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Movie Review
by John Holliday
by George Taylor
by Christian Fannin
COMING SOON!
[Join your host, John Holliday, in the review column "A Movie A Week" as he shares his spoiler-free thoughts on our collection of DVD / Blu-ray titles.]
My biggest disappointment in modern movies is undoubtedly with comedies. These days we have horrendous Will Ferrel, Ben Stiller, and Jonah Hill non-comedies that, in all honesty, lack any real jokes. But back when times were better and comedy was (believe it or not) funny, we had three amigos that would undoubtedly have spawned many sequels and spin-offs had they seen a theatrical release today. For this story, let's go way back to the long forgotten year of 1986.
The small Mexican town of Santa Poco is being terrorized by the "infamous" villain El Guapo. Their only hope for rescue is found in the silent action movie stars Ned Nederlander, Dusty Bottoms, and Lucky Day, the ¡Three Amigos!. They are respectively played by the real life actor/comedians Martin Short, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin. The Amigos, fresh from being let go by their film studio, show up thinking they are only wanted to perform a stunt show for the town. Soon they realize they are up against real live banditos and now they must use their brains. Dammit.
In case a few things have seemed odd in this review so far, you should know that this is a highly quotable movie. This is a great thing for the movie, but it makes things difficult for the review. If I ever told you to just take my word for a suggestion, this would be one of those times. All I would do for you is ruin the hilarious sight gags and one-liners that are cleverly and expertly delivered by Short, Martin, and Chase. When it comes down to it though, you're on a movie site which means you love movies and any movie lover I know has already seen Three Amigos and it has a special place in each of their hearts. Not in a corny way or anything but if you don't like Three Amigos and truly didn't crack a smile throughout the movie, there's no hope for you.
This may not be a laugh a second but it doesn't brush the humor to the side in order to fill in cheesy and unneccesary plot as is too common today. Nearly every joke hits its mark and it's the kind of funny that you can come back to again and again without watering it down. There's no relying on crude tangents for a laugh or raised voices to get the punchline across, just pure jokes delivered flawlessly. Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short are all in their prime as the titular characters. Though the whole cast does their job, it's Steve Martin that steals the scenes and it's classic "Steve Martin".
Similar in style to 'Blazing Saddles', this one-time subgenre of period comedies is a little more consistent and polished. It's a smart humor which means you can watch it with a bunch of guy friends and not miss out on the raunchiness or you can watch it with the whole family and enjoy it just as much. There's an obvious gap on the marquee where this type of movie used to be and we can only hope that one day it will return. For being an all around fun movie that doesn't lag in any places, it isn't recommended but demanded of comedy enthusiasts. That's why I give ¡Three Amigos!:
What movie would you like to see John review next week? Your suggestions are always welcome at: john@cineweekly.com
Memento
- Christopher Nolan Directing
