Cuban Fury

Light on plot, light on run-time and light on its feet, James Griffiths’ debut feature may not win awards for originality, but it’s elevated by the fantastically funny cast and inescapable sense of fun. February though it may only be, it’s a safe bet that Cuban Fury is the best British salsa-based comedy of the year.

Nick Frost takes the lead as Bruce Garret, an overweight and insecure office worker who falls for his new boss, Rashida Jones. Upon discovering that she likes salsa dancing, he decides to overcome demons of his past, return to his longabandoned passion and play out that immortal Hollywood trope: do the dance to get the girl. Surprisingly, it’s the romance portion of this little slice of whimsy that proves the most lacking, with Jones reduced to a pretty cipher. Instead, writer Jon Brown’s (TV’s Misfits, Horne & Corden, Fresh Meat) crackling script focuses on the supporting characters in Bruce’s life, all of whom allow Brown’s talent for good-natured ribbing, awkward charm and utter filth to shine. Chris O’Dowd is hilariously sleazy as Bruce’s oily love rival, while Four Kings star Kayvan Novak is scene-stealing as a dramatically camp salsa student. As Bruce’s partygirl sister, Coleman proves a delight, sharing a warm chemistry with Frost that becomes the beating heart of the film.

Though Cuban Fury takes a flight of fancy too many – a carpark salsa dance-fight complete with backflips betrays the film’s otherwise grounded Britishness – and the romance remains too underdeveloped to provide a satisfying climax, it exudes such an atmosphere of good fun that it’s hard to resist.