User reviews

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.

Why the Aussies made this movie is a mystery to me, but I'm glad they did.

Featuring American actors Cheech Marin and Emma Samms, this is a beautiful comedy that has style, fashion, and good acting.

Everyone's playing strait except Cheech Marin, but it's not quite certain who's the real fool. What was supposed to be a bright idea by Alex turns into a handful of trouble.

Emma Samms is stunningly beautiful in this movie. This has a surreal effect in a comedy situation. But maybe that's the charm of this movie.

Unusual in every way, but it's still a great romantic comedy shot beautifully in Australia. I enjoy it every time I see it.

This is a favorite movie of mine to watch. Shrimp on the Barbie is a stardard fish out of water with Cheech Marin as a down on his luck Mexican American in Sydney. He then is brought into a scheme by the poiled daughter of a tycoon to fake being her fiance so her ultimately worse pick of a fiance looks better.

There are some logic gaps that defy logic, but between these moments are some funny bits that glue the movie together. It is a low budget comedy, so this is to be expected.

Is it a must see? Probably not. But it also isn't 90 or so minutes that you won't feel like you wasted either.

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.

We have seen this story before. Crocodile Dundee, Son in Law, to Why Him. Just an average movie. It may had been good back then.

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.

I cannot think of one redeeming feature about this movie. The acting is wooden, the script unbelievably bad!! If there is a redeeming feature it is the scenery from many shots taken around New Zealand and the brief appearance of some rarely seen New Zealand artists.

If you have a choice between a dentist appointment and watching this film, take the drill every time, even if it means a root canal!!!

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.

A showcase foe emma samms and carole davis,ie: Penthouse (1980 as Tamara Kapitas) ...it tries way to had to get laughs with all marin's antics as well as the other loser vernon wells ....the aussies probably hated it

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.

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.

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.

This movie shouldn't be taken so seriously. If you're a fan of Cheech Marin, you'll appreciate this film as an excellent example of his acting ability and it showcases his range from "Cheech & Chong" to "Nash Bridges".

Cheech comes off as the typical hispanic role he's played in all the Cheech & Chong movies, but also displays a "I'm not as dumb as you think" side that he shows on Nash Bridges.

The story line is basically his character goes to Australia for work where by chance while working in a Mexican restaurant he meets the daughter of a rich man. She in turn wanting her father to like her current boyfriend, hires Cheech for $5,000 to be her "new" boyfriend that by comparison makes the former boyfriend an excellent choice.

Both Alex (the daughter) and Carlos (Cheech Marin) learn alot about the lifestyles of each other.

This movie is pretty predictable but can be fun at the same time. You will love Cheech singing "Land of 1000 Dances" to all the socialites.

This movie tried to capitalize on all the "down under" crazes that emerged in the late '80s and early '90s.

Just watch it, don't judge it, and it can be a fun movie. You have to appreciate Cheech Marin carrying a cast of "nobodies" on a lame script through a movie that can and will make you laugh out loud at times. And for the romantic, it has a heart warming ending.

I'm a big Emma Samms fan. There is no other actress in my mind who can show such beauty, grace and talent. Next to "Delirious," this movie truly shows off the range of her talent as well as her ability to do comedy as she is being upstaged by Cheech Marin. Wildly let loose with the script, Marin tries to become a "boyfriend from hell," the movie's alternate title, to help Samms show up her father. Instead, he goes from a down-on-his-luck to the hero and Emma changes from a snob to being a bit more wise for her ordeal. The charming plot seems to poke a lot of fun at the rich and is a bit more than a comedy. It rolls to its end as if it were one of Aesop's fables with the villains getting their due and everyone happy in the end. There are a few eccentrics along the way to remind you this is a comedy, Emma's horse-loving cousin being the funniest. This movie is one of the jems in Comedy Central's cavalcade of movies, but it doesn't get quite as much of the respect it deserves.

Just for your information the plot is lifted from the RKO film WALKING ON AIR with Gene Raymond and Ann Southern from 1936. I liked both versions. Cheech recaptured the charisma and talent of his stand up routine. Emma showed more than just a beautiful ornamental piece of furniture. Though low budget the Australian setting was refreshing and I always enjoy the opposites attract 'cute' meet. Like the more contemporary SHE'S OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE or the very under rated THE BIRDS AND THE BEES with George Gobel and Mitzi Gaynor the physical mismatch of ugly guy and pretty girl regardless of the machinations contrived by the plot never fails to bring a smile of satisfaction for me.

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.

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.

In the first three minutes of this, 3 minutes, Cheech's character (Carlos), an American, steps off the plane in Sydney dressed as Crocodile Dundee, he goes to his friend's abode who keeps a kangaroo inside his home and Carlos quickly finds employment as a Pakistani Elvis impersonator. In a restaurant lounge (a guy dining in the restaurant sports a killer skullet-just a side note) and again, we're only three minutes into this!

Wow! This is an Alan Smithee film.

You know what that means?

The director took his name off the picture.

Wow.

You don't see that too often.

Anyway, Carlos takes up with another restauranteur played by one of my all-time favorite Aussies, Bruce Spence.

It is at this new gig at the Mexican restaurant that a lovely customer sets her sights on Carlos to assist in duping her difficult dad into accepting her true fiancé, Bruce, played by the always magnificent Vernon Wells (another Australian all-time favorite!) So, Cheech plays the fool quite well as you can imagine.

His shenanigans entertain and the jokes hit more than miss.

Oafish behavior, sure but also quite enjoyable musical numbers also take place here and there.

His talents are obvious.

This is his showcase. His genius.

There is nobody doing this in motion pictures in 2024.

Nobody.

In 1987 this might have been a five or six.

Comedy was everywhere.

In 2024, this desert of comedy, this movie is an eight.

Is it an all out laugh riot?

No.

But it's gutsy and it goes for it.

And it's short. An hour and a half. Something else unheard of in 2024.

You can't put another shrimp on the barbie in this day and age.

There aren't any.