As I watched "Cuban Fury", I found myself feeling sorry for the leading man, Nick Frost (who played the nice-guy, Bruce). This is because in so many previous films he played the second banana, to to speak, not the lead. Here he's given a chance to show what he can do...and he's quite nice. BUT, and here's the important part, he simply cannot carry the film based on his acting and character and the writing is, in places, pretty bad. In particular, some of the supporting characters made no sense. A great example is Drew--the super-obnoxious co-worker who is SO nasty and unlikable that he seems unreal. You hate him but you also hate the writing because he's so one-dimensional and serves only as a distraction from a nice story.

As for the story, Bruce is a guy who used to be a champion dancer. But, this was decades ago and many, many pounds ago as well. Much of his giving up dance is that he's basically a meek man--a guy who is afraid of many things. Because of that, he is likable but sad as some folks walk all over him. One day, a new boss from America arrives. Julia (Rashida Jones) is a nice lady and he's infatuated with her. But, because of his low self-esteem, he's afraid to ask her out...that is until he learns that they have something in common. She loves Salsa dancing and he USED to be great at it. So, working against his fears, Bruce decides to return to dance. But he's got a LONG, LONG way to go and reclaiming his past glory and the girl might just be impossible.

To make this film better, the writers and director SHOULD have treated this more like a romantic drama. After all, Bruce and Julia are sweet characters and could have carried the film had the filmmakers trusted in this. Instead, cheap jokes and distractions frustrated me to no end. As a result, it's worth seeing...but also well worth skipping. It's a shame, as Frost and Jones were awfully good and this film will no doubt do nothing to help their careers.

Bruce and his sister Sam danced salsa competitively as kids under the directions of Ron Parfitt (Ian McShane). They were a winning team until Bruce fails to attend the Nationals after being bullied in his costume. He vows never to dance again. Twenty five years later, Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) is a chubby engineer. His 'friend' Drew (Chris O'Dowd) is a sleazy co-worker. Helen (Alexandra Roach) is a bitter co-worker. They get a new boss in Julia (Rashida Jones) and Bruce immediately falls for her. He discovers that she dances salsa and he tries to put on his dancing shoes once again.

Nick Frost is likable. Chris O'Dowd is a silly fun weasel, and Rashida Jones is absolutely adorable. The movie works whenever these three interact with each other. The awkward romance between Frost and Jones is endearing. The dancing doesn't make sense. I don't understand why Bruce doesn't simply join in the dance class as a beginner. The premise doesn't work and the story suffers. The comedy works but the dancing story doesn't.

Literally, all I knew about this film was the leading actor and that it was about dancing, it looked like a pretty average watch, and the critics gave it mixed reviews, I was still up for it though. Basically, as a teenager, Bruce Garrett (Ben Radcliffe) was a champion salsa dancer winning every award going, and he was gearing up for the biggest, the UK Junior Salsa Championships. But an incident of bullying robs him of his confidence and passion, and he is diverted on a different path. Twenty-two years later, the adult Bruce (Nick Frost) is now an overweight slob working in an office. Recently, he has been trying to get close to his smart, funny, gorgeous new American boss Julia (Rashida Jones). One day, Bruce finds out she has a passion for salsa dancing, and he sees this as his opportunity to impress and woo her. But Bruce is out of practise, so he seeks out his old teacher Ron Parfitt (Ian McShane) to re-master the art of dance. Ron is reluctant at first, forcing Bruce to confront the reasons he quit dancing in the first place. Also, Bruce has a rival in alpha male colleague Drew (Chris O'Dowd),who constantly bullies him, and dominates Julia's attention. Bruce is supported by his salsa teacher, his classmates, including the flamboyant Bejan (Fonejacker's Kayvan Novak),and his former dancing partner, his supportive sister Sam (Olivia Colman). Slowly, Bruce perfects his moves and steps and recaptures his feeling, not only for the dance but for his life. His friends convince him to enter the local nightclub's salsa dance competition, and to invite Julia to be his dance partner. But when Bruce goes to see Julia, Drew is already at her apartment. He is tricked into thinking they are having a sexual encounter, and he leaves without questioning her. After Bruce has left, Julia realises what Drew is up to and outright rejects his advances, kicks him out and threatens his position at work. Julia follows Bruce to the nightclub, where he is doing pretty well with Sam and an old routine, they are about to enter the final heat/round of the competition. Bruce is elated to see Julia has followed him, and finally plucks up the courage to ask her to dance with him. They dance the last round of the competition, Bruce does not win, but regains his true self and finally wins Julia's heart. Also starring Rory Kinnear as Gary, Alexandra Roach as Helen, Steve Oram as Security Guard Kevin, Isabella Steinbarth as Young Sam and Kevin Eldon as Neighbour, and there's a blink and you'll miss it cameo from Simon Pegg as the Driver in Car Park. Frost does well as the lead, Jones is pretty, O'Dowd is good at being nasty, McShane and Colman are fine, and Novak does indeed steal some scenes. I agree with critics, it may have been better to see a large guy trying to pull off Latin dance for laughs, it is taken seriously, and the romance element is only slight, but it does offer up some fun dance sequences and good use of music, and there are some amusing moments, overall it is an average but reasonable romantic comedy. Worth watching!