In her new movie, "Dance With Me," she does the older woman/younger man samba with Puerto Rican pop singing sensation Chayanne. She plays a sulky single mom who, having been dumped by her abusive professional dancing partner (Rick Valenzuela), teaches two-step classes to Texans at a Houston studio owned by Kris Kristofferson. Along comes sensuous Chayanne, as an ambitious Cuban immigrant (think young Desi Arnaz), and Vanessa's inner rhythms start beating Babaloo! Little does she know that this sizzling handyman from Havana is really Kristofferson's son - of course, no one else knows it either. The muddled, cliche-ridden soap opera story, written by choreographer Daryl Matthews and directed by Randa Haines ("Children of a Lesser God"), revolves around losers becoming winners as the competitive beat goes on, culminating in the predictable, show-stopping dance-contest finale. And there's a brief homage to the late, great Gene Kelly as Chayanne dances through lawn sprinklers a la "Singing in the Rain." But, if you want to see this kind of film even better made, I recommend "Strictly Ballroom" (1992), a witty, spirited, Australian musical, directed by Baz Luhrmann ("Romeo and Juliet"). On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Dance With Me" is a spicy, schmaltzy 6 with a tangy salsa beat.