Salsa Fury

source: Cuban Fury

This is decent comedy about a subject I don't care too much about, dancing. The acting is over all pretty good and I really love Rashida Jones! The guys in this aren't as good... by that I mean the main guys not Ian McShane who I think is pretty much amazing in everything I have ever seen him in. He always brings such a big intensity and realness to his characters, no matter how over the top or crazy (or ridiculous in this case) those characters may be. He and Jones make this movie worth watching! Check it out, it is nothing amazing but definitely a decent way to waste an hour and a half!

Cuban Fury (2014) A total feel good dance and music movie. And so familiar it really does just ride on the formula. Expect nothing more—and enjoy the salsa! It's curious that a leading actor in this movie, Irish actor Chris O'Dowd, also appears in a simliar feel good up from nowhere music flick, "The Sapphires," and yet here has an opposite personality. He plays an unlikeable boss here, and his excessive one-liners don't actually come off as funny. The real lead is Nick Frost, playing Bruce, a once promising salsa dancer who as a kid got ridiculed to the point of quitting. But now, as an adult looking for a girl in his life, he finds he needs to start again. He's funny and lovable, though also not as funny as he is meant to be. The woman in question is an American, Rashida Jones, who is really at ease and lovable on screen even if she plays a kind of obvious role. She helps ground what is a very lightweight and flimsy production. So then the usual competition between types of men occurs. There are clichés, there are the ever-useful plot twists and surprises that won't surprise you because they're so old, and then there's the dance competition. And you know, more or less, what happens. All in pure sweet happiness. Oddly enough, this mediocre movie is still fun to watch, so go ahead. The music is fun, and some of the dance venues are really great. And the story really does make you feel good.

As I watched "Cuban Fury", I found myself feeling sorry for the leading man, Nick Frost (who played the nice-guy, Bruce). This is because in so many previous films he played the second banana, to to speak, not the lead. Here he's given a chance to show what he can do...and he's quite nice. BUT, and here's the important part, he simply cannot carry the film based on his acting and character and the writing is, in places, pretty bad. In particular, some of the supporting characters made no sense. A great example is Drew--the super-obnoxious co-worker who is SO nasty and unlikable that he seems unreal. You hate him but you also hate the writing because he's so one-dimensional and serves only as a distraction from a nice story. As for the story, Bruce is a guy who used to be a champion dancer. But, this was decades ago and many, many pounds ago as well. Much of his giving up dance is that he's basically a meek man--a guy who is afraid of many things. Because of that, he is likable but sad as some folks walk all over him. One day, a new boss from America arrives. Julia (Rashida Jones) is a nice lady and he's infatuated with her. But, because of his low self-esteem, he's afraid to ask her out...that is until he learns that they have something in common. She loves Salsa dancing and he USED to be great at it. So, working against his fears, Bruce decides to return to dance. But he's got a LONG, LONG way to go and reclaiming his past glory and the girl might just be impossible. To make this film better, the writers and director SHOULD have treated this more like a romantic drama. After all, Bruce and Julia are sweet characters and could have carried the film had the filmmakers trusted in this. Instead, cheap jokes and distractions frustrated me to no end. As a result, it's worth seeing...but also well worth skipping. It's a shame, as Frost and Jones were awfully good and this film will no doubt do nothing to help their careers.

Are there any actual Latinos in this movie? I'm searching the cast list.

CUBAN FURY is yet another British comedy that isn't very funny. The concept - a workplace love triangle in which our portly hero has to return to his childhood love of salsa in order to win over the hot new American manager from his obnoxious co-worker - is sound but the jokes are too few, the direction is generic and, in a film which is all about dancing, it's all too obvious that Nick Frost as the lead can't actually dance very well. Among the supporting cast Ian McShane is nicely seedy and Kayvan Novak steals the show as a camp Persian fellow-dancer, but there's not enough of them and too much of Nick Frost being clumsy and Chris O'Dowd being a jerk.

Review: I quite enjoyed this heartwarming tale about a salsa dancer who stops dancing because he gets bullies when he was young. He then falls for a new employee at his workplace who also enjoys Salsa dancing so he picks up the art again to try and get close to his love. Some of the scenes were funny, especially with Chris O'Dowd & Kayvan Novak who plays the gay dancer, and I loved the music throughout the movie. It's enjoyable if you don't take it seriously, but some of the scenes are a bit ridiculous, like the standoff in the car park. I was impressed with Nick Frost dancing, especially because of his size, and Nicks sister, Olivia Coleman, was also pretty impressive. Anyway, it's full of fun for the whole family and I'm sure that you will be tapping for feet throughout the film. Round-Up: It's a shame that the movie didn't make that much money because the whole cast put in 100% and they all looked like professional dancers. We are all familiar with a Nick Frost's type of humour from the Shaun of the a Dead franchise and Paul so you kind of know what type of comedy to expect. Personally, it's not a movie that I would watch over and over again, but it's a simple storyline which has some great dance moves. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $100,000 (Terrible!) I recommend this movie to people who are into there movies about a salsa dancer who tries to charm the love of his life through dance. 5/10

Watching films like the present one is, under some respects, a rite: we know in advance what is awaiting us, we can easily imagine what will happen, how things will turn, how they will end. So when we start watching we wonder mainly one thing: will the story develop as we expect, will our expectations be happily confirmed or on the contrary will something unpleasant let us down? Which is exactly what doesn't have to happen. Knowingly or not we are seeking for something that will sooth our anxiety, like a balm. This is the prerequisite. Then we check if the film is OK, if it makes us laugh, if the story is original, if it surprises us, if the funny characters are actually funny... and so on. Well according to me everything is OK in this nice movie, the story is good, the characters are catching and everything is as it had to be: funny and entertaining. A good British answer to American comedies.

