Review: Three Amigos

Blu-ray: Three Amigos (1986)

Three silent movie stars mistakenly end up in Mexico on a mission to save a peasant village; chaos and singing ensue.

I’ve always had a bit of thing about Steve Martin (Lucky Day), his sort of humour along with Mel Brooks is that PeeWee-esque type of surreal childish vulgarity that makes me hoot. The joining of three American comedy titans in the form of Steve Martin, Chevy Chase (Dusty Bottoms) and (Ned Nederlander) Martin Short (who wasn’t really known over here in the UK when the film came out; he was part of the Saturday Night Live crew along with Chase and Phil Hartman who also appears), is a bit of a no-brainer for 1986 box office success. Add to the mix John Landis as director, who already had comedy classics Animal House, The Blues Brothers and Trading Places under his belt, and you have a sure-fire winner.

So, does Three Amigos stand up today in 101 Films new release of the film?

Let’s see, does the thought of seeing Short and Martin dance and sing to ‘My Little Buttercup’ tickle your fancy? Or even watching Randy Newman as a singing bush fill you with mirth? Well you’d have to be a right miserable sod not too. Despite knowing this film REALLY well, on re-watching (I hadn’t seen it for over 10 years) I found it sweet, joyous even, and I laughed a lot. This is a real comedy cult classic that hasn’t diminished with time.

Unfortunately there are no extras on the disc (the American Blu-ray has deleted scenes including one of Sam Kinison as a mountain man) but the movie itself is more than enough to keep you entertained throughout multiple viewings.

Review by Tina (co-host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by 101 Films.