Three Fugitives
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| Three Fugitives | |
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| Directed by | Francis Veber |
| Produced by | Lauren Shuler Donner |
| Written by | Francis Veber |
| Starring | Nick Nolte Martin Short Sarah Rowland Doroff James Earl Jones |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 27 January 1989 (USA) |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Three Fugitives is a 1989 comedy film starring Nick Nolte, Martin Short and James Earl Jones and directed by Francis Veber. It is a remake of Les Fugitifs, a 1986 French comedy starring Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard and also directed by Francis Veber. Nolte plays the lead role of Lucas, a man recently released from prison for armed robbery who, on the day he is released, gets taken hostage by Ned Perry (Short), an incompetent novice bank robber who robs the bank (to get money for treatment for his daughter) Lucas just happens to be in. The film is rated PG-13.
[edit] Plot
Detective Duggan (James Earl Jones) assumes they must be in it together and sets about tracking them down. Several chases, an accidental shooting, treatment from a crazy vet and other capers then follow, all the while Lucas trying to ditch his idiotic companion he nicknames 'asshole' and prove his innocence.
Whilst avoiding the law the two form an unlikely partnership to help cure the silent daughter and make good their escape. Before this they rescue the daughter from the care home she is in (with Perry predictably nearly ruining the whole affair with his clubfootedness) and run for Canada, pretending to be a married couple with a son. All appears well in the end. However, in the closing scene, Short's character heads into a Canadian bank to change some currency only to find himself taken hostage by a different bank-robber in the same manner he originally kidnapped Nolte's character. This comical approach to ending the film helps prevent the audience from having to see Lucas sadly say goodbye to Meg, with whom he since formed quite a bond.
[edit] Reaction
The film was given mixed reviews but was generally considered to be a mildly amusing film which worked quite well given the predictable nature of the plot. There is a fair amount of profanity in the film.
