I swear, this was just because the NBA Finals were over: "Shall We Dance?"

I know, I know ... as a member of the He-Man, Woman-Haters Club, how can I justify seeing, much less blogging, a chick flick? I could lie to you and say I watched this only so I could crack Richard Gere gerbil jokes, or so I could find out once and for all if J-Lo's booty really is that big. But the bottom line is that the missus wanted some quality time, and I figured I could read the paper and just peek over the pages from time to time when Jenny from the Block was onscreen.

It actually worked for a while, because I have no idea why family man Gere ("No Mercy") even decided to take ballroom dancing lessons at the same studio where Jennifer Lopez ("Money Train") also trips the light fantastic. Whatever the reason, "Shall We Dance" basically charts his improvement and budding friendship with J-Lo while he keeps the dancing secret from friends and family, including wife Susan Sarandon ("January Man").

And you know, it actually was kind of sweet. (Pause for testicle removal joke.) Even if it's hard to believe him as an everyman, Gere wasn't the slick ass we often see, and between this and "Unfaithful" he's creating a nice niche as the decent husband. As for Lopez, she really doesn't have many lines in this movie, but the ones she has come off pretty well as her performance alternates between tough and wounded. Between the tabloid stuff, fluff like "Maid in Manhattan" and disasters such as "Gigli," it's easy to forget she once was more than a face and a butt. Take "Out of Sight," for instance. The girl can act when she sets her mind to it.

"Shall We Dance" has a few endearing supporting roles, too, and even after my wife fell asleep, I stuck around to see what happened at the big dance contest and beyond. Of course, as far as she's concerned, I flipped it to basketball as soon as she nodded off. "Yeah, honey, Game 8 is on tonight!"