The Shrimp on the Barbie 1990

Alexandra Hobart, an Australian heiress, has grown up watching her father dismiss every boyfriend she brings home, including her fiancé. After a disastrous birthday party, she decides to challenge him by finding the worst possible boyfriend she can recruit. She hires a down-on-his-luck waiter from a Sydney Mexican restaurant named Carlos Cheech Marin to masquerade as her new boyfriend and persuade her father, Mr Hobart Terence Cooper, to allow the match with Bruce. Carlos agrees, needing money to save his struggling restaurant.

Carlos embraces the ruse with gusto, presenting a loud, belligerent, and crude persona that shocks the Hobart household and their high-society friends at a party. This sighting spectacle catches the eye of Alex’s eccentric cousin, Maggie Jeanette Cronin, who watches with a mix of amusement and suspicion as the ruse unfolds.

As time passes, Alexandra discovers that, beneath his rough exterior, Carlos is actually a caring and sensitive person, and she begins to fall for him, reevaluating Bruce as a narcissistic fortune hunter. However, her father’s mistrust deepens when he hires a detective to photograph Bruce and Dominique, her best friend, in a compromising position. Dominique Carole Davis becomes entangled in the scandal, further complicating matters.

Carlos learns of the betrayal and, trying to spare Alexandra heartbreak, is assaulted by Bruce. Alexandra publicly outs Bruce and Dominique at a party, then races to the airport to mend fences with Carlos. The plane is called back to the airport by her father, giving her another chance to reach him. Realizing Carlos’s noble character, Mr Hobart invests in Carlos’s restaurant, saving it from closing and changing the course of both their lives.