Critical Reception
The film was popular, but was panned by the critics. Film critic Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrote:
The filming is often flat, as is much of the acting. In fact, the short musical video of "Born in East L.A." is far superior to the film.
Caryn James, film critic for The New York Times, wrote:
Born in East L.A. is enormously good-natured—exactly the wrong tone for a comedy that needs all the rambunctious lunacy it can get. Instead, this story of an American mistakenly deported to Mexico as an illegal alien is amiable and plodding, the very last things you'd expect from Cheech, with or without Chong.
Read more about this topic: Born In East L.A.
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