¡Three Amigos!

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¡Three Amigos!

Directed by	John Landis
Produced by	Lorne Michaels George Folsey Jr.
Written by	Lorne Michaels Steve Martin
Starring	Chevy Chase Steve Martin Martin Short Joe Mantegna Jon Lovitz Phil Hartman Alfonso Arau Tony Plana
Cinematography	Ronald W. Browne
Editing by	Malcolm Campbell
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date(s)	December 12, 1986
Running time	104 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000
IMDb profile

Ratings
Australia:	PG
Finland:	K-14
Germany:	12
Sweden:	15
United Kingdom:	PG
United States:	PG

¡Three Amigos! is a 1986 comedy western film, produced by George Folsey, Jr., and Lorne Michaels. John Landis directed for HBO Films. Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short star. The movie was written by Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels. Randy Newman contributed several original songs, including "The Ballad of the Three Amigos" and "My Little Buttercup", while the musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Trivia
- 3.1 Derivative presence
4 References
5 External link

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Three prissy silent film actors in 1916 are fired after they demand a higher salary for their popular "Three Amigos" western films. The same day they receive a plea for the Three Amigos to come to the Mexican village of Santo Poco to defend it from a bandit named El Guapo. Mistaking the plea for an acting job, the actors steal their costumes travel to Santa Poco. The villagers give the actors a hero's welcom, believing them to be real gunfighters. After a nearly fatal confrontation with El Guapo, the actors realize that the bandits are real. They panic and plan a hasty retreat, but soon decide to truly become the heroes they'd once portrayed.

The Amigos make several disasterous attempts to thwart the bandits, infiltrating El Guapo's birthday party and seeking mystical aide via a singing bush and an invisible swordsman. Ultimately the Amigos organize the village's defenses, using their sewing skils to create an army of "Amigos" by replicating their mariachi costumes. The villagers defeat the bandits, and an Amigo delivers a closing speech about conquering your own personal El Guapo, whether that be a lack of self-confidence or a big, scary man named El Guapo.

[edit] Cast

Steve Martin as Lucky Day, the de facto leader of the Amigos
Chevy Chase as Dusty Bottoms, a dimmest of the three Amigos, and a pianist
Martin Short as Ned Nederlander, a former child star and a genuine quick-draw artist
Patrice Martinez as Carmen, a beautiful villager of Santa Poco who summons the Three Amigos
Alfonso Arau as El Guapo, the evil leader of the Mexican bandits
Tony Plana as Jefe. El Guapo's right-hand man

[edit] Trivia

The movie is loosely based on The Magnificent Seven. Elmer Bernstein wrote the music for that movie as well.

Joe Mantegna has a cameo as film producer Harry Flugleman, while Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman have cameos as his assistants. Playboy centerfold Rebecca Ferratti (Miss June, 1986), has a cameo as "Señorita who kisses Ned". Sam Kinison filmed a cameo as a Mexican bandit, but his scenes were cut from the movie.

The film has many connections to Saturday Night Live. The cast features four alumni of the show: Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Phil Hartman, and Jon Lovitz, while Steve Martin has hosted the show on numerous occasions. SNL creator Lorne Michaels co-produced and co-wrote the film.

The film's poster was placed center stage on the Saturday Night Live theater set for a year. Penn & Teller promoted the film on the jumbotron above Times Square during a sketch.

The Canadian animation company Nelvana did animatronic work for a talking tortoise in one scene of the film.

"Three Amigos" is Spanglish for "three friends". "El Guapo" is Spanish for "the handsome one". "Jefe" is Spanish for a chief or boss. "Santa Poco" is broken Spanish, with "Santa" meaning a female saint, and "Poco" being a male adjective for "small".

The Amigos' trademark demonstration includes thrusting the pelvis forward, turning the head to the side, and coughing. This resembles the procedure for undergoing a hernia examination.

Repo Man director Alex Cox was offered to direct before John Landis came aboard.^[1]

During an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in which Chevy Chase promoted the film and Siskel & Ebert guested, Carson asked Roger Ebert what he thought the worst film of the holiday season was. Ebert's replied, "The Three Amigos." After a brief pause, Chase replied, "Looking forward to your next movie." Carson then apologized, saying he wished he hadn't asked the question, and Ebert replied that he wished Carson hadn't, either. According to Ebert, backstage after the show, Chase confessed that he hadn't liked the movie either.

[edit] Derivative presence

Mexican film directors Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Alfonso Cuaron were dubbed the "Three Amigos" by the press when their films received nominations in the 2006 Academy Awards. The filmmakers shared a genuine friendship and made several media appearances together.^[2]

National Football League's Denver Broncos had 3 wide receivers who were collectively nicknamed "The Three Amigos". The "Amigos" (Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Ricky Nattiel) all played together on the team from 1987 to 1992.

Three of the youngest pitchers on the 2006 Detroit Tigers' pitching staff, Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, and Joel Zumaya are often referred to as the "Three Amigos".

World Wrestling Entertainment's Eddie Guerrero (1967-2005), the Latino professional wrestler, performed three consecutive vertical suplexes, which he nicknamed "The Three Amigos".

On 22 September 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment presented a special event in Tijuana, Mexico. After the main event, wrestlers Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Rey Mysterio, Jr. donned sombreros and thrust their hips in homage to the film.

Fergus McCann, the chairman of Celtic Football Club described players Pierre van Hooijdonk, Paolo Di Canio and Jorge Cadete as the "Three Amigos" when in dispute over an alleged salary agreement. ^[3]