BALLROOM dancing is sexy. Recently, millions of us enjoyed our weekly dose of Strictly Come Dancing, marvelling at the smouldering glances, fancy footwork and high-sequinned drama of the tango and cha-cha.

Australian director Baz Luhrmann kick-started the trend back in 1992 with his fabulously camp fairytale Strictly Ballroom.

Four years later, Japanese writer-director Masayuki Suo choreographed the box office sensation Shall We Dance? The heart-warming story of a businessman who learns to ballroom dance in secret became a cultural phenomenon in its home country, but struggled to be seen outside of the arthouse circuit in the West.

Peter Chelsom's American remake, adapted in broad strokes by Audrey Wells (Under The Tuscan Sun), remains largely faithful to Suo's box office sensation but something appears to have been lost in translation. Or rather, added.

The choreography now is a little too slick and the emotional subtlety of the original, a meditation on Japan's social codes, has been supplanted by brash humour and caricatures.

Downtown Chicago, where the film is set, has never looked so glorious. If half the characters weren't learning how to foxtrot, you'd swear they'd break out into dance anyway.

Renowned lawyer John Clark (Richard Gere) seems to have it all: a great job, a beautiful wife (Susan Sarandon), two adorable kids, and impeccably tailored suits. Yet he feels like there's something amiss.

One night, on the train commute home, John nervously signs up for dance classes with teacher Paulina (Jennifer Lopez) at run-down Miss Mitzi's Studio. He gets far more than he bargained for; so too do John's fellow classmates, gentle giant Vern (Omar Benson Miller), swaggering ladies' man Chic (Bobby Cannavale) and brazen blonde Bobbie (Lisa Ann Walter).

Under the watchful eye of Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette), the amateurs work tirelessly towards a performance at Chicago's biggest dance competition. In the process, John is transformed, thrust into a world of passion, camaraderie and music that makes him question his priorities.

Wells's screenplay is slow, slow on the genuine emotion and quick, quick, slow on the sentimentality. Gere & Co look like they're having a whale of a time, which ensures the 106 minutes pass quickly.

However, there's scant sexual chemistry with Lopez's Latino lovely and the finale lacks the necessary knockout two-step.

Sarandon is underused as the wife but there are nice comic turns from Omar Benson Miller, Bobby Cannavale and Lisa Ann Walter, and Stanley Tucci is a delight as the sports jock, who dresses up in a catsuit and wig to live out his ballroom dancing fantasies.

Rating: 5/10