The Three Amigos (1986) Director: John Landis

There was a time long, long ago, children, when you couldn't touch Chevy Chase or Steve Martin. These were THE BOYYYYYZZZZZ. Martin and Chase were unstoppable, from the roots of Saturday Night Live and stand-up (Martin) and the National Lampoon Radio Hour (Chase). It's great to say that The Three Amigos is still as hilarious as it was in the 80s; it used to be one of my favourite films as a child, and the humour is still as classic and as devastatingly good now as I remembered it to be.

The Three Amigos are a bunch of naff Hollywood silent film actors - Lucky Day (Martin), Dusty Bottoms (Chase) and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short) - who come to the aid of a Mexican damsel in distress who believes these 'heroes' will save her village from a real nasty villain. The Three Amigos believe they've been booked for a paid-for personal appearance. Much hilarity ensues.

The cult lines and characters (a fond hello to the Singing Bush) are welcome again like old friends - there's dialogue such as, "We can take a walk and I'll kiss you on the veranda", Dusty Bottoms: "On the lips would be fine"; "You sons of a motherless goat!", and the haunting melodies of 'My Little Buttercup'. There are also singing horses and animals. You can't get any better than this. Seriously.

The Amigos are very sweet in their naivety and friendship, as they initially crap themselves when facing the bandit El Guapo (Alfonso Arau), then decide to stay and fight and win over their womenfolk. Great central performances, punchy and witty lines, and memorable scenes make The Three Amigos a great romp which seems wonderfully innocent and refreshing in today's staple diet of vulgarity and grossout humour.

4/5 - RENT IT