There once was a time, albeit a very brief time, when putting Jennifer Lopez in a movie was a sure fire way of getting box office returns.

But the name that once drew the crowds in is the same name that might just be keeping them away, for it was Lopez's presence that sounded the death knell for Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl.

In order to relight her rom-com fire, Lopez has signed up with the perfect leading man in Richard Gere.

Gere is John Clark, a lawyer whose life is rolling along nicely, yet there appears to be a look in his eyes that betrays his happy façade.

While travelling home on the train, John spots a lone figure in the window of a local dance class. Unable to ignore her presence, John eventually attends the class to find out who this beautiful woman is.

Before he knows it, John has signed himself up for ballroom dancing classes at Miss Mitzi’s Dance Studio.

Fortunately the plot deviates from what the trailers may have you believe, which provides a more interesting angle that removes the romantic interests between the leads.

Instead of sexual tension, the passion for the intense dancing routines becomes the focus.

Stanley Tucci leads a supporting cast that profits from the stalled development of the romantic angle as a co-worker of John's - a mild mannered male dancer whose passion for the art is, in part, what helps keep John at the class.

Changing the emphasis in the romantic angle leads to a subplot involving Sarandon as John's wife, who suspects her hubby is having an affair. The result is somewhat formulaic thanks to the inevitable dance competition, which brings little surprise.

Disappointingly, the existence of John's family seems to be purely for the sake of the finale.

The Japanese original differs from this version in that the emphasis was on the release that the dancing provides John.

Here, Richard Gere reverts to being Richard Gere, which doesn’t allow him to get the message across that this is an overworked, unhappy businessman.

In terms of this being a Gere/ Lopez movie that doesn’t quite aim that high, thankfully both are on form. The plot might be clever enough to avoid the pair falling in love, but it's their performances that keep you rooting for them when the plot returns to type.

Shall We Dansu? was an incredible success in its native land and relatively popular overseas, which bodes well despite lacking the emotional weight of its predecessor, but as a good date movie you can't go far wrong.

Rich Phippen