User Reviews

Some really dynamic music and surprisingly effective 1989 level teen romance are just some of the enjoyable parts of this awful Golan Globus production from Cannon Films, the LA/ Israeli based exploitation outfit that simply made D grade knock offs of whatever other hit films there were in cinemas the previous year. In this case DIRTY DANCING from 1988.

The roster of SALSA guest artists is surprising and the Salsa numbers quite dynamic in their Latin way. Talented boy-band dude Bobby Rosa clearly was the indecent obsession of someone at Cannon as he is lust-filmed to the point of near nude as often as possible (especially in the opening ten minutes... (I thought I had the wrong DVD playing)..... We even have a garish nightclub with an orchestra - lots of pink neon and glass blocks -and it's a place frequented by Aunties and their husbands, mum and li'l sisters... a real family affair, as is the whole film... even with backyard parties in the afternoon. It offers a real good look at suburban 1989 Los Angeles... which is interesting in itself.

Occasionally Golan Globus accidentally made something that was actually good (eg RUNAWAY TRAIN) ... and I am very sad to say that today in 2007 this film is rendered quite emotional because of the charming and effervescent appearance of talented 20 year old Rodney Harvey in one of his few good roles before his terrible drug death in 1997. I have seen the string of mug shots of Rodney in decline from sparkling teen to gaunt ghost ...they were printed in Premiere magazine years ago in a run of shots 1-10 showing just his arrested image in horrifying shrivel as his heroin addiction rotted his handsome young face. You can also see him in GUN CRAZY and MY PRIVATE IDAHO. Absolutely tragic. His family and friends must just be grief-stricken still if they see his films today.

I was also reminded by SALSA a lot of the Oz film STRICTLY BALLROOM which was made 4 years later. Some sequences from SALSA are clearly reformatted into STRICTLY, especially the billboard dancing scene. Hmmmmmm.

I love this movie. It came out when i was 8 years old and I've seen it so many times i can actually resite it. Its my sister and mines favorite movie. Robbie Rojas is just the hottest thing under the sun as well as Ken, who i was sad to hear past away a few years back. Still love this movie. The music is great and who ever doesn't like it then, oh well, cry me a river. i was waiting for the movie to come out on DVD and at last it did. I would love it if they showed the movie more on cable or something. I know its and oldy but a goody. I saw it only once on vh1 many years ago, but that was that. The movie shows a lot of truth regarding the Spanish culture and how much we love our music, our people and specially how much we treasure our family and our family values. Great movie.......

Well, I endured watching this thing in my Beloved Island Puerto Rico, and it was all hype, no bang. Worse movie I ever seen. Poorly directed and apparently a cheap casting effort. It seems that it was a bad attempt to legitimize Robbie Rosa as an actor. One thing is being a hit singer with Menudo and a good dancer, another thing is being a descent actor. Robbie was not the latter. He may as well have gone into one of the Friday the 13th sequels, that bad was the acting of everyone in this...."movie". The music is not bad, the rest, goodness!!! Don't get me wrong I am Puertorrican and darn proud of it, but this was a piece of junk movie.

I'm not kidding, I believe it can be scientifically proved that if you prick a hole in this flick, it will collapse as the air goes out of it. There is no plot. What hint of one that there is, has been carelessly recycled from far superior pictures; honestly, why is this even a movie? The reason it was made is clear: The dancing and the tunes, both of which are reasonably plentiful in this(and I am not at all the person to ask if it's any good, but presumably so, since it was the basis for putting this thing together to begin with). Why not merely do, I don't know, music videos or something? They had nothing to tell, there is no actual point to this, it is literally all assembled around aforementioned focus, and this *shows*, in the worst kind of way. The editing and cinematography are completely standard, at best. We get an utterly intolerable(well, all of them are, he's the strongest offender, though) main character, a Michael Jackson wanna-be, no charisma, he's just got moves, and his Elvis is irritating. This is about some contest, and do you really care? He wants to be world-famous at it... is that like the Hispanic version of being a basket player or a rapper? This doesn't have a single funny moment to be found in the 100 slow, dull, painful minutes that it lasts. There's unconvincing romance. Also, eye-candy for the two genders. If this is somehow cheaper to rent than a set of salsa instruction DVDs or something, I guess its existence is slightly validated. There is a little mild to moderate language and suggestive material in this. I recommend this solely to those who aren't interested in, or expect, any value from it that relates to the medium of film. 1/10

Oh, dear... Robby Rosa?? No, no, no. How DO these things happen?! CANNOT sing, CANNOT act (worse than his singing, mind you). The story isn't so bad and I think Rodney Harvey's handsome appearance in this film is what you're more likely to remember! There's plenty of Salsa in here to help keep you interested. Not anywhere near a 4-star film, but if you like this type of music, it should be fun for you. Robby Rosa came from the pre-pubescent Latino group, Menudo. (God help us all.) Rodney Harvey had been a Calvin Klein model who later passed away rather young (God rest his soul.) Sexy ladies are in here, too. If you're feeling the music and and you appreciate the dance, you'll probably have a good time with SALSA.

