Born in East L.A. (film)

Born in East L.A.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Cheech Marin
Screenplay by	Cheech Marin
Produced by	Peter MacGregor-Scott
Starring	Cheech Marin Daniel Stern Paul Rodriguez Jan Michael Vincent Kamala Lopez Tony Plana
Cinematography	Alex Phillips Jr.
Edited by	Don Brochu Stephen Lovejoy David Newhouse Mike Sheridan
Music by	Lee Holdridge
Production company	Clear Type
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	August 21, 1987 (1987-08-21) (United States)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$17 million (US)[1]

Born in East L.A. is a 1987 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Cheech Marin in his feature film directorial debut, who also starred in the film. It co-stars Paul Rodriguez, Daniel Stern, Kamala Lopez, Jan-Michael Vincent, Lupe Ontiveros and Jason Scott Lee in his first feature film debut. The film is based on his song of the same name, released as a 1985 single by Cheech & Chong. The film focuses on Rudy Robles, a Mexican-American from East Los Angeles who is mistaken for an illegal alien and deported.

Born in East L.A. marked Marin's first solo film, without the involvement of his comedy partner, Tommy Chong, at the insistence of executive Frank Price, who was fired between greenlighting and production due to the failure of Howard the Duck. Born in East L.A. was ultimately a financial success, and bolstered Marin's reputation in the Latino community, winning several awards at the Havana Film Festival.