Three Amigos!

It had been over 30 years since I last saw this. As a kid, I must’ve rented it 50 times. It was one of my favorite comedies as a kid. I wish I had just let it live there, because revisiting it now showed me how fundamentally broken this movie is. A comedy with these three incredibly talented comedic actors should be like slam dunking on a four foot tall hoop. Steve Martin brings the straight man energy, Chevy Chase is the sarcastic wit, and Martin Short is the zany energy. Put that in a farcical spaghetti western? It should be BEYOND easy to make this as side-splitting as Blazing Saddles. The problem comes from the script and who this movie is focused on most, and both of these are the responsibility of one man: Steve Martin. A madcap farce needs energy and intensity to survive. Three Amigos is hampered by the humor playing it too cool, too straight, as if it’s looking down on itself instead of embracing the situation. Martin co-wrote the screenplay, and it shows, because the movie is built entirely around him and his sense of humor. His suave, detached performance is exactly what this movie doesn’t need. Every punchline delivered with his droll attitude is bled dry before it hits the ears, and it sucks the life out of the movie. And his costars can’t save him, because the script seems engineered to not use them to their abilities. Martin Short’s histrionic energy is so stifled, you’d think he was performing while witnessing his kids being held at gunpoint. The only scene where you see his signature style is the song in the bar, where he’s able to cut loose and shine. Beyond that, it wants him to be straight and kinda dumb. But that’s more than Chevy Chase gets, who often feels like little more than an extra who wandered onto the set in costume. This feels like a vanity project for Martin and he dragged alone a couple buddies for a payday, never mind that they were given material that did not suit them. Are there amusing scenes? Sure, the singing bush scene has a surprising punchline. And the animals joining in on the campfire is cute. But that’s all this movie ever is, amusing, and that’s largely in spite of itself. We’re supposed to laugh at these buffoonish actors caught up in a situation they don’t know is real, but they’re not given characters deep enough to sympathize with, so the farcical element just doesn’t hit right. When the movie does hit, it feels like an accident. I want to like this movie more, I really do. But this movie is like putting together an all-star football team, then switching everybody to different positions and assuming it’ll still be successful. All the pieces are there, but just not used right.