¡Three Amigos! (1986)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

When your town is being terrorized by a man and his cronies, where would you turn for help? Would you call the police? Call some friends? Is there a section in the phone book for stuff like that? Carmen lives in a small Mexican town being terrorized by El Guapo and his men. She’s desperately in need of help, but doesn’t know where to turn. She walks into a bar and asks for help, but gets nowhere with that. It isn’t until she walks in on a movie that she knows she’ll be saved.

The move in question stars Dusty Bottoms (played by Chevy Chase), Lucky Day (played by Steve Martin) and Ned Nederlander (played by Martin Short). Carmen sees them and doesn’t realize that they’re just characters in a silent film. She thinks that they’re real heroes, so she sends a telegram. Since she can’t afford much, “put on a show of your strength” becomes “put on show,” so The Three Amigos think that they’re being summoned to star in a show.

Since they’ve just been fired by their studio, the don’t hesitate to respond. It isn’t until one of them gets shot that they realize that El Guapo is for real. Being nothing more than actors, they cower in fear and run away. When they realize what El Guapo is capable of, they decide to stay and help. It’s not like they have anything to go back to, anyway.

All three of the characters are clueless to varying degrees. For instance, they have to find a singing bush, which will allow them to find an invisible man. When they approach a singing bush, they try to ask the bush if it’s the singing bush. Chase plays as close to a straight man as the three get with Short and Martin being a little goofier. (When a woman expresses interest in the not-so-bright one, another one asks which one she’s referring to.)

I remember the movie being a lot funnier when I was a kid, but might still stand up today. There is a part of it that seems dated, but not really having to do with factual stuff. It just seems like a product of the 80’s. I think part of it is that you don’t see comedies like this any more. If the movie had been made today, it would probably have slicker effects and totally different dialogue.

I also don’t know that it has a lot of replay value. I just rented it a few days ago and I wasn’t laughing like I used to at it. There are some movies that you can watch over and over again. This just doesn’t seem to be one of them. In my case, I think it comes from remembering too much of the story. The basic outline is so simple that you can easily remember what happened next. Even having waited 15 or 20 years between viewings, I found that there was very little that I had forgotten.

I think for someone watching it for the first time, it’s going to be funny. That’s why I’d still give it three stars. But rent it. Don’t actually buy it. See if you can get it On Demand or something. 

IMDb page

Bowfinger (1999)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.


Sometimes, it takes a lot of determination to do what you want to do.  Robert K. Bowfinger (played by Steve Martin) wants to produce a movie and he has determination to spare.  What he doesn’t have is a good script, cash, or enough talent to go around.  One day, Bowfinger’s accountant/receptionist, Afrim, comes up with a script for a movie called Chubby Rain.  (The premise is that aliens come down in rain drops, making them bigger than normal.)

Now, Bowfinger has the script, but he still faces all of the other problems.  To add to his troubles, he can only get in with a studio if he gets Kit Ramsey (played by Eddie Murphy) to star in his movie.  Ramsey is the biggest star in Hollywood.  There’s one small catch: Ramsey doesn’t want to do it.  That’s no problem.  They’ll just film Ramsey without his knowledge.  After all, Bowfinger says that Tom Cruise didn’t know he was in Interview with the Vampire for several years.

So, now, Bowfinger has to lie, cheat and steal his way through the movie.  The only other person that knows what’s going on is Dave and that’s primarily because Dave has a small job at a big studio.  Thus, he can ‘borrow’ equipment.  Bowfinger also ‘borrows’ a credit card from one of the actors to rent or buy equipment.  Since no one else knows that Kit Ramsey isn’t actually involved in the project, Bowfinger has to invent a story as to why Ramsey isn’t to be approached for any reason.

The biggest obstacle is getting the shots of Ramsey where his character has to do something that he wouldn’t normally do.  For this, they hire a look-alike named Jiff.  (Jiff is also played by Eddie Murphy.)  Jiff’s primary job will be to do errands, which he says would be a big boost for him.  When the time comes, he’ll have to do several scenes in Ramsey’s place.  (One of the funniest scenes is the highway scene.  This alone is worth getting the movie.)

Since Bowfinger is a comedy, you have to know that the movie will work out in the end.  Yes, there are major hurdles, setbacks and obstacles, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.  When I had seen the movie, I hadn’t yet really heard of Ed Wood, but for those that know about Wood, you may notice some similarities.  Wood was known for making below-par movies with other people’s money and using a lot of stock footage.

The movie is never slow or boring.  There are a lot of jokes and funny scenes.  Kit Ramsey, for instance, seems to have mental issues.  He’s convinced that alien voices in his head want him to flash the Laker Girls.  (Since he’s already paranoid about aliens, unknowingly starring in a movie about alien invaders isn’t the best thing for him.)  Ramsey is also part of a group called Mind Head, which is a thinly veiled substitute for Scientology.

This is the kind of movie you could watch repeatedly.  There are very few movies I’d recommend buying; this is one of them.  (If you rent it, you’ll probably end up buying it anyway.)  There are so many funny scenes in the movie that you’ll probably miss most of the jokes only because you’re laughing so hard.  This is definitely a must-watch film.