Les trois fugitifs

This is as 80's as it gets. One of my childhood movies that I (obviously) grew up with, and it's always been there. It's like one of those things your mom tells you when you grow up, you carry it with you constantly. This one is up there with "Tango & Cash", "Adventures In Babysitting", "Back To The Future", "Willow", "Roxanne", "The Princess Bride", and all the other great flicks from the late 80's.

In this remake of a French movie from 1986, Nick Nolte is released from prison, goes to a bank which Martin Short is robbing. At least he tries to rob it, everything goes down the drain and he takes Nolte hostage, and of course the cops think Nolte is the robber.

As I said, this is one of movies I grew up with and you always love your childhood movies, even though they might suck. And this movie really does suck. It's not nearly as good as the French predecessor, but I love it anyway. I can't help it. Sure, it's silly. It's laughable. It's way too sentimental. It's even pathetic at times.

While being a great enthusiast of French cinema, I hadn't heard of Francis Veber when I saw this magnificent comedy in 1989. Unfortunately his wonderful films were never released in the UK, until 'Le Dîner des Cons'. So I came to it fresh... and WOW. Here we have Nick Nolte in a perfect role as the tough former bank robber and Martin Short as the perfect nerdish but determined sidekick. The opening bank robbery sequence, that sets up the film is magnificent and hilarious. The sub-plot involving the little girl is sweet and moving - almost worthy of Chaplin. The loopy vet is amazing and one of his scenes had me crawling on the floor with laughter. I could start analysing the structure or the mise en scène, but such sophistry is irrelevant - just see it and laugh out loud like you will rarely have done so before. (Amazingly I haven't seen the original with Depardieu and Pierre Richard... why don't they release a subtitled version?????)

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.

Watching Three Fugitives is like traveling back in time to a bygone era, when there was no Internet, only four TV channels and John Major was prime minister. But hey, it wasn't all bad... We got films like this, where the focus is purely on the relationship between a grumpy, fresh out of jail bank thief portrayed by Nick Nolte, a mute six year old girl and her well-meaning but accident prone father, played by Martin Short.

Caught up in a heist-gone-wrong with a case of mistaken identity thrown into the bargain, the trio (as the title suggests) go on the lam together. Ever cop in the district is looking for them, Short is a walking disaster area, the kid wanders off at every given opportunity and Nolte just wants to ditch the other two and go straight. Easier said then done, when Short lands them in non-stop trouble, and Nolte begins to form a connection with the little girl...

It's not a laugh-a-minute split-your-sides experience, but what it IS is a perfect fusion of pathos, understated action and amusing character moments. It's easy to predict the hate-love arc of the Nolte/Short friendship, and some of the punchline are visible from miles off. But frankly, I didn't care.

All the cast play their roles so well, they transform what could have a humdrum script into something quite special. Of course, it also helps to have one of the cutest screen children around as their co-star. Makes their ongoing struggle more believable when we sees what's at stake, ya see? One to watch every few years from now on, I think. I'll never get tired of it, that's for sure. 8/10

After spending five years in prison for 14 separate bank robberies "Lucas" (Nick Nolte) has finally been granted parole and is set free. Unfortunately, when he goes to a bank to deposit his prison check he finds himself on the receiving end of a bank robbery by what turns out to be an extremely bumbling novice by the name of "Ned Perry" (Martin Short). To make matters worse, when the police surround the bank Ned picks Lucas-of all people--to be his hostage. This selection causes the police to think that both Ned and Lucas are acting as a team and as a result the two of them are forced to work together to somehow extricate themselves from this situation. To further complicate matters, Ned's young daughter "Meg" (Sarah Rowland Doroff) has some serious issues related to trauma which has caused her to withdraw from everyone around her-until she meets Lucas. As a result, instead of two fugitives from the law there are now three-and each of them have their own priorities which don't necessarily relate to one another. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film turned out better than I thought it would due mainly to the humorous twists and turns throughout. That said, while it's certainly not the greatest comedy ever made, it's still a cute little film which should appeal to most viewers interested in something of this type. Slightly above average.