Mad About Mambo Synopsis & Summary

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. - Mark Deming, All Movie Guide