After spending eight years working in a Mexican restaurant, Nick Frost is putting his salsa music ghosts to bed with this new film.

His amazing journey from waiter to Hollywood film star – while actually wanting to be a novelist – genuinely validates the arc taken by his latest character.

Bruce Garrett was a wannabe dancer until schoolboy bullies caught up with the young Belly Elliot and forced him to swallow his sequins.

Now 40, Bruce is the portly victim of unpleasant, cocksure work colleague Drew (Chris O’Dowd), until their rivalry for new boss Julia (Rashida Jones) relights Bruce’s dance floor fire.

Seven months of non-stop training has enabled Frost to deliver one of the great physical performances of the modern cinema era.

Four Lions’ star Kayvan Novak as Bejan and Olivia Colman as Bruce’s sister Sam offer moments of comedy gold in support.

But the roles of Bruce’s numbskull friends are underwritten, while Ian McShane is left isolated as an anonymous, ageing teacher when he could have been a hoot as Peter Stringfellow.

As a resolutely feelgood film aiming to capitalise on a fusion of hits like Strictly Ballroom, The Full Monty and Strictly Come Dancing, Cuban Fury is like asking for chilli sauce on chips – hot stuff on top of simple potato.

The one-joke film will warm you up and, like some of the characters, might even give you a kick.

Sexually, though, it is inexplicably playing for a decidedly ‘adult humour’ audience, thus eliminating Sunshine on Leith-style family audiences who would have loved Frost’s physical humour.