The Shrimp on the Barbie

Carlos arrived in Australia expecting to move into the mansion of a friend. It wasn't exactly what he expected, and while the boxing kangaroo gag got old fast, it didn't happen too many times, and the stunt work was good with the first one.

Carlos needed a job. He got a job performing as the Pakistani Elvis (Wait, can Cheech Marin sing? No, he can't.) but something better came along. A Mexican restaurant that needed a Mexican waiter. The man who ran the place was desperate, and he owed a lot of money.

Alex brought her father to this place (who knows why?) to celebrate his birthday. While they were there, Alex's father told her she could not marry her rugby star boyfriend. When she defied him, the father made a deal. If she would get rid of Bruce, she could marry anyone she wanted. Surely no one could be worse than Bruce.

Oh, I don't know.

Cheech Marin did a great job, especially as the overdone jerk who was supposed to make Alex's father wish it was Bruce she was marrying. But he did just fine when Carlos was just an ordinary and quite appealing guy, and he had a lot to teach Alex about being nice to those who weren't as rich. One memorable scene involved a family stranded by the side of the road.

Cheech also did the Mexican stereotype in his restaurant job, which was entertaining. And Terence Cooper did a capable job as Alex's father. There were some quirky characters in Alex's family which some people might enjoy, thought I didn't care for them. One cousin had an unusual sexual fetish. Another relative despised Mexicans and came across like a Klansman in a Civil Rights documentary.

I liked most of the Latin music in the film. But not the group that did Latin in the style of contemporary American pop.

This sort of film has been done many times, but the lessons about prejudice are important, and this film had much to say about that.

This movie is a "find" that you will always enjoy. Although set in a classic chicano v. anglo (or rather Aussie) frame, anyone that has had a rebellious family member or mismatched lovers will relate to this story, and that should be everyone. Marin is the ELA che who is hired to rub Dad the wrong way by Daddy's baby girl, played by Emma Samm. Her himbo boyfriend can't take a hint, but Marin keeps taking a dive. The Freudian equestrian cousin is the best character in the movie--you'll want to see it again just for this memorable scene.

Well, it's a chick's movie, so you know how it works out, but the comedy set-ups and Emma are so good, and Marin is so realistic, that it works for the guys.

Second rate comedy highlighted only by funny guy Marin as an American picked up by an Australian heiress to rattle her father's cages a little.

Out to annoy her father who told her that he would not object to any future boyfriends were she to dump her current beau, an affluent young lady hires a Mexican tourist to pose as an obnoxious boyfriend in this Australian comedy starring Cheech Marin. From such a plot description alone, 'The Shrimp on the Barbie' sounds like a laugh-out-loud affair and Marin is expectedly excellent, however, the actual film is never quite as funny as it ought to be. The movie takes a very long time to warm up with over twenty minutes elapsing before the ruse begins. The initial stages of the ruse are hilarious thanks largely to June Bishop's wide-eyed bewilderment at the boorish man her daughter has taken home, and things only get funnier as the father eavesdrops, catches onto the ruse and then takes over-the-top measures to welcome Marin to the family. Promising as all this is, the plot derails around halfway in as the two protagonists take a road trip that tests their innermost prejudices, but which is also absent of much in the way of humour. The film never really recovers from this detour - though a party in which she presents a revealing slide show is certainly memorable. For sure, 'The Shrimp on the Barbie' is amusing fluff while it lasts, however, had the filmmakers been more interested in playing the central situation for laughs than shoving "you think money can buy anything" messages into the second half, it could have been a lot more. Marin is great either way - and that is despite the filmmakers (literally) throwing him in the air too many times.

The Shrimp On The Barbie is a 1990 comedy that follows a man down on his luck who is hired by an uptight heiress to be her obnoxious boyfriend in order to make her daddy accept the man she really wants to marry.

Starring Cheech Marin after the break up of Cheech and Chong, The Shrimp on the Barbie is a silly movie that completely bombed at the box office back when it came out, but I've always enjoyed since I was a kid.

It tells a very unlikely love story that I give an A for effort, because it was slightly creative, but I can see how some people might not like it. And even though the characters and acting aren't the best, there's still plenty of fun moments and comedy to keep the movie overall entertaining in my opinion.

Cheech might not be the number one leading man type, but I've always enjoyed his starring roles. If you haven't seen this movie before, I think it's worth a watch.