Customer Reviews

The Shrimp on the Barbie

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I LIKE this one. Cheech plays, of course, a Mexican who ends up in Australia of all places, working in a Mexican Restaurant. He disappears on his partner, who throughout the movie pleads for him to return. Turns out he has been hired by an Australian lady whose father owns everything and who she wants to put down. She already has a boy friend who she plans to marry, but hires Cheech to impersonate her boy friend to her father, telling Cheech to be as obnoxious and crude as possible. Cheech does his best, but Dad overhears the deal and now knows what is going on. So he tells her he approves of her choice and asks, "when's the wedding?" Well this puts her in a strange position, and, as the story unfolds, she becomes more and more attracted to Cheech and less attracted to the man she was going to marry. He punches Cheech in the eye and she finds out some dirt on him and, well, I won't spoil the ending, but things workout and all ends well. Not a moving production, no earth shattering revelations, no profound statements, just a cute little movie that for awhile anyway, makes you laugh and for a little while helps you forget all your other troubles. Well worth a look.

for anyone who likes this movie, you'll buy it regardless. however. it is in 16x9 format(standard), it is not the widescreen version. as far as special features go, it has an option for 5:1 digital audio. this feature is not accessable thru the "audio set-up" option, you have to go into "special features" befor you start the movie if you prefer to listen to it this way. other features include the theatrical trailer and about a 1/2 dozen different tv commercials promoting this movie. enjoy a very funny cheech as a "leading man"?

Whenever I saw The Shrimp on the Barbie listed in the cable guide, I wasn't interested. Then when i saw it in the summer of '98, it wasn't too bad at all. Cheech gives a great performance as daydreaming waiter Carlos. He falls back on all of his past personalities to make the character go. Emma Samms is also good as the rich uptight heiress whose excuse for everything is "you wouldn't understand". The only other notable actor in the film is Bruce Spence from the Mad Max movies. The Australian and New Zealand scenery is nice. Another treat that comes with the film is to hear Cheech's zany rendition of Land of 1,000 Dances. One other character that is funny is Maggie, who has a fixation for horses and anything Mexican. She almost steals the scenes she is in with her performances. Still, you know something went when Alan Smithee is created as director rather than Michael Gottlieb himself. You can tell as some minor goofs show up in the film. Still, a fun movie to watch.

I hope I spelled that right...
I ordered the film from Amazon and am about half way thru watching it. I had to post this message now because I haven't laughed so hard in years as Cheech gives a Mexican wedgy to a bunch of upper crust Aussie stuffed shirts.
The rebellious daddy's girl (who is really as headstrong as her business tycoon father) is very well played by Emma Sams. As is the nerdy horse-loving cousin.
Although this movie isn't Citizen Kaine, you can still see some pretty good writing and insight into the main characters portrayed.
I'd recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor.

This was not an Oscar Award winning movie, but if you take it for what I think it was ment to be, it was excellent. This movie is entertaining and you get that old warm and fuzzy feeling in the end because the good guy gets the gal. Excellent repeat viewing value.

I have been searching for months for this movie and finally found it at a really good price. All the others were way higher.

I've been to Australia six times and seen all the Cheech Marin movies, so it was a necessity to have this movie. I've really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who loves Australia as I do.

The title is so stupid it makes you want to watch it. Love Cheech Merin!!!!

I WILL WATCH THIS MOVIE OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND A DIFFICULT MOVIE TO FIND AT SUCH A CHEAP PRICE.

This is one of the greatest movies EVER! If you do not own it buy it, also check out some of cheech`s other movies born in east la is just as good. :)