Looking back at cult classic comedies from the 1980s, there are some moves that end up becoming more interesting than legitimately funny flicks. In the case of Three Amigos, the brainchild of Steve Martin and one of the directorial efforts of filmmaker John Landis, the film was not very well received when it initially came out in 1986, but later grew a cult following for the iconic performances of Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short (a then newcomer to cinema). Now after 35 years of cult status, the film might be seen as an underrated and misunderstood gem to some, but for others, it might also not be as strong as they perceive.
Set in Mexico in 1916, three silent film Hollywood stars known as the Three Amigos are mistaken for real heroes by the suffering village of Santo Poco. Despite their facade identities, they must find a way to live up to their reputation and stop the malevolent bandit El Guapo. Pretty standard premise for a movie in general, but given the absurdity in the concept alone, the film does have the right amount of potential to make the plot rather wacky in execution. Steve Martin himself conceived the idea for SNL producer Lorne Michaels to co-write the movie with him, and the film does have some absurd laugh out loud moments that do feel like an old timey cartoony western. Also, in addition to having distinctive personalities, Martin, Chase and Short play off one another as the amigos so well that the trio really do end up feeling like family in a way. Their charisma, energy and sense of humor allows for even presumably darker scenes in the film to feel funnier had they not done their jobs so well. It really shows how much one whole comedic trio can still make newer decades chuckle quite successfully.
Unfortunately, not even the strongest efforts from the main actors and the comedic highlights can save the movie's weak story. Due to having a very routine storyline where the whole plot can be figured out beat by beat, it ends up making the experience rather dull and predictable. It doesn't help that most of the humor throughout the movie comes off rather stiff and even almost nonexistent, as if the filmmakers wanted to rely on the stars to do the job for them in entertaining the viewers. Also, the tone often jumps all over the place from relatively serious to full on goofy, especially with a very catchy albeit pointless campfire song sequence and other bizarre plot points that are forgotten about once they're done being shown. Many scenes also feel oddly edited out, with several scenes jumping from one to another without feeling properly cohesive. This was apparently because the studio behind the film had heavily trimmed out director John Landis' final cut due to his absence in the editing stage. It shows that too many cooks ain't always a good idea to solve a puzzle.
However, even with those flaws, that's not to outright say this is an overall bad movie, as it at least has its heart in the right place. While the film doesn't seem to know whether to be a straight up wacky cartoon movie or a more straightforward Hollywood western comedy, its loving tribute to retro silent filmmaking is quite admirable in its own right. With the main trio being washed up actors that are mistaken for gunfighting heroes, their contrast between the glamorous Hollywood and rough & tough outskirts of Mexico end up developing them quite well into fully realized characters. In addition, the occasional musical numbers from co-writer Randy Newman add a nice flavor to the film's love for old Hollywood and vaudeville, especially the Amigos Ballad and My Little Buttercup. Besides, it's nice to have a rather ruthless villain with at least some hint of sardonicism in a movie that just needs more looniness to stand out from the crowd, and that goes to El Guapo. So it is fascinating when other aspects surrounding a motion picture can make it up more than the main attraction.
So despite its full potential not being met that well in the execution, Three Amigos is still a good natured western romp that only gets by its paper thin premise with wonderful leading roles and some occasional moments of hysteria. While it might not rank on anyone's top 10 favorite comedies of all time list, there's just enough charm here and there to make the viewing experience tolerable to say the least. My best recommendation would be to only watch it if you're a die hard comedy movie buff or really into Steve Martin's filmography. The people behind this flick have certainly done better, but this should be worth at least one go.
Set in Mexico in 1916, three silent film Hollywood stars known as the Three Amigos are mistaken for real heroes by the suffering village of Santo Poco. Despite their facade identities, they must find a way to live up to their reputation and stop the malevolent bandit El Guapo. Pretty standard premise for a movie in general, but given the absurdity in the concept alone, the film does have the right amount of potential to make the plot rather wacky in execution. Steve Martin himself conceived the idea for SNL producer Lorne Michaels to co-write the movie with him, and the film does have some absurd laugh out loud moments that do feel like an old timey cartoony western. Also, in addition to having distinctive personalities, Martin, Chase and Short play off one another as the amigos so well that the trio really do end up feeling like family in a way. Their charisma, energy and sense of humor allows for even presumably darker scenes in the film to feel funnier had they not done their jobs so well. It really shows how much one whole comedic trio can still make newer decades chuckle quite successfully.
Unfortunately, not even the strongest efforts from the main actors and the comedic highlights can save the movie's weak story. Due to having a very routine storyline where the whole plot can be figured out beat by beat, it ends up making the experience rather dull and predictable. It doesn't help that most of the humor throughout the movie comes off rather stiff and even almost nonexistent, as if the filmmakers wanted to rely on the stars to do the job for them in entertaining the viewers. Also, the tone often jumps all over the place from relatively serious to full on goofy, especially with a very catchy albeit pointless campfire song sequence and other bizarre plot points that are forgotten about once they're done being shown. Many scenes also feel oddly edited out, with several scenes jumping from one to another without feeling properly cohesive. This was apparently because the studio behind the film had heavily trimmed out director John Landis' final cut due to his absence in the editing stage. It shows that too many cooks ain't always a good idea to solve a puzzle.
However, even with those flaws, that's not to outright say this is an overall bad movie, as it at least has its heart in the right place. While the film doesn't seem to know whether to be a straight up wacky cartoon movie or a more straightforward Hollywood western comedy, its loving tribute to retro silent filmmaking is quite admirable in its own right. With the main trio being washed up actors that are mistaken for gunfighting heroes, their contrast between the glamorous Hollywood and rough & tough outskirts of Mexico end up developing them quite well into fully realized characters. In addition, the occasional musical numbers from co-writer Randy Newman add a nice flavor to the film's love for old Hollywood and vaudeville, especially the Amigos Ballad and My Little Buttercup. Besides, it's nice to have a rather ruthless villain with at least some hint of sardonicism in a movie that just needs more looniness to stand out from the crowd, and that goes to El Guapo. So it is fascinating when other aspects surrounding a motion picture can make it up more than the main attraction.
So despite its full potential not being met that well in the execution, Three Amigos is still a good natured western romp that only gets by its paper thin premise with wonderful leading roles and some occasional moments of hysteria. While it might not rank on anyone's top 10 favorite comedies of all time list, there's just enough charm here and there to make the viewing experience tolerable to say the least. My best recommendation would be to only watch it if you're a die hard comedy movie buff or really into Steve Martin's filmography. The people behind this flick have certainly done better, but this should be worth at least one go.