Reely Bernie Faves: ¡Three Amigos! (1986)

“Do you have anything besides Mexican food?”

I start my Top 50 Reely Bernie Faves list with ¡Three Amigos! to make the point that some of our favorite movies are the least insightful, and within their “no-brainer” status we find a place of comfort and nostalgia.

For me, ¡Three Amigos! was babysitter backup for dozens of basement viewings with lots of Coca-Cola. It was an illegally dubbed VHS audio-to-boombox cassette-tape soundtrack to listen to on road trips (Dad’s creation). And, to my mom’s chagrin, it was the most quoted movie in our childhood household.

“There’s no hotel in this town.”

What we forget is that Lorne Michaels’s script and the Steve Martin/Chevy Chase/Martin Short trio in the Mexican desert united to form not just a comedy or western but a musical production. Randy Newman wrote the songs, the legendary Elmer Bernstein composed the score, and the tunes are just as catchy as anything Andrew Lloyd Webber.

No, I’m serious: Try not to hum the opening titles theme or sing “My Little Buttercup” or “Blue Shadows” while you’re doing the dishes. To this day, my coworker thinks the movie should be adapted to a stage musical on Broadway. Steve? Martin? This should be your post-Only Murders in the Building retirement project.

Along with the festive jingles, you get a refreshing take on the silent movie era and all the blunders that come with it. (Think a less smart Charlie Chaplin starring on Mexican SNL.)

I like the one who’s not so smart.

Which one is that?

The costumes are elaborate (“We can sew“), the set pieces are cheap, good ole Director John Landis moves the camera as gracefully as he can by truck, horse, and airplane (what’s a drone?), and Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short hit the bullseye for most gags. All three are young, fun, and dumb, and they successfully embrace a Mel Brooks-type slapstick that was never intended to be clean or decent.

The “Three Amigos” theme held strong in Denver, Colorado during the late eighties when Mark Jackson, Vance Johnson, and Rickey Nattiel took the name as John Elway’s wide receiving corps. (We put up the poster in our basement.)

Today, the slapstick of the 80s can respectfully moon a more “pc” 21^st century flick if you want it to. Its brainless and occasionally offensive punchlines are an acquired taste best for generational interpretation. “Only in the 80s” doesn’t excuse anything, but it certainly makes sense.

Sometimes, you just have to laugh. Today, especially, you need to laugh.

Lucky Day: Well, we’re just gonna have to use our brains.

Ned Nederlander, Dusty Bottoms: Damn it.

Reely Bernie Faves:

49. TBA

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)

Thank you for reading. Your thoughts/experience regarding this goofy movie?

Reely Bernie