¡Three Amigos! is a 1986 movie. A comedy western, the movie was produced by George Folsey, Jr., and Lorne Michaels, and executive-produced by Steve Martin. John Landis directed for HBO Studios . Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short took the title roles, each of them at the peak of his best form. Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman have cameos. The movie was written by Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels. Randy Newman wrote music for it.

The Three Amigos, bumbling out-of-work silent film cowboy stars, are invited to come to a small Mexican town for what they believe is a show. The terrified townspeople, however, who have seen too many of the Tom Mix-style westerns starring the Three Amigos (and apparently have also been influenced by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai), expect them to actually save them from the ravages of the local villains. Eventually, the Three Amigos find themselves trading in their jobs acting as bandit hunters for jobs being bandit hunters, after some misunderstandings. For instance, after the first "shootout", Lucky Day (Steve Martin) demands to see one of the bandidos' revolvers:

Lucky Day: Wait a second, lemme see that, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Oh, great! Real bullets. You're in a lotta trouble, Mister!

Especially memorable are the villainous characters of El Guapo, played by Mexican actor Alfonso Arau, who was already familiar as one of the main villains in The Wild Bunch (1969), and El Jefe, played by Tony Plana. The comedy is highly visual and physical, but characters are also very quotable:

El Guapo: Jefe, you do not understand women. You cannot force open the petals of a flower. When the flower is ready, it opens itself up to you.

Jefe: So when do you think Carmen will "open up her flower" to you?

El Guapo: Tonight, or I will kill her!

El Guapo and Jefe have become a popular meme outside of the film.

Ratings: Australia:PG, Finland:K-14, Sweden:15, UK:PG, USA:PG, West Germany:12

External link

• IMDB entry
• Three Amigos Quotes
• El Guapo aka Alfonso Arau