shazam1950
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.
vchimpanzee
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.
aesgaard41
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.
PALWalrus
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!!!
AD
