Tampabay.com
MAY 06, 2007

'Great! You killed the invisible swordsman'

Threeamigos There's no real genius behind the 1986 film The Three Amigos ... or is there?

Critics generally panned the movie, bemoaning the waste of the superstar comedic cast -- Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short.

"The comic style they should have adopted was Short's manic goofiness from Saturday Night Live, but the tone seems to come more from Martin, who keeps a bemused distance from the material," wrote critic Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. "Chase hardly seems in the movie at all; he's given a few lines and some quizzical reaction shots and left idling in the background."

The Washington Post wasn't as specific or kind, calling it a "limping, laughless lampoon."

But if you take away the plot (pretty much a ripoff of "The Magnificent Seven") and the soundtrack by Randy Newman, there are some morsels of comedy goodness left to savor. After much research, I'm confident in today's top 5 list.

TOP 5 UNDER-APPRECIATED LINES OF COMIC GENIUS IN THE THREE AMIGOS:

5. "Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?"

4. "Great! You killed the invisible swordsman!"

3. "Sew, very old one! Sew like the wind!"

2. "Do you have anything here besides Mexican food?"

1. "In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be the actual El Guapo!"

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About the blogger

Relive the '80s music, movies and culture with Tampa Bay Times entertainment news editor Steve Spears. A teen during the greatest decade ever, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.

E-mail Steve Spears:
stuckinthe80s@tampabay.com
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