The Three Stooges

It's clearly obvious that a lot of heart and energy went into the making of The Three Stooges. Despite the movie being set in 2012, co-writers and directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly (Hall Pass) have made a loving and mostly-accurate homage and recreation of the 1930s and 40s screwball comedy that the original Stooges were known for. So much so, that I question the reason why they felt the need to modernize it in the first place. A period piece comedy set in the original era probably would have worked better.

But, I digress. The real question here is whether I laughed or not. I must admit that I did indeed laugh quite a few times, though not enough for me to give it a full-hearted recommendation. Seeing the Stooges up on the big screen, this time played by Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe), Will Sasso (Curly), and Sean Hayes (Larry), all of whom do impeccable recreations of their iconic characters by the way, made me smile quite a lot. But, as the movie went on (even at a very brisk 92 minutes), the novelty wore off on me more than a little. Let's just say there's a reason why the original Stooges mainly stuck to short films back in their day - a little bit of their humor goes a long way. Pretty much, what it all boils down to is that if you are a die-hard fan, this will probably be the best time you'll have at the movies all year. If you've always wondered what the appeal of the Stooges was, you won't find the answers here.

The movie has been stuck in "development hell" for the past 10 years or so, being booted about by different studios, and having different actors in talks to play the Stooges over the years. I remember reading about actors like Jim Carrey, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro attached to the lead roles at one time. I think the decision to go with relative unknowns (Sean Hayes, from TV's Will and Grace, is the biggest name of the three leads) was a smart choice, as "name actors" would have been too distracting. Besides, it's the characters that the audience has come to see, not the actors playing them. Not only do Diamantopoulos, Hayes, and Sasso do a great job of playing the characters, but the movie itself clearly understands their humor. Each eye poke and slap is accompanied by the same sound effects from the original shorts, and the gags seem like they were inspired by (or maybe borrowed from) the originals. There's one sequence where the Stooges have a "water fight" in a baby nursing room of a hospital that I don't think they'd be able to get away with back in the 30s and 40s, but otherwise, there's nothing that should concern parents about bringing their kids to this.

The plot...Has it ever mattered when it comes to the Stooges? Regardless, the movie is divided into three separate "short films" that make up one big plot. In the first "episode", we find Moe, Larry, and Curly as kids literally dropped on the doorstep of an orphanage as a speeding car drives by, tossing a duffel bag containing the three dunces, at the front door. They're never adopted (though Moe almost gets adopted once, but he can't leave his friends), so they grow up living there, and as adults, work as incompetent handymen. When news breaks that the orphanage is going to be closed down unless the nuns who run it can come up with $830,000, the Stooges set out into the world for the first time in order to raise the money. In Episode 2, the guys get wrapped up in a murder plot, when a sexy vixen (Sofia Vergara) offers them money to bump off her wealthy and well-meaning husband, Teddy (Kirby Heyborne). The guys are totally clueless to this, naturally, and some of the better sight gags and slapstick develop from this situation. The final episode concerns the Stooges going their separate ways, with Moe becoming a reality TV star on the Jersey Shore, and ultimately reuniting in time to try to stop the murder plan, which is set to occur during a lavish anniversary dinner party.

There's a lot of good-hearted innocence in this movie, and kids up to a certain age (maybe 10 or 12) are certain to find this one of the funniest movies they've ever seen. The adults, I don't know. Like I said, it all depends on what you think of the Stooges. I laughed quite a few times, and admired the energy of the film, and how game the cast was. But there are way too many dry patches where the laughs don't come. As an attempt to revive a nearly century-old comedy team, and recreate the humor and innocence of the characters, it's an unqualified success. It all depends on if that's all you're looking for. I wasn't a fan, but I can certainly picture how a number of people could be.

As a sign of the times, The Three Stooges ends with a sequence where the directors personally address the audience, and tell the kids watching not to try this stuff at home. They even go so far as to show that the hammers the Stooges frequently used to hit each other with were made of rubber, and that they weren't really poking each other in the eyes. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry while I was watching this segment. This feels like it was added by the studio to cover their bases and prevent potential lawsuits. I guess I can kind of understand, but at the same time, it seems sillier than anything that came before it.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments