Born in East L.A. (1987)

Director:

Cheech Marin

Writer:

Cheech Marin (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

This time Cheech is not just on the wrong side of the law. He's on the wrong side of the line.

Plot:

Rudy is an American of Mexican descent who is caught up in an immigration raid on a factory. Deported to Mexico as an illegal immigrant...

Plot Keywords:

Illegal Immigrant | Reference To John Wayne | Escape | Based On Song | Independent Film

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Cheech Marin	...	Rudy
Paul Rodriguez	...	Javier
Daniel Stern	...	Jimmy
Kamala Lopez	...	Dolores
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	McCalister
Lupe Ontiveros	...	Rudy's mother
Urbanie Lucero	...	Rudy's sister
Chastity Ayala	...	Rudy's niece
David Perez	...	Rudy's nephew
Neith Hunter	...	Marcie
Larry Blackmon	...	Slick dude
Tito Larriva	...	Oscar
Geoffrey Rivas	...	Immigration Aide (as Geoff Rivas)
Eddie Barth	...	Lester
Miguel Delgado	...	José

Runtime:

85 min | USA:93 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Clear Type

Trivia:

Rudy's car is a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible that is lowered and has Porsche Fuchs wheels. This style is commonly known as the "California Look".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rudy is working as a tattoo artist, four "bullet hole" tattoos suddenly appear on his client's forehead near the end of the scene.

Quotes:

Immigration officer: Where were you born?
Rudy: What?
Immigration officer: Read my lips, El Paco. Where were you born?
Rudy: I was born in East L.A., man.
Immigration officer: Sure, sure. If you were born in East L.A., then who's the president of the United States?
Rudy: I-I don't know, that guy, that guy who was on T.V., the guy in the cowboy hat... he used to be on "Death Valley Days"... uh, John Wayne!
Immigration officer: Get him out of here.

Movie Connections:

References "Death Valley Days: Tribute to the Dog (#13.9)" (1964)

Soundtrack:

America

Cheech's peak

Cheech wrote, directed, and starred, so stack this with Chong's solo resume ("Far Out Man" !?)and you see who was the true talent.

Some have passed this film off as second-rate 80s fluff, but they're missing a lot. East LA is, upon second look, a timely take on the overreactive Reagan-era round-'em-up, ask-no-questions immigration policy, in which many legal residents and citizens were actually deported. Plus, Cheech's character grows from initially fawning over a French woman in the opening scene and living a typical apathetic American life to falling in love with a Mexican woman and helping others in their quest to work in the U.S.

And it's funny..."Whas happenING!" "I like your pants" "Get behind me, Satan!"