Mad About Mambo

Mad About Mambo (2000)

Genres - Comedy, Romance  |   Sub-Genres - Romantic Comedy, Sports Drama, Teen Movie  |   Release Date - Apr 4, 2000 (USA), Aug 4, 2000 (USA - Limited), Aug 25, 2000 (USA - Expanding)  |   Run Time - 92 min.  |   Countries - Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States  |   MPAA Rating - PG13
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

An Irish boy obsessed with sports finds his life changing dramatically once he adds a little Salsa to his life in Mad About Mambo. Danny (William Ash) plays on the football team (called soccer in America) at the all-boys Catholic school he attends in Belfast. Danny's three best friends, who also play on the team, all have different ambitions for their lives. Mickey (Paul McLean) wants to be a fashion designer so he can get rich and date supermodels. Gary (Russell Smith) wants to become a magician so he can get rich and meet beautiful women (and presumably saw them in half). And Spike (Joe Rea) likes to beat people up, so he wants to become a mercenary and do it for a living. But Danny dreams of making soccer his life. The players Danny most admires are South Americans, such as Pele and Carlos Riga, who he feels have a special rhythm and flexibility. Wanting to add some of these qualities to his own game, Danny gets a brainstorm: he'll take mambo lessons, in the hope that dancing like a South American will help him play like a South American. To the surprise of himself and his friends, Danny turns out to be a pretty good Latin dancer and finds himself smitten with a pretty American student in his dance class, Lucy (Keri Russell). However, Lucy happens to have a boyfriend, who is a fierce competitor on one of Danny's rival teams. Executive producer Gabriel Byrne appears in a supporting role.

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Keywords

Catholicism, dance [art], dreams-of-success, salsa-dancing, soccer, sports