Born In East L.A.
Hollywood never tires of the “accidental journey” romp. Rudy Robles is an American caught up in a turn of events that see him mistaken for an illegal alien and deported to Mexico. Customs refuse to believe Rudy’s story and all across Mexico, dodgy characters are worming their way out of the woodwork to "aid" the American’s passage back to the land of the free. This mildly amusing romp has its....
Hollywood never tires of the “accidental journey” romp. Rudy Robles is an American caught up in a turn of events that see him mistaken for an illegal alien and deported to Mexico. Customs refuse to believe Rudy’s story and all across Mexico, dodgy characters are worming their way out of the woodwork to "aid" the American’s passage back to the land of the free. This mildly amusing romp has its roots in political commentary. The immigration problems facing America and Mexico form the background of Rudy’s odyssey. The notion of identity is explored as the viewer wonders what he would do were he stranded hundreds of miles from home with no means of identification and no support from his family. The movie runs on the pace of slapstick farce and the sheer blatant weirdness of many of the cast of bit-players adds a sprinkle of black comedy to the mix.
There are some hilarious moments in this film and many of the “gag” moments in the film are set up many scenes in advance. A picture of Jesus is left covering the phone in Robles family home. Therefore, each time Robles phones home for help, his cousin who speaks no English believes that the words he hears are the messages of Christ. There’s also the moment where Robles is discovered by customs officials to be hiding the fridge of an American couple’s motor home. The couple try to cross the border checkpoint, but the customs dogs smell fruits, vegetables and a very cold man from East L.A. That said, a lot of this film is predictable plot wise. We know from the start that customs won’t believe Rudy’s story and ship him back over to America. We know that Rudy will somehow find the money to fund the dubious trip back across the border. We know Rudy will eventually fall in love with the waitress from El Salvador he meets whiles working to fund his escape from Mexico.
The end of the film is funny and heart warming as Rudy abandons a selfish moonlight flit across the border and instead rallies hundreds of Mexicans looking to start a new life in America and leads them in a sudden charge against the border guards. Plot strands fray at the seams as Rudy’s cousin who doesn’t speak English is simply left at the family home throughout the movie. Rudy’s family do not return from their holiday wondering why their beloved Rudy now has a new girlfriend and many stories to tell.
All plot strands sacrificed in a moment of weakness in order to bring forth a "feel good" ending where real life concerns go out the window and are replaced with the happy smiles of a man who has finally found true love. Rudy and the waitress will be together for all time. It’s not for us, as an audience, to worry about precisely what will be said at the wedding when the waitress is asked about her country of origin. ‘Born in East L.A’ shies away from satire and an American audience watching the final moments of the movie would not be asked to question their stance on immigration or their policy of wealth and riches for the privileged few. It’ll take you five minutes to find another film of the: “Someone, somewhere, becomes trapped in an unfamiliar place and some funny things happen to them,” genre and as comedies go, ‘Born in East L.A’ certainly won’t have you raising much for than an eyebrow in expression of amusement. This film is a mild diversion which could so easily have become a cultural critique.
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