The Shrimp on the Barbie

The Shrimp on the Barbie
The Shrimp on the Barbie
	DVD cover
Directed by	Michael Gottlieb (as Alan Smithee)
Written by	; ;
Produced by
Starring	Cheech Marin; Emma Samms; Vernon Wells; Bruce Spence; Carole Davis
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by
Distributed by
Release date	31 August 1990;
Running time	87 minutes
Countries	New Zealand; United States
Language	English
Box office	$458,996 (USA)

The Shrimp on the Barbie, released in Australia as The Boyfriend from Hell, is a 1990 comedy film directed by Michael Gottlieb (under the pseudonym Alan Smithee) and starring Cheech Marin. The title is derived from a line in a 1980s series of popular ads starring Paul Hogan promoting tourism to Australia: "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you".

Plot[]

Australian heiress Alexandra Hobart's (Emma Samms) father has disapproved of every boyfriend she has brought home to meet him, including her burly, life-of-the-party fiancé, Bruce (Vernon Wells). After a disastrous birthday party, Alexandra decides to challenge her father (Terence Cooper) with the worst boyfriend she can find. She hires a down-on-his luck waiter from a Mexican restaurant in Sydney, Australia named Carlos (Cheech Marin) to masquerade as her new boyfriend to persuade her father into allowing her to marry Bruce. Needing the money to save the failing restaurant, Carlos agrees to the ruse; acting loud, belligerent and obnoxious, shocking everyone in the Hobart household and their high-society friends at a party with his crude behavior, warranting unwanted attention from Alex's eccentric cousin, Maggie () in the process.

After a while however Alex discovers that in spite of his rather crass and unrefined ways Carlos is actually a very caring and sensitive person and she even finds herself falling for him and starts to see Bruce for the narcissistic he really is. Alex's father, however, doesn't buy the act, and hires a detective to photograph Bruce and Alex's best friend, Dominique (Carole Davis) in a compromising position. Carlos gets wind of the infidelity and, attempting to save Alexandra from being hurt, ends up assaulted by Bruce. Alex outs Bruce and Dominique at a party before racing to the airport to mend fences with Carlos. Hoping she's not too late, Alex has the plane called back to the airport by her father. Realizing how noble Carlos is, Mr Hobart invests in Carlos' restaurant thereby saving it from closing.

Principal Cast[]

Cheech Marin ... Carlos Múñoz
Emma Samms ... Alexandra "Alex" Hobart
Vernon Wells ... Bruce Woodley, Alex's boyfriend and fiancé
Bruce Spence ... Wayne, owner of the Mañana Restaurant
Carole Davis ... Dominique, Alex's best friend
Terence Cooper ... Sir Ian Hobart, Alex's father
... Maggie Ridley, Alex's cousin
Gary McCormick ... Gary Williams, restaurant critic
Frank Whitten ... Blue
... Lady Irene Hobart, Alex's mother
David Argue ... Kevin, Carlos' house mate
Bruce Allpress ... Mr. Ridley, Maggie's father
... Mrs. Ridley
... Nigel, Alex's tennis partner
... Slim, Mañana chef
... Edison, the Hobart's butler
... Eve Tracey
Joel Tobeck ... Lance, bar patron

External links[]

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