¡Three Amigos! (1986)

Three unemployed actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to replay their bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing.

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels,

Stars:

Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Lucky Day
Chevy Chase	...	Dusty Bottoms
Martin Short	...	Ned Nederlander
Alfonso Arau	...	El Guapo
Tony Plana	...	Jefe
Patrice Martinez	...	Carmen
Jorge Cervera Jr.	...	Bandito #1 (as Jorge Cervera)
Kai Wulff	...	German
Abel Franco	...	Papa Sanchez
Fred Asparagus	...	Bartender
Jon Lovitz	...	Morty
Joe Mantegna	...	Harry Flugleman
Philip Gordon	...	Rodrigo
Michael Wren	...	Cowboy
Gene Hartline	...	Silent Movie Bandito

Storyline

Three out of work silent movie actors are accidentally drawn to a Mexican village that is being harassed by a gang of outlaws. The three, 'Ned', 'Lucky Day' and 'Dusty Bottoms' play 'Lone Ranger' types in their movies, but must play their parts for real now.

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Plot Keywords:

actor | village | bandit | mexico | gringo | 

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Taglines:

They're Down On Their Luck And Up To Their Necks In Senoritas, Margaritas, Banditos And Bullets!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish German

Release Date:

12 December 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Three Caballeros

Filming Locations:

Coronado National Forest, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$39,246,734 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

L.A. Films, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his memoir, Life Itself, film critic Roger Ebert recounted appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson alongside Chevy Chase who was promoting the film. During the interview, Ebert was asked what his least favorite film of the holiday season was, he replied ¡Three Amigos!. Chase said "looking forward to your next picture" but later confided with Ebert backstage that he didn't "think it's so hot, either."

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Goofs

At El Guapo's birthday party, as he stands to open his present, his chair gets stuck to his behind and Jefe is forced to pull it off for him.

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Quotes

El Guapo: Are gringos falling from the sky?
[Ned falls from overhead and lands with a thud]
Jefe: Yes, El Guapo.

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side (2009)

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Soundtracks

"MY LITTLE BUTTERCUP"
Written by Randy Newman
Performed by Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short

User Reviews

Well crafted gags

I looked up this movie on IMDb fully expecting to find a lot of comments that reflected my opinion, that this is a great little film. I was quite surprised at how many people don't feel the same way I do.

Some of the movies detractors seem to suggest the movie is a bit slow and that it misses opportunities for packing in lots of jokes. I can't agree, I think the pace is just right and that the movie's direction is more deftly handled than you might think. Some of the set ups in this film are developed meticulously over time allowing plenty of humorous moments along the way to the pay-off. And when they pay-off, they pay-off beautifully.

For example I love the scene in which a German mercenary enters a really dangerous looking Mexican bar. The room is full of thugs and cut-throats who laugh at the German's prim appearance and so he kills a few of them. He then instructs the rest of the patrons to be more respectful of strangers and to expect some friends of his to drop in later. The mercenary leaves and soon the Three Amigos arrive wearing camp looking Mexican costumes. It's not long before they start to sing an extremely girly song to the patrons of the bar called "My Little Buttercup".

The song is accompanied by the most effeminate dance routine committed to film. The mystified bandits all assume the Three Amigos are the German mercenary's friends and go along with the song and dance routine which after a while becomes so cute it makes you feel physically sick.

And here is the pay off, the Amigos leave as the real mercenaries arrive, one of the bandits notices the pearl handled revolvers one of the strangers is wearing and yells "Look at the sissy guns". Carnage ensues, the German sharp shooters finish off the rest of the patrons in a bloody gun fight, the confused looks on the bandit's faces throughout this whole routine is hilarious.

This film isn't desperate to pack gags into every available space, and because of this it feels more controlled and less try-hard, to me most of the jokes are of a high enough quality they don't need a lot of superfluous back up gags. I also enjoy the overall up beat tone of the film, even the bad guys are actually really nice to each other ( the sweater Scene is touching ). I think it's the warmth between the characters that really makes this film for me, I think if the gags kept coming at a breakneck speed we wouldn't have a chance to warm to the characters, the Mexican atmosphere and music the way that we do.

I give this a ten out of ten even though it's not a perfect film, it makes me feel as good as a perfect film would.