Sure Cuban Fury is the usual ‘fish out of water’ unlikely protagonist film that they trot out each year – Ferrell and Sandler have made careers out of it. But it sensibly stays within its lane and aims for ‘likeable’ instead of ‘incredible’.
As a child Bruce Garrett was an energetic and talented kid with a knack and deep love for dance. Then thanks to an unfortunate bullying incident, Bruce fell out of love with dance, and in love with pies.
Now a portly 30 something, the only thing remotely dance related in Bruce’s life is… wait for it… ‘tworking’ in a dingy office (“we sell lathes!”), and enduring the dimly lit daily grind especially the resident smarmy git Drew (a gloriously dickish Chris O’Dowd).
Bruce’s return to dance is – as always – pants related, specifically the arrival of the spunky and effervescent Julia (Rashida Jones), the new department manager. Unfortunately Julia also catches the eye of Drew, who even at his most dickish is still a more likely partner than the chubby and introspective Bruce, so Bruce looks for a means to differentiate himself.
Of course a quarter century and twice as many extra kilos on the frame don’t lend themselves easily to an instant return to peak form, so Bruce once again seeks out Ron Parfitt, the gruff and boorish dance instructor who Bruce let down 25 years before.
Ron sure can carry a grudge.
Cuban Fury sets the realism bar at ‘plausible’. Bruce isn’t a gun hotstepper within mere hours, nor does he end up vying for the world title. The film actually culminates in a local amateur dance comp. Of course there are nutty characters and a couple of silly situations, but the film earns them. It not only develops the characters but also uses them, unlike a Ferrell film they’re not just there to be nutty in the corner.
And to answer everyone’s question; ‘yes, Nick Frost can dance’. Of course he isn’t Patrick Swayze-ing all shirtless and buff across the floor, not even Travolta-ing along on his tip-toes with his lips all duck-face, but the big man can boogie.
I would never have given this film a second glance if it weren’t for the presence of unlikely leading man Nick Frost, better known as ‘the guy who isn’t Simon Pegg’ in Edgar Wright’s brilliant Cornetto trilogy, but he’s again hitched himself to a good thing here. Cuban Fury doesn’t reinvent the genre, nor does it bring the house down, but it is an easily likeable, very accessible and most welcome of all, not a mean spirited comedy that is as hard to dislike as Nick Frost is to lift (sorry, had to have one fat joke).
Final Rating – 7.5 / 10. The best films like Cuban Fury get you to care about things you don’t normally care about; baseball (Major League), ice hockey (Goon), Jennifer Lopez (Out of Sight). Thanks to this film you can add salsa dancing to the list.
