User reviews

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.

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.

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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.

Normally, I am not the kind of man who would sit down to watch a film about dancing (unless, of course, given carte blanche to ridicule said film by my better half), but I had a feeling about the Salsa Comedy Cuban Fury (2014). With a cast consisting of some of the best the boys across the pond have to offer in Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead 2004), Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids 2011), and the ever compelling Ian McShane (Deadwood). Drop in the adorable Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation) and you have a very solid cast who are masters at comic timing. I first became aware of this movie a few months ago watching trailers one afternoon on my computer. Looked funny, never heard about it again, then it popped up on Netflix Streaming. One boring afternoon, my best gal and I sat down to give it a gander and had a really great time with it.

The story revolves around Bruce (played well by Frost), a former youth Salsa dance champion, who quit after a scarring event made him turn in his dance shoes. Now working as an industrial machine designer, he goes unnoticed by his co-workers. With the exception of Drew (a great turn as the heel for O'Dowd, often known for playing nice guys), the smarmy, fast talker of the office who has made a game out of humiliating Bruce every chance he gets. Never having any motivation to fight back before, enter Julia (Jones), the new head of their department and Salsa dance enthusiast. With both men seeking her affection, Bruce realizes that his only hope for love is to get back on the dance floor.

The movie was a relatively simple movie all about self-confidence and putting yourself out there. Thats pretty standard fare, but...

The cast are excellent. Most of the people in the movie that dance are actors rather than dancers, unlike movies like "Step up", and it shows with characters like Bejan. He's hilarious, extremely camp and actually quite credible as someone you'd likely see on a salsa dance floor.

Unlike some other reviewers, I am a long way from 50, but I do actually know a little bit about salsa. This movie represents parts of the salsa scene that people not in it don't know about. It shows various styles of salsa (rueda, on-1, on-1 threesomes and carnival), it shows dance style similar to salsa & enjoyed by many on the salsa scene (some shots looked like kizomba or bachata {hard to tell with the bad framing of the shots}, and there was Bejan telling people doing aerobic dance {zumba} to go back to their leisure centres). The movie does have quite a lot of capoeira-inspired dancing, and a lot of dancing that you'd only expect professional dance performers to even come close to attempting (loads of lifts)

Sound: The movie pretty much sounded as it should have, but there was one particularly irritating oversight. The guy(s) who did the soundtrack really didn't worry about matching the on-screen dancing to the musical beat. It made the dancers look like they were about 2 and a half beats off, just horrible.

Its definitely worth watching.

Bruce and his sister Sam danced salsa competitively as kids under the directions of Ron Parfitt (Ian McShane). They were a winning team until Bruce fails to attend the Nationals after being bullied in his costume. He vows never to dance again. Twenty five years later, Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) is a chubby engineer. His 'friend' Drew (Chris O'Dowd) is a sleazy co-worker. Helen (Alexandra Roach) is a bitter co-worker. They get a new boss in Julia (Rashida Jones) and Bruce immediately falls for her. He discovers that she dances salsa and he tries to put on his dancing shoes once again.

Nick Frost is likable. Chris O'Dowd is a silly fun weasel, and Rashida Jones is absolutely adorable. The movie works whenever these three interact with each other. The awkward romance between Frost and Jones is endearing. The dancing doesn't make sense. I don't understand why Bruce doesn't simply join in the dance class as a beginner. The premise doesn't work and the story suffers. The comedy works but the dancing story doesn't.

I heard Nick Frost promoting Cuban Fury on its release and heard the stories about how he had to gather together enough money over a lengthy period to get his project off the ground. When I listen to interviews like that you do tend to lean a bit towards the producers and in this case the star (he wears two hats) for the hard work in getting a non studio non blockbuster to the screen.

But then you often realise why American television produces so much 'made for TV' film fodder, because in America this film would not have made it to cinema release. This merely highlights how low the true British film has fallen since the great days of British comedy, such as Ealing, and even to a degree, the Carry Ons.