Like most people, I'm used to seeing Nick Frost as part of a 'double act' with friend and fellow actor Simon Pegg (or technically 'triple act' with their director Edgar Wright). However, in 'Cuban Fury' we see what he's capable of when headlining the bill. In case you haven't seen any of the posters for this film, it's about dancing. Frost plays his typically mellow, overweight self who used to dance as a child, until he was bullied into giving it up by other boys. Now, as a man, he has to regain his dancing feet in order to win over the (naturally beautiful and coincidentally American) woman he loves. I could tell you how it goes, but, if you can't guess, then you haven't watched enough films. Its major flaw is that it's painfully predictable. You can sort of see every situation coming and feel like you could have even written it yourself if you put your mind to it. However, despite this being a 'tried and tested' formula, it's still enjoyable to watch. Nick Frost may not be fighting zombies or aliens, but he's still naturally charming and managed to be watchable as he bumbles his way through the film. After watching it I didn't feel like I'd wasted an hour and a half of my life (although I'm not likely to bother watching it again on account of me already having seen a hundred films just like it). It's basically nothing new, but if you're in the mood for something light, frothy and easy-going, there are worst ways of spending your time. Also, special mention to Olivia Coleman who, in my opinion, stole every scene she was in. Pity she wasn't in it more. http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Nick Frost usually comes as one-half of a package deal. With Simon Pegg (and their behind-the-scenes collaborator Edgar Wright), Frost has starred in three of the most gloriously subversive, smart and silly British comedies of the past ten years: Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End. Can he hold the screen and get the laughs when he's headlining a film, with neither Pegg nor Wright in sight? The answer is, thankfully, yes. Cuban Fury is a great vehicle for Frost - he grounds the fun, loopy, cheerful dance comedy in something a little more real and affecting, even if the film doesn't quite hit the brilliant heights of the aforementioned Cornetto Trilogy. After being bullied mercilessly by a pack of boys as a child, Bruce (Frost) swears off the one thing he's really good at: salsa dancing. Fast forward a few decades, and he's a bored, boring office drone forced to suffer the company of Drew (Chris O'Dowd), his lewdest, rudest, meanest colleague. When he meets his new, gorgeous boss Julia (Rashida Jones), however, Bruce feels compelled to step out of his comfort zone - especially when he realises that she loves salsa dancing too. Even as Drew tries to worm his way into Julia's affections, Bruce resolves to put on his dancing shoes again. The plot of the film is something of a hit-and-miss affair - it can occasionally feel like it's been forcibly stitched together from a bunch of really great stand-alone scenes and ideas. Some of the narrative decisions don't make a whole lot of sense either. Why, for instance, is Julia anointed the boss rather than a new colleague? It seems to complicate matters unnecessarily throughout the entire film, given the ethical issues at stake in an employer-employee relationship. But there's no real need to over-think things when Cuban Fury is just so goshdarn chirpy, funny and entertaining. The film practically radiates its own brand of amiable humour, often zipping from goofy wordplay to awkward slapstick within the space of a single scene. Amidst the roof-top dance-offs and mix-tape mix-ups, there's even a little room for huge helpings of heart. Bruce becomes a better person for doing what he loves, and it's a joy to see him find the confidence he'd lost all those years ago. Whenever the script misses a beat, its oddball characters come to the rescue. Frost's Bruce is a standard-issue unlikely hero, and Jones is almost criminally wasted as the painfully underwritten Julia. But the weirdos dancing around them are a delight. Hilariously committed to the part of Drew, O'Dowd is clearly having fun being as rude, nasty and offensive as he possibly can. Ian McShane is marvellous as Bruce's dour old dance teacher, Ron, and Kayvan Novak steals scenes aplenty as Bruce's gleefully flamboyant new friend Bejan. Even so, it's Olivia Colman who walks away with top honours: she's spectacularly funny and appealing as Bruce's open-hearted, game-for-anything sister Sam. Cuban Fury isn't a game-changer by any stretch of the imagination. Unlike the Cornetto Trilogy, it doesn't have something smarter and more subversive to say about its chosen genre of film. This is a sports-laced romantic comedy with no greater ambition than making its audience laugh. Not every element of it works perfectly, and the script can be lead-footed in parts. But, when it comes down to it, the film is so sweet and silly that it sometimes approaches the sublime.