Simon Pegg has a cameo in the first solo venture of his pal, Nick Frost. One imagines Pegg watching the rushes and insisting they keep his spot really short. This wannabe heart-warming comedy is the kind of thing he and Frost used to lampoon in their sleep.
Frost stars as Bruce, a former junior salsa champ who, in chubby middle-age, discovers he wants to get back on the dancefloor. There's a cute woman involved (Rashida Jones), plus an obnoxious rival (Chris O'Dowd), a supportive sister (Olivia Colman), a crotchety ex-manager (Ian McShane), a married best friend who moans endlessly about his wife (Rory Kinnear) and, last but not least, a camp foreigner who cheers on our hero at every opportunity (Four Lions' Kayvan Novak).
In between such formulaic fun, we get gyrating. Cuban Fury should be to salsa what Blades of Glory was to ice-skating but Frost insists on playing it straight. He's a good dancer, but not good enough to justify the under-dog-outshines-professionals plot.
Ow! Being mean about Frost hurts. He seems like such a nice guy. So let's end on a positive note. The car-park dance-off between Bruce and his obnoxious co-worker (O’Dowd) is mildly engaging and the effervescent Novak delivers a sublime speech about Fanta. Could be worse. They're welcome to use that line on the poster.
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