Cuban Fury is OK, no more. Nick Frost is OK, no more. There is a reason why actors form teams and that is because they play a foil for each other, and in Cuban Fury Nick Frost has to carry the film which neither he nor the script is capable of. Frost's foil, as such in this film is Chris O'Dowd, but in reality his is the love opposition in Frost's hopes of getting the hand of Rashida Jones. So O'Dowd is working against Frost for the entirety of the film and his over the top lothario is so poorly acted, developed and scripted that his time on screen is time that is more annoying that fun in what is meant to be a comedy.

The story surrounds Frost's infatuation for Jones when she joins his Company as Head of Sales. His infatuation is further enhanced when he realises that she enjoys Salsa, a format that Frost was a champion in before he was bullied out of it in his teenage years. Love has no boundaries however, and Frost is determined to woe this women with his rusty skills and returns to his old mentor, played by Ian McShane, to see whether his now larger and less lithe physique still has the old magic.

As is usual in this kinds of films the 'little man' must battle adversity to win his girl, and in some amusing pre-climax dance scenes that it was Frost does. The fight scene between him and O'Dowd is more akin to West Side Story than Rocky and is very amusing and well edited. But the premise only cast your mind back to another similar British film of recent years, namely Run Fat Boy Run, which did this 'boy tries to win girl' storyline so much better.

The film has a great cast of British characters with McShane definitely becoming a new Oliver Reed for scene stealing. Also worthy are Olivia Colman as Frost's former dance partner sister and Kayvan Novak who steals most of the scenes he appears in.

This film is OK, but could have been so much better.

Cuban Fury is a decent movie with a mediocre storyline and a great comedic cast that sadly couldn't make this much better. The main problem with the movie is it simply isn't funny enough, there were some parts that had me in stitches, but there wasn't merely enough to make it worth your while. The cast is terrific, Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O' Dowd and Olvia Colman are all terrific actors, but they were all given boring roles that didn't allow them show off the talent they have. Rashida Jones is easily one of the funniest women in show business, so I can't understand why she did this movie, she had a boring 2D character who was just there to motivate Frost to become a new man, and I think that he should have ended up with Colman's character in the end, they seemed perfect for each other. It had a lot of potential and essentially let me down, I think you would be better off avoiding Cuban Fury.

An overweight, down on his luck man tries to impress his new boss by learning salsa dancing and hopefully winning her heart.

Best Performance: Chris O'Dowd Worst Performance: Rashida Jones

These 90 minutes had me laughing so much I had tears on my cheeks by the end of the film. Cuban Fury is a great movie. It is full of rom-com clichés and it uses them all superbly. Everything is in there including a training montage. I laughed loads from start to finish. It you want a check list of reasons to see this film then: Nick Frost - Check Chris O'Dowd - Check Rashida Jones - Check Kayvan Novack - Check and Check again. Olivia Coleman - Check.

There is also great support from Ian McShane, Alexandra Roach and Rory Kinear as well as a very quick and hilarious cameo from a star that I will not name. Nick Frost gets a chance to shine and show that he is more than Simon Pegg's sidekick and Kayvan Novack steals every scene he is in. The script written by John Brown is very lean and has lots quotable lines such as "Al Pa-f*cking-cino" and "I'm late for my ball waxing". IMDb lists some cast members who do not actually appear in the film which makes me suspect that there has been some good editing to keep the movie tight and maintain its momentum. There is one teeny tiny flaw in the plot (who uses cassette tapes in their car these days?) but I laughed so much that I don't care.

Superb. See it

Now, where can I get salsa lessons?

There are a lot of things that aren't great about this movie. But, it has a great personality, it's fun to watch. Especially, just to relax with. It doesn't require thought to follow. It's just a bit of fun.

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

When I saw the trail or for this film I had mixed feelings, most things nick frost and chris o'dowd do are pretty funny but the plot to me seemed a bit ridiculous. In my honest opinion it's some of the worst work either have done but isn't a bad film.

There were many 15 year olds in the cinema who laughed throughout and will no doubt be repeating the bad language and toilet humour at school on Monday but I didn't see any adult do much more than chuckle. The cameo of Simon Peggy got the biggest laugh and he was in the film barely a minute...that says a lot. Olivia Coleman was by far the funniest character and played her role perfectly.

