The Shrimp on the Barbie

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.