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 Farrely Brothers (the directors and writers) didn’t know how to end it. Also, the subplots involved some of the orphans were extremely cliché and were 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
