Love, death, fate and grief are the themes of the cutely sentimental Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, an expanded version of an award-winning short movie by its director Randall Miller and his wife and co-screenwriter Jody Savin. The film's framing device is a chance encounter on a country road in California. The middle-aged Steve Miles (John Goodman) is driving to Pasadena to meet a girl he last saw in 1962 at the eponymous dancing academy and arranged to meet there on 5/5/2005. He overtakes a grieving widower, baker Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle), before crashing into a barrier. In extremis, Steve regales Frank with his story and the baker takes his place at the dance hall in Pasadena where an imperious Mary Steenburgen is the mistress of ceremonies.

After what seems like a dance marathon, Frank's life is turned around. He has floury sex with Marisa Tomei on the table of his bakery and gets all eight members of his group therapy circle of widowers (and the therapist) to join the Hotchkiss class. There are a couple of deliberately cruel twists towards the end, but the general feel-good message is that ballroom dancing conquers all.

For a low-budget independent movie, Randall Miller has assembled a remarkable cast, ranging from Donnie Wahlberg (who has never been more louche) to Sonia Braga (who is looking more entrancing than ever), and including a two-minute appearance by Danny DeVito. This could be the perfect date movie for junior members of a Darby and Joan club.