Review of Cuban Fury (2014) by Jesse O — 22 Aug 2014

Much like Simon Pegg in A Fantastic Fear of Everything, I think I like Nick Frost much more than I would've anticipated because I liked this movie probably more so than I probably had any right to.

Of course, it's not perfect or anything like that, but I think it gets the job done in offering some perfectly solid escapist entertainment. You don't need a lot of brainpower to process what this film has to offer.

I found the film to be pretty funny, but it's never really hilarious. That's in spite of the fact of having incredibly talented actors such as Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd, Ian McShane, Olivia Colman and the aforementioned Nick Frost.

And the story is a little contrived that doesn't exactly give much help to its talented cast. But, despite all of that, I found myself having a really good time watching this movie. While there are hints of the dry British humor I've grown to love over the years, this is a more Americanized British comedy.

It's got a little more slapstick, more sitcom-y style plot. Not sure how much better it would've been if it employed British humor from beginning to end, but I certainly can't dwell on that since that's not what the film is.

I think the film certainly mixes two worlds that you'd never thought you'd see together: salsa music and British comedy. If you're from Puerto Rico, where I'm from, then you're at the very least, even if you don't like the music, which I don't, aware of the history and the importance of salsa in the Caribbean islands such as Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

That's not to say there aren't other Hispanic countries with a deep salsa heritage, it's saying that the genre originated in these islands and therefore is more prevalent here. The point is that, at first, it was really strange seeing the mix of these two vastly different worlds.

But I think it works for the most part. It feels, at times, a little bit gimmicky, but the cast helps put that perception in the background. There's also this really funny, blink and you missed it, cameo by Simon Pegg.

It comes and goes in about a second, and like I said, if you don't pay attention you WILL miss it and it's actually one of the best moments of the film. It feels like it's winking too much at the audience, but I thought it was a funny because they don't really call that much attention to it.

So it finds that balance between being effective and just being pandering. The film rests entirely on Nick Frost's shoulders and he does a good job because he's got this inherent likability about him.

He's a lovable loser and I think he does quite a good job here. The film does, unfortunately, become a little more sentimental during the climax. This was to be expected as the film didn't really try to avoid the cliches.

Hell, I think it welcomes them with open arms. I also think that Rashida Jones, while charming and funny, could've been used so much better than she was here. She's basically just a foil to get Drew and Bruce to fight each other.

That was her sole purpose in the film, her character isn't really that well developed or that interesting. So if I could point to the film that I genuinely didn't like, it would have to be Rashida Jones' talents being mishandled.

That's about it really, I recognize the weaknesses in the script, but it's clear that the film was a lot of fun to shoot. And I think that has a lot to do with my enjoyment of it really. It's just a fun movie to watch in spite of its obvious flaws.

Perhaps on any other day other than yesterday, I would've hated this movie. Turns out I was in a good mood last night, so I ended up enjoying this. Fun stuff here, a solid rental at best.