Written by Linda
February 14, 2009
You really can't get anymore charming than the Japanese sleeper hit Shall We Dance?. I've seen it, oh, maybe four or five times now, and I still find myself laughing out loud each time I see certain scenes, and getting that warm, fuzzy feeling all over again when the title song rolls over the closing credits. This film is fabulous and absolutely adorable!
Sugiyama-san (Koji Yakusho) is a repressed accountant, just past 40. He has done everything he was supposed to in life: get married at 28, have a child at 30, buy a house at 40, and work hard at his job. But he somehow finds himself unhappy, until he spots a dance studio from the window of his daily train ride home. He sees a wistful, beautiful, melancholy young woman (Tamiyo Kusakari) staring sadly out of the window, and he finds himself looking for her each night from the train stop. Finally he gets enough courage to literally stumble into the dance studio and sheepishly sign up for ballroom dance lessons to attempt to meet this woman, Mai.
Sugiyama gets more than he bargained for, as he soon discovers that he is really enjoying dance, despite getting immediately blown-off by Mai. In the dance studio, all sorts of wacky characters are introduced, including a very aggressive older woman, whom all the men are afraid to dance with, the flamboyant Latin dancer Aoki, whom, after his ridiculous long-haired wig gets ripped off, Sugiyama recognizes as his accountant co-worker, and a Laurel-and-Hardy big man and little man who are Sugiyama's classmates in the beginning dance class. Of course, like any dance movie, the film culminates in a dance competition where things don't quite go as planned.
Koji Yakusho, as Sugiyama, does an excellent job playing the straight man in the midst of completely outrageous characters. He is quietly handsome and self-effacing, and embodies all the insecurities that anyone feels when trying something new, especially something that is truly embarrassing in your culture. All of the supporting cast is wonderful, creating truly memorable characters. However the standout, stealing every scene he is in, is Naoto Takenaka as Mr. Aoki. His overly-tanned, snarling, flamboyant Latin dancer is an absolute scream. Plus the scenes of him at work at the accounting office are a riot... you just have to see the way he walks, and you'll know what I'm talking about!
Shall We Dance? is sweet, funny, and life-affirming. A total charmer. You may be inspired to break society's conventions and follow your dream, too, after watching this film!
