| Mad About Mambo | |
| Director: | John Forte |
| Producer: | David P. Kelly |
| Music: | Richard Hartley |
| Cinematography: | Ashley Rowe |
| Editing: | David Martin |
| Distributor: | United International Pictures[1] |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes |
| Gross: | $65,283 (domestic)[2] |
Mad About Mambo is a 2000 romantic comedy film written and directed by John Forte. It stars William Ash, Keri Russell and Brian Cox.
A boy obsessed with football finds his life changing dramatically once he adds a little Samba. Danny (Ash) plays on the football team 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. Mickey (Maclean Stewart) wants to be a fashion designer to become rich and date supermodels. Gary (Russell Smith) wants to become a magician to get rich and meet beautiful women (and presumably see 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 football 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 has an idea: he'll take Samba lessons, hoping 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 student in his dance class, Lucy (Russell). However, Lucy has a boyfriend, a fierce competitor on one of Danny's rival teams. The film also stars Brian Flanagan who plays an inspiring cameo role along with members of Celbridge Town Football Club.
Jackie Fullerton also makes a cameo as himself.
Despite being set in Belfast, the majority of filming took place in Dublin. Filming began in May 1998.[3]
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 57% based on reviews from 14 critics.[4] [5] John Walker, in Halliwell's Film, Video & DVD Guide, wrote: 'Oddly titled corny romance - it has nothing to do with the mambo - that is frequently implausible but gets by on the charm of its two stars.' [6]