Once again operating under his bigger-is-better style of comedy direction, John Landis presents yet another multi-million dollar extravaganza that features some overpaid "Saturday Night Live" veterans, excessively broad slapstick, and, of course, plenty of explosions. Dusty Bottoms (Chevy
Chase), Lucky Day (Steve Martin), and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short) are "The Three Amigos," a trio of washed-up Western movie heroes during the silent era. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in a Mexican village. A notorious bandido undergoing a midlife crisis has worked out his own problems by
terrorizing the place, and the petrified townsfolk have nowhere to turn until Carmen (Patrice Martinez), a pretty villager, decides the celluloid cowboys are the only ones who can help. Chase, Martin, and Short attempt to yuk it up here like a trio of latter-day Ritz Brothers. Prodded by Landis'
slam-bang direction, the effect isn't so much a comedy as it is an exercise in excess. Somewhere in the planning stage one all-important factor was left out: humor. The concept is a funny one, yet no one seems to have the faintest idea of what to do with it. Between Landis' direction and the
initially lame screenplay, THE THREE AMIGOS never really stands a chance.