O'dowd is an arrogant, self absorbed character who seemed to change accents in every scene, I didn't know if he was Irish American English or slightly Latino. He delivered an average performance with much of his humour really being only enjoyed by the youth in the cinema. He wasn't bad but it wasn't anywhere near the best work he is capable of.

Nick frost on the other hand was an endearing character that was acted out very naturally. He was funny and you genuinely want the best for him, some of the dancing scenes came across poor due to his size and how the camera was switching to the professionals in the big moves. I have this thing with actors of a chubbier variety where I feel a lot of the anticipated humour comes from him being big, I neither find it funny or clever to grasp at jokes based on appearance. Frost delivered a good solid performance.

The object of their desires was their boss who was perfect throughout and didn't have much of note to do in the way of acting. I think thousands of actresses could have played that role.

It isn't a bad film, but it was a film that probably didn't need to be made, it's a definite DVD rental but not a cinema masterpiece. It's watchable and mildly entertaining. Plot wise it's completely predictable and plays out like a scenario we've seen over and over again, who gets the girl the underdog or the villain , seen that a million times, the only difference is it had salsa in it, a dance no body under 50 really cares about.

It won't be a cult classic like Shaun of the dead, it won't win awards or do the actors much in the way of acknowledgement. It is an average film tailored to a younger sense of humour. It pulls you in with a great British cast, but never let's any of them bar Coleman shine.

I would say if your 16 go watch this, any older then wait for the DVD, it won't disappoint but with the cost of cinema trips it doesn't warrant the hefty prices of food and admission.

It's not ever going to be a classic every time you see these names but I'd say this was wasted potential. The dancing is OK but just not as impressive as things you see in step up or street dance! It's a silly plot, with a silly backstory, it goes together and flows throughout, it just never excels or stands out.

It screams average but never awful which is it's saving grace, it does get better at the end, it rides along in the average lane occasionally popping into the good lane but being aware never to go to the bad side.

I would give it 5.5/10

Strange film this one, almost a rom-com, but unnecessary foul language detracts from the warm and fuzzy feeling that it nearly generates.

To be fair, I wasn't bored for a minute, but I detested Chris O' Dowd's character, which didn't help me warm to the film either.

The choreography isn't dazzling by any means, and a bit more music throughout would have helped.

Haiving said all that, I'd be likely to watch it again if I wanted a brainless 97 minutes as it was entertaining.

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.

Self-conscious office worker Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) returns to the salsa talent of his childhood in Cuban Fury (2014) to shimmy his way into the arms of his new boss, Julia (Rashida Jones). Director James Griffiths' entertaining debut is set between Bruce's work place and the underground salsa club, with the negative environment of his blue office set against the bright club owned by his childhood salsa teacher, Ron Parfait (Ian McShane). As the 'bishop' to this 'cathedral' of salsa, Ron stands for the exotic world that the average worker dreams of belonging to. His strong English accent is comically ironic against his more 'foreign' appearance. The salsa club is vibrant in its design with peeling turquoise paint, antique wall lamps and cracked red leather sofas. This aging building is revived by the love of dance, much like Julia's influence on the downtrodden Bruce. Griffiths' use of religious symbolism as a representation for the passion of dance is not unique, but works in some way to add a level of depth to this otherwise straight-forward romantic comedy. Bruce conquers his childhood fear; he shakes off the bullies as he steps onto the dance floor again. 'Nick Frost-isms' are in abundance. The gags are reminiscent of the self-conscious Danny of Hot Fuzz (2007), aided by a brief cameo of long time comedic partner Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead (2004). Cuban Fury is an entertaining take on romantic comedy and dance genres that will leave you with a compulsion to sashay out of the cinema.

A pleasant inoffensive comedy with Nick Frost for once divorced from Simon Pegg and wooing "Parks and Recreation's" Rashida Lloyd against the nefarious designs of his crude office manager Chris O'Dowd. Turning on the coincidence that Lloyd is an avid salsa dance fan and student while Frost gave up an early flair for the same dance under peer pressure from his fellow school-mates, they unsurprisingly get together and take the film to a predictable "dance-off" conclusion.

