Salsa

Some really dynamic music and surprisingly effective 1989 level teen romance are just some of the enjoyable parts of this awful Golan Globus production from Cannon Films, the LA/ Israeli based exploitation outfit that simply made D grade knock offs of whatever other hit films there were in cinemas the previous year. In this case DIRTY DANCING from 1988.

The roster of SALSA guest artists is surprising and the Salsa numbers quite dynamic in their Latin way. Talented boy-band dude Bobby Rosa clearly was the indecent obsession of someone at Cannon as he is lust-filmed to the point of near nude as often as possible (especially in the opening ten minutes... (I thought I had the wrong DVD playing)..... We even have a garish nightclub with an orchestra - lots of pink neon and glass blocks -and it's a place frequented by Aunties and their husbands, mum and li'l sisters... a real family affair, as is the whole film... even with backyard parties in the afternoon. It offers a real good look at suburban 1989 Los Angeles... which is interesting in itself.

Occasionally Golan Globus accidentally made something that was actually good (eg RUNAWAY TRAIN) ... and I am very sad to say that today in 2007 this film is rendered quite emotional because of the charming and effervescent appearance of talented 20 year old Rodney Harvey in one of his few good roles before his terrible drug death in 1997. I have seen the string of mug shots of Rodney in decline from sparkling teen to gaunt ghost ...they were printed in Premiere magazine years ago in a run of shots 1-10 showing just his arrested image in horrifying shrivel as his heroin addiction rotted his handsome young face. You can also see him in GUN CRAZY and MY PRIVATE IDAHO. Absolutely tragic. His family and friends must just be grief-stricken still if they see his films today.

I was also reminded by SALSA a lot of the Oz film STRICTLY BALLROOM which was made 4 years later. Some sequences from SALSA are clearly reformatted into STRICTLY, especially the billboard dancing scene. Hmmmmmm.

This movie is very Latino (like me), but unfortunately it has little substance in it. The only virtue i find in a movie like this is the (evident) enthusiasm, the lively, energetic approach, the depiction of the youth culture in the late 80s, a reminder of (very probably) happier times than nowadays.

The acting is not that bad; i guess the actors didn't have much to work with...concerning that shallow script. There are, here and there, a few well made romantic, well meaning scenes, but overall the film lacks dramatic weight (and what should i expect from a movie named "Salsa"?) Anyway, it was always nice to see/listen to some salsa stars like Celia Cruz and Willie Colón, plus the good looking ladies and the (most of the time) cheerfulness of it all. On the poignant side, Rodney Harvey also stars here, a promising actor with a sad fate...(4/10)

That movies like this one survive. Never seen such a lousy movie concept such as this. Its a pity that it still fools innocent people and makes them think it is worth to watch. The Celia Cruz and Willie Colon appearance made me wonder, were they really aware they were going to be in this film?

I just wanna say that Salsa is a pretty good movie..the best ever dance movie is Dirty Dancing..and salsa is the next one..it moves..it`s sensual..it makes you wanna be in the movie!!

Well, I endured watching this thing in my Beloved Island Puerto Rico, and it was all hype, no bang. Worse movie I ever seen. Poorly directed and apparently a cheap casting effort. It seems that it was a bad attempt to legitimize Robbie Rosa as an actor. One thing is being a hit singer with Menudo and a good dancer, another thing is being a descent actor. Robbie was not the latter. He may as well have gone into one of the Friday the 13th sequels, that bad was the acting of everyone in this...."movie". The music is not bad, the rest, goodness!!! Don't get me wrong I am Puertorrican and darn proud of it, but this was a piece of junk movie.