Three Amigos exists in a strange comedy purgatory. It flopped horribly at the box office despite being directed by John Landis and starring the ever popular comedians Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and Steve Martin. It’s beloved by a number of people, but not in such a way that the film could ever be considered a cult classic. Yet it survives, fondly for most people, as one of those comedies most will gladly revisit, even if at times it wavers from being funny to wholly absurd (the singing bush, anyone?). You’d think its cast would make Three Amigos an enduring classic, but it really requires just the right sense of humor that’s willing to wait a bit longer than usual between belly laughs and listen for the well-written verbal jokes that come and go so quickly that they’re easy to miss outright. It might not have your coming back annually for another viewing, but it’s a comedy to be passed down so no one ever forgets Chase, Short, and Martin.
When a woman living in a small Mexican town mistakes the famous Hollywood trio known as the Three Amigos (Chase, Short, Martin) for actual cowboys fighting in the name of justice, she enlists their help to free her town from the oppressive hand of El Guapo (Alphonso Arau). Her unintentionally abridged invitation, promising lots of money in exchange for what the Amigos think is just a single show opposite a local act, draws the Amigos to Mexico just as their careers hit a snag. Their initial encounter with El Guapo’s henchmen make them appear as the heroes the play on the screen, but when it becomes clear that the situation is real, the Three Amigos summon the courage it takes to actually face down the notorious bandito.
Three Amigos never takes full advantage of having the comic tour de force of a cast that it does, and so the only reason it manages to stay afloat instead of sinking to the bottom of the vast ocean of comedy is that it’s script, co-written by Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels, has enough absurd moments and clever wordplay to make it quotable. And quotable comedies tend to stick around even if they’re not the best in the genre. After all, how many people know the word ‘plethora’ due to El Guapo’s insistence on having a plethora of piñatas? Probably more than would like to admit it. It’s running gags like El Guapo’s “word of the day”-style vocabulary and his incompetent henchmen who can’t keep pace that make Three Amigos more than just another comedy to be forgotten.
The biggest failure in this Blu-ray release comes not from the film itself but from its upkeep. In the opening minutes of the film most people will notice the oversaturated colors that threaten to make the film unwatchable. What happened to the copy of the film this Blu-ray was cut from? Did all the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases have this problem? Or has it only become apparent in its translation to high-definition? Whatever the case, the Three Amigos Blu-ray has a big problem in that regard.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
To claim anything but disappointment at the brevity of a taped interview with Martin Short, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin, as they sat around discussing the film back in 1986, would be to lie. The interview ends just as the three funny guys get warmed up, with the rapport on the verge of becoming hysterical. Someday there will be a law against interrupting a comedian jam session between three such hilarious men. The interview may be short, but the deleted scenes offer quite a bit, however if you want to understand what it is you’re watching and why there are 20 minutes of deleted scenes, you should read the commemorative pamphlet which features a decently long interview between Chase, Short, Martin, and Landis. It turns out Three Amigos was almost a very different movie, but a heavy level of editing resulted in a great many jokes landing on the cutting room floor.
"Three Amigos" is on sale November 22, 2011 and is rated PG. Comedy. Directed by John Landis. Written by Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels and Randy Newman. Starring Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Martin Short.
