For those of this generation – the all-Tweeting, app-induced, forever forward culture – it’s possible that you know very little of the Three Stooges. They were what people laughed at before you could search “guy hits sign on bike” on YouTube.
Today, THE THREE STOOGES is unleashed onto the world, or better, unleashed onto a generation. Directed by the Farrelly Brothers (DUMB AND DUMBER, OSMOSIS JONES) we feel it was in good hands. Overall, the movie is exactly what one would expect if you know the Stooges. How does one keep the “Stooges” flavor while trying to appeal to a new crowd? The Farrelly Brothers did what they could and we were happy with the results (even if few others were.)
THE THREE STOOGES tells the classic story of Larry (Sean Hayes), Curly (Will Sasso) and Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos) after they are left as babies on a nun’s doorstep. They grow up as their quirky, clumsy, nyuk-nyuking selves and are continually in misadventure. But, while out to save their childhood home, the three end up in the middle of a murder plot and somehow manage to get caught up in a successful reality TV show.
The film is classic Stooges: there’s a lot going on, though not in an intellectual way. The plot is as attention deficit as their wacky “yuk-yuk” moments where they bop each other on the head and such. Plus, having Larry David play a nun is just pure genius.
Sure, it’s not the original Three Stooges that elder generations know and love, but it’s an honest adaptation that does the classic Stooges justice. In the end, isn’t that the only thing that’s important? If people don’t find the new THE THREE STOOGES funny now, it’s because the type of humor has changed with time, that’s all. – 4/5