The Shrimp on the Barbie

Much better than most of the original movies Cheech Marin was in. This one has heart and sensitivity, with a little comedy thrown in. Love the "very rich" father. One of the better movies Cheech Marin has been in. I enjoy watching it more than once. Another real feel-good movie. The kind with a happy ending, whether it is reality or not.

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.

I worked as an usher when our theater got this film. Since we were a single screen theater, business wasn't good. I actually sat down and watched it and found it quite charming and funny. It's a true fish-out-of-water film, with a romantic twist. Although not in the same league as "Crocodile Dundee," it comes pretty close.

Carlos (Marin) ends up in Australia when he is offered a job. Broke and recently dumped by his girl, he meets Alex, a rich girl (Samms)who makes a deal. Seems that her father is not too keen on her boyfriend Bruce (Vernon Wells). By having Carlos pose as her new love, her father would find him so repulsive that he would let her marry Bruce. Of course, things don't turn out the way Carlos and Alex want.

It's not too bad a film, and the Alan Smithee pseudonym gives the stigma that this film is a stinker. Far from it: it's a sweet and charming film that's worth a look.

Since "The Shrimp on the Barbie" stars Cheech Marin, you can expect lots of silly stuff. He plays a Mexican-American who moves to Australia to look for a job, but ends up posing as a rich heiress's (Emma Samms) boorish boyfriend so that her stuffy father will accept her current boyfriend.

The best part is when Cheech first arrives at the heiress's house and makes a total spectacle of himself. Other hilarious scenes include the cake and the fish tank. Otherwise, it's a pretty routine fish-out-of-water story. Sort of a reverse "Crocodile Dundee". But it definitely elicits its fair share of laughs, and that's what's important.

PS: "Barbie" is short for barbecue, although in Australia they say prawn instead of shrimp.

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.