Larry, Bill, and Everett are three U.S. Army Reservists and total ne'er do wells who use their reserve weekends to hangout and drink beer, though all three have fallen on hard times as of late: Larry has just split with his girlfriend, who was pregnant with someone else's baby, Bill lives in a trailer park with his monstrous wife who constantly berates him for their poor financial situation, and Everett lives in a storage unit, after being fired from the police force after only two days for crashing his cruiser into a Nail Salon.
Against their will but in full compliance with their Reserve contract, they find themselves fully instated into the Army and loaded onto a plane bound for Iraq. After falling asleep in a Humvee, which due to poor weather is dumped by the pilot, they wake up in the middle of what turns out to be Mexico rather than Iraq, but none of them realize this until after they accidentally "liberate" a small Mexican village from a drug cartel run by the brutal Carlos Santana (No, not the guitar player.) Santana, however, doesn't want to give up the town that easily, and our three heroes find out they may have bitten a little more off than they can chew.
This film includes examples of:
- AM/FM Characterization: In a shout out to Three Kings, just before charging into a town beset by "terrorists", Everett suggests they have some fight music and puts on "Ride Of The Valkyries". Larry immediately disapproves, replacing it with Jerry Reed's "East Bound and Down".Everett: [With immediate approval] God bless America!
- Artistic License – Geography: To whom it may concern: Iraq is east of the United States, while Mexico is southwest-ish. so its somewhat debatable why a plane bound for the Middle East would end up over Mexico. Granted, the C-130 doesn't have the range to go from the US to the Middle East in one go, so it could have been a stopover flight, but that still doesn't explain why the plane would travel in almost the exact opposite direction of its destination. Rule of Funny aside, really?
- Berserk Button: Carlos Santana really doesn't like being mistaken for... Carlos Santana.
- Black Comedy Rape: It's implied that the two men who picked up the Sarge were planning to do this to him.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: Santana's men, among other things, use old WWII-era weapons like the M1 Garand, and late in the film bring out a fully-functioning Sherman tank against the protagonists.
- In addition, Larry destroys the tank using an even older 1875 vintage cannon that Everett had spent a good chunk of the film trying to restore.
- Butt-Monkey: Sgt. Killgore can't catch a break.
- The Cameo: Jeff Dunham and José Jalapeño (on a steek) make an appearance as prisoners forced to entertain Carlos Santana.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Everett is a bastion of bad ideas and advice.
- Comically Missing the Point: Everett can't shut up and tends to comment on unrelated subject matter in any situation.Mook: [laughing] You're not in Iraq, Gringo.Larry: Gringo? That's what you say in... Oh my GOD!Everett: What?...Are we in France?
- Didn't Think This Through: Twice, Carlos Santana has Larry at the mercy of all his armed men and gloats about how Larry can't possibly kill all of them. Both times, Larry plainly states that he'll just kill Santana then, immediately taking the wind out of Santana's sails with Santana nearly quoting the trope word-for-word at one point.
- Disney Death: When the boys land in Mexico, they think the Sarge is dead and bury him, but he's just passed out from the rough landing and heatstroke.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Larry can't help but check out Maria when scouting the village under attack.Larry: She's in trouble!
Bill: She?
Larry: I mean "they"!
Bill: [Grabs Larry's binoculars to get a look] "THEY" appear to be C-cups! - Drill Sergeant Nasty: Killgore, although he evolves into more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Eagleland: Naturally, since it stars Larry the Cable Guy.
- Hidden Depths: Sgt. Killgore admits that he always wanted to be a yoga trainer.
- Henpecked Husband: Bill Engvall says he'd be safer in Iraq, than with his wife.
- Hypocritical Humor: Larry makes fun of a fat lady at the restaurant he works at by saying it looks like she's never eaten a salad in her life. This is of course Larry the Cable Guy who's saying this.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Even with Bill manning a M240 machine gun, no one (but Bill at the end) gets shot. Even Santana can't hit the "Amazing" Ken, but shoots his puppet Rufus dead center in the face.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Everett tends to do this a lot.
- Mexican Standoff: Referenced by name during a point of tension, but since they are in Mexico...Carlos Santana: Down here, amigo, we just call it a standoff.
- Mildly Military: Before receiving training for deployment to Iraq, the army reserve unit that Larry, Bill, and Everett, are in seems to be this. The three amigos weren’t even wearing their uniforms properly before their training sequence, and Everett casually stepped out to pick up snacks and dirty magazines while Bill and Larry shoot up all of his girlfriend's memorabilia.
- Oh, Crap!: "We invaded Mexico!"
- Punch-Clock Villain: Between terrorizing a Mexican village and killing incompetent mooks, the Big Bad likes to sing karaoke and watch pro wrestling.
- Running Gag: People bringing up the musician of the same name whenever they hear Carlos Santana's name.
- There's also Larry frequently trying to bring up a slogan/motto/tagline for the Army, and getting it wrong by using someone else's.Larry: Hey, you know what they say in the Army! Semper Fi!
Bill: That's the Marines!
- There's also Larry frequently trying to bring up a slogan/motto/tagline for the Army, and getting it wrong by using someone else's.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Larry at the end when he refuses to leave and points out that the Mexican villagers are as in need of freedom and democracy as any Iraqis.
- Skyward Scream: Larry unleashes one when he realizes they landed in Mexico, and how much shit they'll be in once the Army tracks them down.
- Shot in the Ass: This happens to Bill at the end, the only one in the movie to get shot.
- Too Dumb to Live: Everett is seen messing around with an old cannon multiple times and even says "I'll get this thing to work if it kills me!"
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Larry and Maria got married; Bill sued the Mexican government for his ass wound, netting him a hefty retirement settlement; Sgt. Kilgore created a surprisingly brutal yoga studio; and Everett became a champion Luchador.
