Hmm....where I have heard this before?

Three clueless Hollywood actors find themselves in a third world country and, thinking they're making a movie, accidentally get themselves involved in a real shooting war.

Yes, I know, that's the plot of Tropic Thunder, the Ben Stiller/Robert Downey Jr./Jack Black comedy in theaters right now, and no, I haven't seen it yet, so I'm not about to weigh in on the whole "is it unfair to the developmentally challenged?" controversy. That aside, though, it just sounds...well, just awfully familiar. For some reason, I'm thinking -- oversized sombreros.

Wait a minute....it's coming to me...it's --

-- oh. It's Three Amigos. Chevy Chase/Steve Martin/Martin Short. Different hats, different movie, I guess.

In any case, I'll get back to you on Tropic Thunder (my old colleague Glenn Kenny is less than thrilled with it, for interesting reasons), but if it has a scene as funny as this one, I think we'll be alright.

"Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?" Incidentally, turns out that Alfonso Arau, the guy playing the hilariously neurotic bandito El Guapo in that scene, has another rather more significant claim to fame. To wit: He actually directed the wonderful Like Water For Chocolate, the 1992 Mexican import that in its day was the highest grossing foreign film in the US ever. Go figure.

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DVR Alert Update: Mad Love and Stranger on the Third Floor, the two Peter Lorre movies I recommended yesterday, will be shown on Turner Classic Movies tonight, beginning at 8pm EST. Check your local listings and pounce...