Culture

Rating: B

If I were to make a list of films I thought would never be made, I’m pretty sure a Nick Frost dance flick would make an appearance. But, what do you know, Nick Frost – who you might know as the big guy from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz – is indeed the star of Cuban Fury.

Not just any kind of dancing, but the passionate salsa. We follow Frost’s character Bruce, a once hopeful Salsa star that, after an unfortunate series of events, gave up his love of dance to become an engineer. That is, until his new boss Julia reignites his passions for salsa when he discovers that this may be the key to her heart.

This 90-minute rom-com is truly as cheesy as its premise sounds. However, there is just enough British comedy, flair and vulgarity to turn a cheesy concept into a fairly fun experience.

The cast play a big hand in this. Frost gives a great performance and plays Bruce’s social awkwardness perfectly, which makes his transformation into a confident salsa machine all the more rewarding. This is made even more pronounced by the fact that you spend the first half of the film convinced that a big guy like Frost couldn’t be a great dancer, only to have him drastically change our minds.

Despite an overtly American structure and story, the comedy itself is still very British, as the film was set and made in England. Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids), who plays Frost’s adversary, displays some of the most profoundly vulgar, but truly British, sexual innuendos and euphemisms you have ever heard. Plus there is a dance battle between Frost and O’Dowd that will be hard to forget.

Cuban Fury has some moments of great comedy, awesome dancing and some surprisingly well written character scenes. However, despite these attributes it is still at its core a cheesy rom-com aimed at American audiences.