Three Fugitives (1989)

A Disappointing Continuation

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A reformed bank robber (Nick Nolte) is taken hostage by a desperate man (Martin Short) during a bank hold up, but is forced to go on the run with his captor when they are both mistakenly thought to be in cahoots.A confession right up front: I have never cared for Martin Short. I couldn't say why, but his brand of humor just does not appeal to me. And yet, I really enjoyed this film and thought he was pretty sharp in it. Maybe Nick Nolte is the right "straight man" to keep the balance? It appears so.There are some emotional moments, but nothing overwhelming that turns this fro ma comedy (with slight action) into a tear-jerker. What works great for the comedy-action balance is how quickly we get right into it. We learn about the characters as we go, rather than waiting twenty minutes for things to take off. This script decision was brilliant.

If I ever need cheering up, I watch this movie. One of my favourite comedies.The unlikely pairing of Nick Nolte and Martin Short works wonderfully, with Nolte as the hardened ex-con Lucas, unwittingly gets involved in the bumbling bank robbery carried out by Short (Ned Perry). James Earl Jones plays the cop who has been itching to nail Lucas once again and assumes that, once Lucas is taken hostage by Perry, that they are in it together.The first 15-20 minutes contain some pure slapstick which has me crying with laughter every time I see it. It is particularly heartening to see the tough guy Nolte being enchanted by Martin Short's mute 6 year old daughter.Lovely, simple and heartwarming.

I have a personal bias against American remakes of foreign films. They seem to exist to be made only because an English/American audience doesn't relish the idea of having to read subtitles while watching a film. And not many of these remakes work anyway. Look at the dire likes of True Lies and Three Men and a Baby.Three Fugitives was no doubt inspired by the recent success of TMAAB. They're both American remakes of French comedies, and Touchstone even took the precaution of importing the director and writer of the original version, Francis Veber. I haven't seen Les Fugitifs so I can't debate how closely Veber sticks to his own material, or if he makes any drastic changes, but as it is, Three Fugitives is an amiable caper, if one that never bursts out with gut busting laughs.Lucas (Nick Nolte) is an ex-con who's decided to go straight. But on the day of his parole, he walks into a bank and right into the middle of a hold-up. Ned Perry (Martin Short) is an incompetent bank robber who wears a nylon stocking for a balaclava. And when the robbery takes much longer then planned, that gives the police enough time to surround the place. In desperation, Ned takes Lucas hostage. But the police, who know of Lucas' track record for armed robberies think he's the robber, meaning these two mismatched men must go on the run together.I admit to enjoying Three Fugitives far more than Three Men and a Baby. They are quite similar films at heart. Both Touchstone financed American remakes of French originals, and the plots both revolve around a youngster. In this case, Ned's mute six-year old daughter Meg. It turns out Ned pulled the robbery because he needed money to send Meg to a special school after being laid off from his job as a sales manager. Meg hasn't spoken a word since her mother died two years ago.Three Fugitives has its funny moments. Ned's bank robbery is so hopeless it gets funnier just watching it all go wrong around him. Like when he shoots the ceiling he gets showered in plaster, his disguise splits open, and when a bank teller throws him the bag full of money, it lands in a ceiling fixture. I also liked the scene when Lucas gets accidentally shot by Ned, and Ned has to take him to a vet to get treated (like a dog!).Its the bits in between that don't really work. All the funny parts come in isolated moments, and Francis Veber's direction isn't fast or frantic enough so the film moves in fits and starts. It seems to take too long for the film to get to anything good. The inclusion of Meg to the plot also seems a miscalculation, and suggests something of the tweeness that capsized Three Men and a Baby.It never really boils over, even if it lacks credibility. But its not helped by Sarah Rowland Doroff's rather flat performance. Even as she begins to open up, she's just as blank in the second half as she is in the first. Nick Nolte and Martin Short have they're amusements, even if they don't exactly have cracking chemistry. They're only paired up together just to play off of each other's obvious differences. So in other words, you're typical buddy movie.Three Fugitives still feels a bit shapeless. It just moves from one spot to the next. Some funny (like Lucas getting a job as a locksmith!). Some cringeworthy (like Ned dressed up as a woman to bypass a border check). And the film doesn't end. It just sort of stops without any real attempt at an ending. Sporadically funny. Forgotten the next day.

Nick Nolte is a sort of Angel protecting a weak father and child. The relationship with the little girl (Sarah Rowland Doroff) Meg and Nick Nolte is very sweet and endearing. The scene in the warehouse where Nick Nolte passes out and Meg rests on his shoulder is particularly memorable.Martin Short and Nick Nolte make a surprisingly hilarious pairing. There are so many funny scenes and quotes from this movie. Martin Short's slapstick, falling over and being a loser will have you laughing throughout the movie. Watch, enjoy and laugh with one of the funniest movies of the eighties.