Film Review: Cuban Fury

Cuban Fury. Rated M (sexual references and coarse language). 98 minutes. Directed by James Griffiths. Screenplay by Jon Brown.

Verdict: Strictly Ballroom lite.

Just like last year’s The Silver Linings Playbook, in which Bradley Cooper shimmied his way into Jennifer Lawrence’s heart by learning to dance, Cuban Fury’s plot focuses on the liberation of our heart and soul, which is only possible when we are doing that thing we love the most.

Nick Frost is most well-known for his performance as Ed, the slovenly flatmate of Simon Pegg’s Shaun in Shaun of the Dead (2004), and he and Pegg worked together again in Hot Fuzz (2007) and Paul (2011).

In Cuban Fury (in which Pegg has a drive-by cameo), it is Frost’s turn to star as Bruce Garrett, a one-time Salsa champion who was bullied into giving up his passion at a young age. Twenty-five years later, Bruce is still bullied by Drew (Chris O’Dowd), his cruel and over-bearing colleague at work. But when Salsa-loving Julia (Rashida Jones) arrives from the USA to lead the sales team, Bruce decides to win her over through their shared love of dance.

Frost is charming in the leading role, but it is the wonderfully idiosyncratic supporting characters that bring real interest to Brown’s stock standard story. Ian McShane (Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Kayvan Novak (Syriana) make meals out of their roles as dance teacher Ron Parfait and dance school buddy Bejan respectively, while O’Dowd plays against type too, and delivers a smarmy workplace bully.

As predictable as it all might be, Cuban Fury is an undemanding piece of escapism, and it will certainly bring a smile to your face and a tap or two to your toes, courtesy of the marvellous soundtrack from artists including Tito Puente, Sunlightsquare and Oscar D’Leon.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspapers Group.