Bruce Garrett is an odd 13-year-old boy. Instead of lacing up his sport cleats, he shines his dancing shoes. Rather than putting on a team uniform, he buttons up his bedazzled satin blouse. Bruce is getting ready to compete in the UK Junior Sala Dancing Championships when he becomes a victim of a traumatizing bullying attack, and he vows to never dance again. All of that changes, however, when he meets his new boss Julia who, turns out, has a thing for salsa dancing. Now Bruce must try to overcome his fears of dancing if he has any chance of impressing Julia, but can he do it?
Although the premise is a little silly, Cuban Fury does star some comedy veterans, which is much-needed name recognition for any commercial success. Known for his roles in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead is leading man Nick Frost, who plays the child dancing prodigy turned overweight, insecure office worker. Chris O’Dowd plays Drew, Bruce’s womanizing, albeit arrogant, co-worker. It’s a stark, but welcoming, contrast from his role as the bumbling Officer Rhodes in the ingenious comedy Bridesmaids. In Fury, O’Dowd lies, cheats, and dances in an attempt to win over the affection of Julia’s heart, played by none other than Rashida Jones. Her good looks and intelligence make Jones a leading lady worth admiring.
It’s more of a low brow humor at play here, which plays a little too safe to make for a more memorable comedy.
A majority of the humor comes from Frost and O’Dowd as they each compete for Julia’s attention. Their on-screen chemistry even leads to a hilarious dance-off, which is sure to bring the audience to laughter. Drew’s over sexualized, crude jokes also bring humor to the film, although not without its fair share of jokes which fall flat. It’s more of a low-brow type of humor, which plays a little too safe to make for a memorable comedy. Even seasoned comedians can’t save this rom-com from falling flat.
Overall Cuban Fury is a feel good movie but plays too safe to be taken seriously as a romantic comedy. It’s more of a “watch-on-the-plane” type of film that is sure to provide a few laughs, but not without a few awkward cringes as well. It doesn’t play by the rules as far as having a storybook ending, which is a nice change, but ultimately, I’d wait until it hits Netflix to check this film out.
