Cuban Fury is a story of hardship, persecution, aspiration and, above all, a woman. For after all, isn’t salsa always about a woman? As a boy, Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) was reigning champion on the salsa circuit, until the fateful day a bunch of bully’s called him a girl and his dancing career bit the sequins. Decades later and his life downwardly rotates around golf with his mates, scoring weekly successes with women and lathes. Yes, that’s right; lathes.
That is until a new boss, Julia (Rashida Jones), joins his work and he falls for her. So begins his battle to win her heart, whilst racing and combating his alpha-male colleague Drew (Chris O’Dowd) to be the finish-line of her affections. But there’s one thing Bruce has that no one else does; salsa. We watch his love of dance, reignited by Julia, return and he relearn his art, returning to former mentor (Ian McShane) to help him win the girl of his dreams.
In cinema, Cuban Fury is not an original idea. There have been many films before it where the hero has to learn to dance to win someone over. Most of the time they are predictable and formulaic, and the only scenes worth waiting for are the well choreographed performances throughout. Cuban Fury is still formulaic, but it’s art is in making this story a truly British one. Between these set pieces are moments of utterly ridiculous yet believable comedy pulled together by a great cast and hilarious writing; you’re guaranteed to recognise echoes of someone from your life in the supporting cast.
Cuban Fury gets off to a slow start, but once you get past the prologue and into the true rhythm of the film you’l find yourself creased throughout. Frost makes an admirable and likeable lead, but it’s the performances of Chris O’Dowd as lady-killer Drew and Kayvan Novak as Persian dance enthusiast Bejan that’ll keep the laughs coming.
Frost introduced this film by saying that when “a fat man dances” people look on with the same patronising face as if “they’re battling a tumour.” I’m pleased to say that my expression was far from that when I saw Cuban Fury. Ensure this is the movie you see this Valentine’s Day.
Cuban Fury is released 14th Febraury 2014.
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