NICK Frost kicks up his heels in Cuban Fury, a ragsto- sequins tale of a one-time dance champion, who rediscovers his mojo to impress a woman.

As a teenager, Bruce Garrett (Frost) won trophies with his sister Sam (Olivia Colman) under the tutelage of dance teacher Ron Parfitt (Ian McShane). At the height of their success, Bruce suffered horrible bullying and quit dancing forever.

Twenty-five years later, Bruce designs lathes and enjoys infrequent nights out with best mates Gary (Rory Kinnear) and Mickey (Tim Plester). The arrival of new boss Julia (Rashida Jones) kindles a spark of life in Bruce, but he knows she’s too good for him.

When he learns that Julia loves to salsa, Bruce nervously heads back to the dance floor in the company of outrageously camp buddy Bejan (Kayvan Novak).

Cuban Fury has its heart in the right place, but unfortunately, the script performs horrible missteps with some peripheral characters. Also director James Griffiths introduces fantastical flourishes, including a dance battle in a car park with gravitydefying somersaults and friction-defying 50m kneeskids on asphalt that take away from the countless hours of work invested by the cast perfecting the complicated routines.

Frost’s everyman is instantly likeable, and we root for him to emerge victorious on the dance floor when the rest of the film threatens to fall apart.

3/5 stars

Damon Smith