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They're all dances of passion.
It takes more than half of Bruno Barreto's romantic comedy Bossa Nova for the action and the characters to heat up.
When they do, Bossa Nova turns into an amusing little farce that never loses sight of its romantic roots.
Mary Ann Simpson (Amy Irving) is a widow who relocates to Rio de Janeiro after the death of her husband. She is teaching English to adults and tutoring Acacio (Alexandre Borges), Brazil's top soccer player.
Pedro Paulo (Antonio Fagundes) is a lawyer whose wife Tania (Debora Bloch) has moved in with her tai-chi instructor (Kazuo Matsui).
Pedro is smitten with Mary Ann the moment he sees her in his office building and begins taking her classes to contrive to win her heart.
He will, of course, but not before Cupid intervenes in the lives of two other couples and they all converge on Rio's busy airport.
The charm of Bossa Nova is that it's a love story for and about adults and that it gives them universal feelings and longings.
Irving positively glows, especially when Claire realizes that her ability to love and to feel passion have not died with her husband.
The supporting characters are far more manic than Irving and Fagundes, which gives more credibility and strength to the central love story.
Like the dance for which it is named, Bossa Nova is teasing and sensuous.
You can definitely blame the fun in this movie on the bossa nova.
(This film is rated AA)