware of his lateness on Wednesday nights, when he goes to dance lessons. So she hires a private investigator who eventually follows him and the dancing for free, since he becomes addicted as well.
The plot is interesting, constantly surprising, and moves at the speed of light, but the laughs rarely stop either. I assume that a fair number of the jokes apparent to Japanese viewers were over my head due to cultural differences, but it was a wonderful comedy nonetheless.
Much of the comedy is provided by Mr. Aoki (Naoto Takenaka), a coworker of Sugiyama’s that he discovers dances in his spare time, as well. He approaches the point of unhealthy addiction with the sport, and dances in a unique (that’s an understatement) way that never fails to draw a laugh.
The interaction between Sugiyama and Mai, as it goes from a one-sided crush to a mutual friendship is perhaps the most interesting story in the film. It doesn’t get very much time to itself outside of one pivotal scene, but it means the most to the film. It is satisfying, unpredictable, and serves for a completely happy ending.
Grade: A