The Three Stooges was a comedy act
from the early to mid-20th century.
The most famous line-up consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly
Howard. Together they starred in many
films and shorts. Before I review this
2012 update, I just want to say that I am a big Three Stooges fan. So naturally I was angry with the very idea
of this movie (a Stooges movie that takes place in modern-times without the
original trio, no thanks). So against my
better judgment I went on opening day to see it and was very surprised.
The
movie is split into three shorts all held together with one plot. The Stooges, Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos),
Larry (Sean Hayes), and Curly (Will Sasso), find out that their childhood
orphanage is closing down due to a large debt.
The only way to save it is to collect $830,000 within 30 days. From there the Stooges go to the city and
find themselves involved in many misadventures including a plot to kill a rich
housewife’s (Sofia Vergara) husband, and Moe becoming a member on a famous
reality show that you may have heard of.
When I
went into this movie I expected the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. The biggest complaint that I have is that the
ending seems very disconnected from the rest of the movie, making it seem like
the Farrelly Brothers (the directors and writers) didn’t know how to end it. Also, the subplot involving a sick orphan was
extremely cliché and was only there to show why it was important to save the
orphanage. Lastly, most of the modern
references (with a few exceptions) weren’t funny.
Besides
that I really enjoyed this film. My biggest praise goes to the actors
portraying the Stooges. While you can
never replace the originals, they did a fantastic job of emulating them and I
even found myself forgetting that they weren’t the real Stooges. Even their child counterparts that were used
in flashbacks did a fantastic job. Most
importantly, this movie was hilarious, with great slapstick and one-liners, I
was almost laughing non-stop along with the rest of the audience. Some critics have complained that the jokes
are stupid (which is true), but The Three Stooges have never been about
sophisticated humor, rather slapstick and quick jokes.
Don’t
believe the negative reviews, this movie is great for Stooges fans young and
old and is a great family comedy. Final Rating: 4/5.
Written by Daniel Baker
Cast: Sean Hayes-
Larry Will Sasso- Curly Chris Diamantopoulos- Moe Jane Lynch- Mother Superior Sofia Vergara- Lydia Jennifer Hudson- Sister Rosemary
Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly
Rated PG
Runtime: 92 min
