Cuban Fury (2014, Dir. James Griffiths, UK) (Cert: 15/R) *** Starring: Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris ODowd As a child, Bruce Garrett (Frost, Ben Radcliffe) was an extremely talented dancer, specialising in Salsa. When hes assaulted by bullies, Bruce turns his back on Salsa and twenty-five years later is a draughtsman for a company making lathes. When a beautiful new employee named Julia (Jones) catches his eye (and of Bruces uncouth colleague Drew (ODowd)) Bruce discovers that she dances Salsa and takes out his dancing shoes once again. With Simon Pegg becoming a major international star off of the back of major Hollywood projects (most notably Scotty in the rebooted Star Trek franchise) you can be forgiven for thinking that his partner-in-comedy Nick Frost has been left behind a little. Here, Frost takes the lead in Cuban Fury and provides a light and enjoyable rom-com with a twist (literally) even if it doesnt quite have the right kick. Nick Frost may not be a conventional leading man but his amiable everyman presence is a big reason as to why this film works. He plays his part well and is always entertaining playing the slightly oafish nice guy. Chris ODowd (who has played similar roles to that as well in the past) also does well as a thoroughly unlikeable rival to Frost, a role that is fairly out of step for ODowd. Rashida Jones does well, but feels slightly out of place and lacks the distinct characteristics of her co-stars whilst Olivia Colman, playing Frosts sister and former dance partner, also couldve done with more screentime. The film is undemanding. Yes, it has the dance element, but thats not fully used to its greatest potential (save for as a means to give us Kayvan Novaks turn as an extremely camp dancer) and the film lacks anything approaching real drama despite being, for all intents and purposes, a romantic comedy. Its also predictable as hell with the same familiar beats being hit at every turn. Still, audiences for this will probably just be looking for something funny, a little sweet and not very taxing. For those things, Cuban Fury is, all things considered, worthwhile. Next time, Colin Farrell and Jessica Brown Findlay play star-crossed lovers, joined together through the mysteries of the universe in A New York Winters Tale.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 17:21:04 +0000
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