The film aims for the same good-time vibe of popular hits like "Dirty Dancing" and "Strictly Ballroom", mixed with the earthier feel of earlier Frost vehicles like "Hot Fuzz" and "Shawn of the Dead" and if it doesn't quite pull it off, it gets by with some amusing situations, funny lines and likable characters.

I probably liked more the supporting parts of the effete Latino male dancer, Frost's supportive sister, played by an underused Olivia Colman, a permatanned Ian McShane as Frost's old tyrannical dance-teacher and Frost's two saddo mates who get together once a week purely to review how ordinary their intervening days have been. As is the norm in contemporary comedies, the humour is a bit off-colour, with some of O'Dowd's conceited caveman comments being a little over the mark, but it reins itself in for the sequin-spectacular finale and feel-good conclusion.

Frost is fine, if a little unbelievable, as his born-to-dance character, Lloyd is inoffensive in a fairly shallow role while O'Dowd garners a fair share of the laughs with his character's crude, boorish behaviour.

Nicely shot and edited, particularly in the fast and furious dance where you'll believe a fat man can fly, "Cuban Fury" is affable, lightweight entertainment worth partnering for 90 minutes.

Granted -- this is a silly predictable story. Yet, Nick frost wrote it and is in it, so one has to tune in if one is Frost fan. Wherever Frost is, something is cooking.

This is the typical love triangle story: average overweight good-hearted honest guy fancy the hot new co-worker girl, but he good man thinks that she would never be interested in him because ladies always prefer the pretty boys no matter how jerky they are, so the good guy hast to do something to win the chick's heart. You know the end before it starts.

However, there are a few things that make this film very enjoyable: > First, Frost's performance. He is completely believable as the looser Bruce. > Second, the presence of an odious character, Drew, masterly played by the versatile O'Dowd; if he wasn't believable, the whole movie would fail. > Third, a nice salsa dancing and competition plot. It doesn't matter that none of the actors is a good dancer or a good salsa dancer, that is part of the fun and of the pun! > Four, hilarious dialogues and situations! > Five, an unforgettable scene. I will always remember, I mean always, this movie because of a single scene, the uber-hilarious brilliantly performed, danced and filmed fight between Drew and Bruce in the car park. That was so good, so funny that had me rolling on the floor, well, on my sofa. > Six, this is a feel-good movie with the predictable ending we all want.

Simple, funny, unpretentious and enjoyable.

There are plenty of reviews here breaking down the details, so I won't go into them. The storyline is basically the old "loser shows he's a winner and gets the girl" staple, with the salsa dancefloor as the battleground.

The salsa scene portraid is a bit of a caricature, well it's a comedy after all, but I think it gets a lot of the essence of it, all sorts of characters of all shapes and sizes getting together in places varying from upstairs rooms in pubs to big nightclubs and just fun sharing the music and the dancing. It's a parody, but an affectionate one.

And anyone who's danced salsa in London can play "spot the dancer I know" in the final scenes, because they used real London salsa dancers as extras. I think I've had lessons from pretty much everyone on that competition dance floor over the years.

A romantic comedy based on the idea of the movie 'Strictly Ballroom' starring the ever so slightly chubby Nick Frost. A great idea helped by Chris O'Dowd, who is brilliant as his nemesis. Great fun, more comedy than romance, but thoroughly enjoyable.

(47%) Nick Frost's underdog sport movie (of sorts) lies very much in the same vein as Simon Pegg's "Run fat boy run", only I know which one I prefer, and it sure ain't this. With that said this is still worth a look for fans of the nerdy duo, with three maybe four mild laughs throughout, so don't expect a laugh a minute hit and you might be okay. Frost carries the film perfectly well playing very much a typical fat bloke who's stuck in a self-pitting rut, but Chris O'Dowd's character is too much the competitive jerk to be relatable, and the plot is way too formulaic and predicable. While the dance sequences don't draw out enough laughs, but because of Frost's appearance they can't really be taken all that seriously either. Overall very much catch it if you can fluff.