Born in East L.A.

Cheech Marin is a great talent. In his film, "Born in East L.A.", he clearly shows a man that has a good understanding about the issues at the heart of this entertaining movie. For some years now he has been by himself as his partnership with Tommy Chong ended.

Mr. Marin makes an important point in the film. Rudy, his main character, is a man born and raised in East L.A., as the title indicates, yet, he is deported to a country he probably has never been to. His roots are American, yet being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, trying to do a favor to his cousin, he is hauled to a detention center for illegal aliens and deported to Mexico.

Of course, the arrest and his deportation serves as the basis of a clever comedy that is easy on the eyes and have us laughing throughout the many funny situations Mr. Marin has created for himself and his crew. Daniel Stern is good as Jimmy, the man that exploits Rudy. Paul Rodriguez has some good moments as the newly arrived guy that keeps thinking the messages he hears in Rudy's answering service come from the Jesus image behind it. The lovely Kamala Lopez is easy on one's eyes, and the great Lupe Ontiveros plays Rudy's mom.

"Born in East L.A." is a funny movie with a message.

this movie is good as it is. but there is a longer version that fills in parts of the story that make it whole. I can't belive they put out the DVD with out the missing sceens. We Need the WHOLE movie thankyou jeffery

I love this movie! Next to "Shrimp on the Barbie," this is my favorite Cheech Marin movie as he goes on to prove he can actually be funny by not playing a pothead. A Mexican-American dragged across the border, he shows the lengths he is willing to go to return home and prove he is an American, but there is also a sensitive and heart-warming touch to his range as he proves he is also a good guy and not just some clown. Daniel Stern is also a hoot as an opportunist, and Paul Rodriguez flexes his comedic muscle that we his fans appreciate so much.

Much better than i expected. I first saw this film on one of those boring rainy days where you end up sitting in front of the TV channel surfing. i stopped while this was on. needless to say, i watched the whole thing and totally enjoyed it.

it's very funny at times, and the plot is hilarious! some of the comedy is slapstick and some of it isn't...but it's all good. give it a rent and you won't be disappointed. i just picked up the DVD for 9.99 and i'm glad i did.

yeahhhhhhhhhhh yeah yeah!

(sorry, i need ten lines before i could post a comment)

As a kid, I didn't like it probably because he wasn't with Chong getting stoned all the time. But having just watched it as a standalone piece, I found it quite bittersweet and enjoyable. Sure the story was a bit predictable but the movie did have a decent flow and never seemed to bore. The acting was pretty decent and there were plenty of laughs (again it's not slapstick stoner humor) Also keeping in mind that Chong usually directed their films, Cheech did a good job first time out. I think we'd all like to see them reunite, but lets just appreciate the material they've left us and leave it at that. So if you want to see Cheech branch out on his own, I'd suggest checking this out.