The Shrimp on the Barbie (1990)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Excellent but underrated film

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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.

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.

Not a classic but one of Cheech Marin's early films. There were so many lines that I kept saying for years like "look a kangaroo!" This film should be given a chance to watch with everybody. Don't talk bad about this movie. It'll be a cult classic soon.

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.