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.
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.