This was actually fun for a dance movie. The comedy was decent. Now, in order to enjoy this, you must like dancing or at least appreciate it, especially salsa. I learned how to appreciate salsa over the years. That and swing are the only kinds of dancing I appreciate (besides rock and rolling, of course). Fuck the other shit. I saw this movie for one main reason: Nick Frost. He doesn't disappoint. There's another character here that made it enjoyable. That character is a Persian gay salsa dancer. He had the funniest lines plus he references Back to the Future and The Goonies. Another plus is the one second cameo by none other than Simon Pegg himself. Hell yeah. The only character that was making the movie less enjoyable was the exaggerated co-worker scumbag (played by that one dude that comes out in Bridesmaids). This has a sappy story: an ex salsa expert gets back to the salsa game to impress a girl. Typical storyline with a predictable happy ending but at least there were some feel good moments and some heart.
I expected this to suck big time but it was worth the rental. I say check it out but don't take it seriously, but, only if you know that you're getting yourself into a movie about dancing. Make sure to have lots of shots or even better, Fanta soda (that's referenced in the movie several times).
I made Ropa Vieja (traditional Cuban Shredded Beef) to go with this movie. Surprisingly, it came out very delicious for my first time.