While this movie is pure 80's cheese the dance sequences and the soundtrack to this film are without a doubt the best things about this. The plot line is a bit predictable and some of the acting is laughable but this movie is all about the dancing and if you were a fan of movies like dirty dancing and lambada be sure to give this one a go as you will not be disappointed with the dance sequences. The soundtrack is awesome if you like Latin music and Robby Rosa's song Under my skin is quite good so too are Margarita and Puerto Rico. Unfortunately this film could not piggy back off the success of Dirty Dancing but it is still a film that you should see if like I said earlier you are a fan of Latin music and dance films. The final 10-15 minutes is really good viewing and while my rating of 7 might be a bit generous it is simply because I am a big fan of Latin music and do like a lot of the dance orientated films no matter how cheesy they are.

I gave it one star because it wouldn't allow me to give it no stars, They tried to make Robbie Rosa a movie star, boy was that a big mistake, he was brutal

I do recommend watching this movie with an open mind and not expecting anything but silly fun. It's a guilty pleasure kind of movie.

Hola. I recommend this beautiful movie.Is great.Not only because it talks about Puerto Rico,Is great because the Biggest Cast is our Puertorrican Robi Draco Rosa.So much talent in his past in his present and i hope in his future.And his present wife Angela Alvarado is great they make a team together.As an actor he may be Robby Rosa but in his music he is Robi Draco Rosa.So poetic and so Boricua.Did you see him in the Latin Grammy?.Now that is a actor,singer and a talented person.Puerto Rico loves you Robi Draco Rosa Your The Best. You will always be are Latino,Boricua,Poetic person.

P.Rodz

Hands down !!! Greatest dance movie of all time. I remember seeing this movie back when I was younger.. My mom was totally in love with it. So I ended up buying it for her for Christmas about two years ago. I totally forgot we had it.. Recently I put it in the DVD player and it has been in since.. watching it every night!!! Its got me singing "puerto Rico" in the shower every time I take one.. There is even parts of this movie that cause me to cry, because I can really relate to the way Rico was living. Man, its just like everything about this movie has me like wanting more! If you haven't seen this movie. Buy it! You won't regret it.

Not sure about the credibility of a previous reviewer who mentioned music and left out Tito Puente. Anyway the soundtrack is absolutely amazing with the legends of Salsa music making their mark. The dancing is top quality. Miranda Garrison portrays a convincingly antagonist as Luna. Yes plot is not complicated let's say but it's truly a music/dance show with plot put in later. I have watched it a million times and will continue. This could've be remade today and would be a blockbuster. Trading out the legends for the hit Latino music makers of the day.

Me and my sister rented this from a video store many years ago and loved it so much we wore the tape out!! When we managed to get it on DVD many years later we were over the moon!! A film that cheers me up every time I watch it, sure it's cheesy but it's great! Amazing dancing, amazing soundtrack, overall a totally feel good movie! I have and will watch this film over and over again. This film will make you want to dance, happy and really connect and like the cast, cheesy as I say but I love it! So nice to see as well that the main leads got married after this and are still together now. The soundtrack is amazing and will have you alone at home dancing alone pretending you are a salsa queen! :- )

That movies like this one survive. Never seen such a lousy movie concept such as this. Its a pity that it still fools innocent people and makes them think it is worth to watch. The Celia Cruz and Willie Colon appearance made me wonder, were they really aware they were going to be in this film?

Salsa is a very good movie for people who love to dance. The movie is great.I love it. Robi Rosa(Rico),Rodney Harvey(ken),and the girls were great. Its like being in Puerto Rico when you watch this movie.I still watch it and I still love it.If you have'nt seen salsa yet then I recommend that you do.The movie is great.

The most romantic,/passionate movie ever Also sad to an extent when it comes to family matters.

Salsa is excellent for anybody that loves Puerto Rico, Salsa, or just hearing awesome music. This was my absolute favorite movie as a kid. Being Puerto Rican, all of the aspects of the culture made me excited. I always wished that I could have someone that loves me the way the two in the movie loved each other. I even had a little crush on Kenny . .. .who I can't believe died in 1998!!! I mean how the heck did I not notice!!! Anyway, this movie is very highly recommended. The music is absolutely unbelievable, and you'll just find yourself wanting to just get up and dance while watching it. Whenever I recommend Salsa to friends today, they just fall in love with it.

I first watched this in the cinema when I was a dreamy 15 year old, i'm 33 now and still loving it!....I recommend it for those who love a dance movie with a great soundtrack...and for teenage girls!...but most of all for the beautiful Rodney Harvey who sadly is no longer with us, it's no Dirty Dancing but enjoyable just the same. Rodney is so handsome it takes your breath away it's such a shame that he died so young, he definitely keeps you watching. The talented Robby Rosa plays the lead along with writing and singing some of the songs on the soundtrack. The girls are lovely too, real life sisters Angela and Magali Alvarado, Angela is still married to Rosa after meeting on the set and falling in love whilst making the film, that in itself is sweet.....I have given this an 8/10 mainly for Rodney! Enjoy.....Janey

I just wanna say that Salsa is a pretty good movie..the best ever dance movie is Dirty Dancing..and salsa is the next one..it moves..it`s sensual..it makes you wanna be in the movie!!