Two brothers flee Cuba in the early 50s in search of the American Dream playing mambo music. The older sibling, Cesar, is a natural showman and businessman (Armand Assante) whereas the younger brother, Nestor, is a reserved composer (Antonio Banderas). The women in their lives are played by curvy Cathy Moriarty and Maruschka Detmers.

"The Mambo Kings" (1992) is reminiscent of "The Cotton Club" (1984) mixed with the later "Pollock" (2000) and maybe a little "Dirty Dancing" (1987). While not quite as good as those, it's still worth checking out, especially if you like mambo or energetic Latin music in general, not to mention the setting of 50's America.

Assante is convincing, performing with charisma and gusto, while Banderas is effective as the sensitive and sincere younger sibling, although he's a far cry from the brooding Brando. This was Banderas' first English-speaking role; he learned his lines phonetically and worked with a dialect coach throughout pre-production and filming.

Too much of the movie takes place in clubs or apartments with people smoking, drinking and emoting for my tastes. But the story perks up in the third act with a notable sequence featuring Desi Arnaz, Jr. (I don't want to say more because I don't want to give anything away).

The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-

This movie was not nearly as good as I had heard. Being a musician myself, some of the references made sense. But as usual, Hollywood took over and it became the normal melodrama. Musically, the movie was magnificent. Whether you are a fan of Cuban music or not, it is sure to pull you in.

Antonio Banderas was very believable, but Armand made me want to turn the channel. This is very much of a disappointment for me since I have enjoyed Assantes work in many other films. Kudos to Talisa Soto, we need to hear and see much more of her. She was very much underused. She can be seen (but not enough) in the Bond flick "License to Kill".