Cuban Fury (DQ)

Stars: Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd, Olivia Colman, Ian McShane, Rory Kinnear, Kayvan Novak, Alexandra Roach, Steve Oram, Philippe Spall, Larissa Jones

Director: James Griffiths

It's worth watching this comedy, whose flabbiness sometimes matches its star's, just to see Olivia Colman doing the salsa. We know Nick Frost will shine on the dance floor at the climax, since the film is all about him - and seven months' dance training speaks for itself, to say nothing about the good it must have done for the chubby funnyman's weight.

But Colman is a real bonus. Unbilled on the film's posters, she shines like a beacon as Frost's sister, once his dance partner when they were sub-teen sensations, but now, as Frost himself puts it 'You're 35 and a hula girl at a dance bar'.

Frost himself plays Bruce: stuck in a dead-end job where he 'loves lathes', he has few assets apart from 'identifying dogs by their silhouettes'. He's nobody's idea of a potential partner, dance or otherwise.

It's tough teddy, then, when he falls for the new boss (Rashida Jones) and has no visible means of wooing her, especially with oily colleague Chris O'Dowd waiting in the wings to put him in his place and make a play for the lady himself.

Ah, but she salsas. And thereby hangs the plot, such as it is.

A few laughs, some decent supporting characters and a guest appearance from Frost's old sparring partner Simon Pegg (don't blink) keep the amiable, good-natured pageant rolling along, and there's a fairly fizzy finale, with Colman stealing all the limelight from her co-stars.

There was no copyright date on the print viewed.

David Quinlan

UK 2014. UK Distributor: StudioCanal. Colour by Panalux.
101 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 08 Feb 2014