Western Weekend - Three Amigos

I recently saw the movie Game Night, and decided that I wanted to do another Western Weekend. Go figure. Anyway, I always rated The Magnificent Seven as one of my favourite western films. So, I decided to take a look at the story again, but this time with a comedic edge in the form of Three Amigos.

Taking place in Mexico in 1916, the village of Santo Poco (Little Saint) is being periodically raided by the bandit El Guapo (The Handsome), played by Alfonso Arau. The village leader's daughter Carmen, played by Patrice Martinez, goes search of gunfighters willing to protect the village and learns of The Three Amigos, a trio of wandering gunfighters from a popular series of silent films: Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms, and Ned Nederlander, played respectively by Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short. Having just been fired by their studio for demanding a raise, the Amigos receive Carmen's telegram, but misunderstand the message due to the low budget for sending it.

And that's the over-arching joke; the misunderstanding. The villagers believe the Three Amigos are real gunfighters, while the Amigos believe that El Guapo is another actor and they're being asked to do a show with him. I think it's an interesting set-up, and that it's inevitably going to fall apart. Which arguably results in a pretty good dramatic moment.

I do like the characterisation of the Amigos. Lucky is presented as the most charismatic, and serves as the overall leader. Dusty comes off as the most dim-witted, which is saying something as none of the Amigos are particularly smart.  My favourite though has to be Ned. Not for his comedic moments, but for the fact that he is actually the most badass. When the misunderstanding comes to a close and the Amigos are ready to leave in disgrace, it's Ned who wants to go after El Guapo. I also quite like El Guapo and his henchman, El Jefe (The Boss). They get a ton of hilarious lines (you might say a plethora), and El Guapo's birthday celebration provides the backdrop for a hilarious infiltration being ineptly carried out by the Amigos.

However, I do have to reserve some criticism for the section when the Amigos are travelling to El Guapo's hideout, which features a rather bland musical number and some jokes which delve into fantasy involving a singing bush and an invisible swordsman. While the jokes are quite funny (lip balm?), the overall segment could have been cut as it doesn't do much to advance the story.

While the comedy sometimes falls flat, it's nonetheless a good story, and worth a watch.