¡Three Amigos! (1986)
Directed by John Landis
Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Chevy Chase
When you take Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short and put them into a movie you’ll end up with something like ¡Three Amigos!. The trio combined their talents for this ridiculous movie which feels like it was written for them. (Probably because it was.) This movie was the creation of Lorne Michaels and Steve Martin. Director John Landis was the perfect choice with his resume including films like Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us, and Animal House.
The ¡Three Amigos! have found success and fame in Hollywood. Their careers as silent film stars are on the rise as they play a trio of heroes fighting for the innocent and helpless. Everything seems to be great until they manage to ruin their relationship with the studio boss. Through a series of bizarre events they find themselves invited to work in Mexico. With no other options they take the trip and find out that they’ve been hired to be the real versions of their onscreen personae. Now they’ll have to use their “skills” to defeat the ruthless El Guapo.
This is how you define “guilty pleasure” for me. It’s not anything other than a goofy comedy with a really insane plot. With Landis at the helm the comedy comes out in large doses throughout the film. The trio of comedians are all able to play off their strengths throughout the story, which isn’t surprising since it was tailored for the three of them. Despite being a critical failure (Roger Ebert gave it 1 star) it has become a classic and even found itself on Bravo’s top 100 funniest movies.
If it has any weakness it comes from the lack of ability to capitalize on some of the opportunities in the film. With the three comedic geniuses in the movie they could have pulled a bit more gold from this one.
For a good time and a funny film I would suggest this for anyone. It’s a family friendly comedy with a lot of memorable moments. I give the movie 3.6 out of 5 stars. Once again, on my guilty pleasure rating it’s more like a 4.5.
Funny, funny film. I love it, my brother loves it, even my father is known to quote it from time to time.
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One of my all time favorites. There’s just something so ridiculous that you can’t help but love it.
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A singing bush…. I’ve got nothing else to say.
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In a way, all of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be *the actual* El Guapo!
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I love it!
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yet another SNL crewed movie classic :)
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Well I found it very funny in spots. Certainly the musical interludes are excellent. The only trouble, and its one that often occurs in comedies, is that it doesn’t flow well. For example, the invisible guy joke is funny but it sticks out like a sore thumb. But that’s a small thing when measured against these three actors working together.
On another subject, found you guys through the LAMB. Love your site you have some good stuff here.
Yours in film
Lazarus Lupin
http://strangespanner.blogspot.com/
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