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.

This is the kind of 1980s film that Hollywood never seems to make anymore. Unassuming, low key and charming without a big budget or a labyrinthine plot, it simply tells a simple story and then finishes.

Nowadays low budget films must have a hook, which generally means they are extremely art-housey or plain horror flicks, there aren't many little family-friendly flicks. Marketing and a lack of cross-promotion opportunities wouldn't allow it.

This is a bit of a shame, as Three Fugitives is the kind of film that you can all sit in front of the TV and kill 100 minutes without anyone in the room whining unnecessarily. Nick Nolte plays Lucas, who is being released from prison after a 5 year sentence earned by holding up 14 banks. (It was amazing seeing how fit Nolte looks here, he's still gruff and weathered but he is actually in really good shape, something he couldn't say for anything since the early 90s.) Now Lucas claims he is going straight, something that his arresting officer (played by James Earl Jones) gravely doubts. When Darth Vader stops Lucas as he leaves prison to tell him "I've got my eye on you", Lucas asks for a lift to the local bank so that he can rob it, and this is where the fun starts… After entering the bank to open a new account, Lucas unwittingly becomes embroiled in a hold up perpetrated by the bumbling Ned, played by Martin Short, (who these days turns me to tears but who is fitting here, as his character is required by the plot to be pathetic and annoying, something he is in spades).

Ned ultimately screws up big and takes Lucas hostage for some reason, even though at 6 foot plus and a good 50kg heavier than Ned he could snap him like a twig. The cops, thinking Lucas really held up the bank, tell him to give up and he yells back that he has nothing to do with it, a gun accidentally goes off, Lucas is shot in the leg and off they go on the lam. (That's cops & robbers shop talk for run away.) Initially Lucas tries at the first opportunity to turn Ned in at the local cop shop to absolve himself from guilt and clear his name, he quickly realizes that Ned has no intention of giving himself up, but a lack of blood caused by the bullet in his leg removes a bit of his get up and go, so Ned takes him to a Vet for treatment.

Enter the reason for Ned's robbery and desire to remain free: 6ish year old Meg.

Meg is Ned's daughter, who hasn't spoken for years since the sudden death of her mother. Ned is unemployed and attempted the hold up to keep afloat so that Meg wouldn't need to go to a home or a special needs facility, and his desire to care for her is evident.

Lucas initially wants nothing to do with Meg and gives Ned the address of a guy who can forge him some papers so that he can at least safely skip town.

Without going into detail or the Spoiler-iffic zone, the three fugitives of the title band together through the various impediments and pitfalls that beset them in order to cross the border to Canada, with the cops on their tail the whole time.

This is very light and fanciful stuff, and a great deal of the amusement comes from watching Lucas brutalise Ned in an off-handed way, as if he does it all the time (and he probably does).

The second half of the film is Run. Escape. Run. Escape, with more and more unlikely near misses each time, all wrapped in a neat bow with a hokey 80s movie ending.

This doesn't mean the film is not entertaining though, it is a fluff piece that never seems dated despite being in its 20s, and while never scaling great heights it remains amusing throughout.

If nothing else it proves that if you try to entertaining you don't need to aim for greatness to achieve, after all for some reason it has given Robbie Williams a career.

Final Rating – 7 / 10. You won't be breathlessly describing it to mates the next day but while it is running you will enjoy yourself.

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Enjoyable, light film about an ex-con who is taken hostage in a botched bank robbery the day he gets out of jail. Francis Veber's film is yet another remake of a successful French hit, and one that works quite well.

The plot doesn't amount to much but fortunately the comedy does. Martin Short is once again very funny and teams well with the gruff Nick Nolte. Together they wreak havoc, and a fair amount of hilarity, as they flee from the police with Short's adorable young daughter.

"Three Fugitives" is a comedy that will surely make you laugh, and possibly smile too. Good fun.

Saturday, May 1, 1993 - Video