''Three Fugitives'' is a 1989 American buddy

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by Francis Veber, starring

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

and Martin Short, with supporting roles by Sarah Doroff,

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Alan Ruck Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's best friend, in John Hughes's film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986); Stuart Bondek, a lecherous, power-hungry member of ...

, and Kenneth McMillan in his final film appearance. It is a remake of '' Les Fugitifs'', a 1986 French comedy starring Gérard Depardieu and

Pierre Richard Pierre Richard (born Pierre-Richard Maurice Charles Léopold Defays; 16 August 1934) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films. Pierre Richard is considered by many, such as ...

also directed by Veber. The movie was popular at the box office, grossing more than $40.6 million against a budget of $15 million, despite receiving a general negative reception from critics.

Plot

Daniel Lucas has been in prison for armed robbery. On the day he is released, he gets taken hostage by Ned Perry, an incompetent, novice criminal who robs a bank (to get money for treatment for his ill daughter, Meg) at the moment Lucas just happens to be there. Detective Marvin Dugan assumes they must be in it together and sets about tracking them down. Several chases, an accidental shooting, treatment from a senile vet who thinks Lucas is a dog and other capers follow, all the while Lucas trying to ditch his idiotic companion and prove his own innocence. Whilst avoiding the law, the two form an unlikely partnership to help cure the silent Meg and make good their escape. They rescue Meg from the care home she is in (with Ned nearly ruining the whole affair with his clumsiness) and flee for Canada, pretending to be a married couple with a son. Ned later enters a Canadian bank to change some currency only to find himself taken hostage by a different bank robber in the same manner he originally kidnapped Lucas. Because of this unexpected development, Lucas does not need to say goodbye to Meg, with whom he has formed a bond.

Cast

as Daniel James Lucas * Martin Short as Ned Perry *

as Inspector Marvin Dugan *

as Inspector Tenner * Sarah Doroff as Megan 'Meg' Perry * Kenneth McMillan as Dr. Horvath * David Arnott as Bank Teller *

Lee Garlington Ann Leslie "Lee" Garlington (born July 20, 1953) is an American actress. Early life Garlington was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. She spent her teenage years in Wilmington, Delaware. Career She has guest starred in a number of notable television s ...

as Constable Jane Karie *

Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the movies '' The Insider'' (1999), ''Ali'' (2001), and '' Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Da ...

as Charlie *

Sy Richardson Sy Richardson is an American film and television actor. Also a two-time screenwriter, Richardson wrote the screenplay for the 1993 film ''Posse''. Early life and education He was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Chicago. He attended Farragut C ...

as Tucker * Rocky Giordani as Bowles * Stanley Brock as Release Sergent *

Rick Hall Roe Erister "Rick" Hall (January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018) was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who became known as the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was in ...

as Billy, Dog Handler * Brian Thompson as Second Thug * Jack McGee as Fisherman *

Kathy Kinney Kathy Kinney (born November 3, 1954, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin) is an American actress, voice actress, and comedian. She gained considerable popularity in the late 1990s for playing Mimi Bobeck, the outrageously made-up, flamboyantly vulgar, a ...

as Receptionist * Larry Miller as Street Cop * Jeff Perry as Orderly #2 *

Dinah Lenney Dinah Lenney (born Dinah Gross; November 18, 1956, New York City) is an American actress and writer. She is the author of ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'', a 2007 book about the murder of her father, Republican Party politician and business ...

as Reporter #1 *

John Aylward John Aylward (November 7, 1946 – May 16, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for playing the former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on the NBC television series ''The West Wing'' and for playing Dr. Donald Anspaugh on the NBC televisio ...

as Second Cop * Tim De Zarn as First Cop * Rhoda Gemignani as Radio Announcer * Charles Noland as Bartender Dave * Albert Henderson as Man In Raincoat * Gary Armagnac as Cop #2 *

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel H ...

as Barry 'Playboy' Jones * Mike MacDonald as Sergeant Snow * Michael Siegel as Cop #4

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film a score of 14% based on 14 reviews as of May 2016.

References

External links

* * * {{Francis Veber 1989 films 1980s crime comedy films American action comedy films American buddy films American crime comedy films American remakes of French films Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Films directed by Francis Veber Touchstone Pictures films 1989 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films