Salsa Reviews

SALSA is a second-rate reworking of everything that clicked in SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and DIRTY DANCING, albeit with a Latin background. The thin plot, merely an excuse to justify almost wall-to-wall dancing, follows Pico (Robby Rosa) as he works to be crowned the "King of Salsa." On his way to his goal, Pico gets involved with an aging but sexy dance queen (Miranda Garrison) and does battle with his sister's Anglo boy friend. Strictly an exploitation effort, SALSA has the look of an underbudgeted TV special. The direction by Boaz Davidson is perfunctory, and the film slips from realism to fantasy without reason. The sole first-class effort comes from choreographer Kenny Ortega, and SALSA's highlight is the appearance by the Tito Puente group, though they're allowed to go home much too early.